Display device, control device, control method, and computer program

Abstract

A generation tendency of an alarm in the past can be identified. A display device is a display device that displays an operation state of a plant (1), and displays statistical information of an alarm generated in the plant (1) in association with a type of the alarm. The most suitable drawing: FIG. 6

Description

Display device, control device, control method, and computer program

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device, a control device, a control method, and a computer program for displaying information about an alarm that has occurred in a plant.

[0002] In the operation of a plant, many different types of alarms are generated. Patent Document 1 discloses that a large number of alarms are generated in plant monitoring.

[0003] JP 2008-46925 A

[0004] Some alarms are not urgent or important and do not require any action even when they occur. Therefore, when an alarm occurs, plant operators decide whether or not to take any action in response to the alarm. In order to determine whether or not action is required for the alarm, it may be effective to understand the past occurrence trends of alarms.

[0005] It is an exemplary object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a display device, a control device, and a control method that enable past alarm occurrence trends to be easily understood.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, a display device according to one aspect of the present invention is a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and displays statistical information on alarms that have occurred in the plant in association with the type of alarm.

[0007] The statistical information may include information on a change trend within a predetermined period of time.

[0008] The change trend may include a change trend of the average number of occurrences of the alarms in a first period and a second period.

[0009] The change trend may include a change trend of the standard deviation of the number of occurrences of the alarms in a first period and a second period.

[0010] The change trend may include a change trend of the maximum number of occurrences of the alarm per day between a first period and a second period.

[0011] The statistical information may include information on the number of days that have passed since the first or last alarm occurred.

[0012] The statistical information may include information on the number of days that have passed since the day on which the maximum number of alarms was issued per day.

[0013] The display device may display the importance or urgency of measures to be taken in response to the alarm, determined based on the average number of alarms occurring in a predetermined period and the number of days on which alarms occurred in the predetermined period.

[0014] A control device of one embodiment of the present invention is a control device that controls a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and includes: an acquisition unit that acquires information about alarms that have occurred in the plant; a calculation unit that calculates statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a display control unit that associates the calculated statistical information with the type of alarm and displays it on the display device.

[0015] The control device may include a receiving unit that receives a selection of a period, and the display control unit may cause the display device to display the statistical information for the selected period in association with the type of alarm.

[0016] A control method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a control method for controlling a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and includes acquiring information about alarms that have occurred in the plant, calculating statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and displaying the calculated statistical information in association with the type of alarm on the display device.

[0017] The control method may include accepting a selection of a period, and displaying the period may include displaying the statistical information for the selected period in association with the type of alarm on the display device.

[0018] A program according to one embodiment of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, the control method including: acquiring information about alarms that have occurred in the plant; calculating statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; and displaying the calculated statistical information in association with the type of alarm on the display device.

[0019] In addition, any combination of the above components or mutual substitution of the components or expressions of the present invention between methods, devices, systems, computer programs, data structures, recording media, etc. are also valid aspects of the present invention.

[0020] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a display device, a control device, and a control method that enable the past occurrence trend of alarms to be grasped.

[0021] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a plant according to the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system according to the present embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the physical configuration of the system according to the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of statistical information according to the present embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing transitions of various display screens according to the present embodiment; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a statistical information display screen according to the present embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an alarm map display screen according to the present embodiment; and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of operation processing according to the present embodiment.

[0022] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. The same or equivalent components, parts, and processes shown in each drawing will be given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0023] [Description of Plant] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a plant according to this embodiment. First, the configuration of a plant 1 to which this embodiment is applied will be described using FIG. 1 . The plant 1 is, for example, a power generation plant (incineration plant) including a circulating fluidized bed boiler (circulating fluidized bed type), and is equipped with a boiler that generates steam by burning fuel while circulating a circulating material such as high-temperature fluidized silica sand. As fuel for the plant 1, in addition to fossil fuels such as coal, non-fossil fuels (woody biomass, waste tires, waste plastic, sludge, etc.) can be used. The steam generated in the plant 1 is used to drive a turbine 100. Note that the plants to which this embodiment is applied are not limited to power generation plants and incineration plants that include boilers, but may be any plants from which process data can be acquired, such as chemical plants and wastewater treatment plants.

[0024] The plant 1 is configured to combust fuel in a furnace 2, separate circulating material from exhaust gas using a cyclone 3 that functions as a solid-gas separator, and return the separated circulating material to the furnace 2 for circulation. The separated circulating material is returned to the bottom of the furnace 2 via a circulating material recovery pipe 4 connected below the cyclone 3. The bottom of the circulating material recovery pipe 4 is connected to the bottom of the furnace 2 via a loop seal 4a with a narrowed flow path. This leaves a predetermined amount of circulating material stored in the bottom of the circulating material recovery pipe 4. The exhaust gas from which the circulating material has been removed by the cyclone 3 is supplied to a rear flue 5 via an exhaust gas flow path 3a.

[0025] The boiler includes a furnace 2 for burning fuel and a heat exchanger for generating steam and the like using heat obtained by the combustion. A fuel supply port 2a for supplying fuel is provided in the middle of the furnace 2, and a gas outlet 2b for discharging combustion gas is provided in the upper part of the furnace 2. Fuel supplied to the furnace 2 from a fuel supply device (not shown) is supplied into the furnace 2 through the fuel supply port 2a. In addition, a furnace wall tube 6 for heating boiler feedwater is provided on the furnace wall of the furnace 2. The boiler feedwater flowing through the furnace wall tube 6 is heated by combustion in the furnace 2.

[0026] Within the furnace 2, the solids containing the fuel supplied from the fuel supply port 2a are fluidized by combustion and fluidization air introduced from the lower air supply line 2c, and the fuel burns at, for example, about 800 to 900°C while flowing. The combustion gas generated in the furnace 2 is introduced into the cyclone 3, accompanied by the circulating material. The cyclone 3 separates the circulating material from the gas by centrifugal separation, and returns the separated circulating material to the furnace 2 via the circulating material recovery pipe 4, while sending the combustion gas from which the circulating material has been removed through the exhaust gas flow path 3a to the rear flue 5.

[0027] In the furnace 2, a portion of the circulating material, called the in-furnace bed material, accumulates at the bottom. This bed material may contain coarse-grained bed material or exhaust combustion impurities that are unsuitable for circulating flow. These unsuitable bed materials can cause poor flow. Therefore, to prevent poor flow, the in-furnace bed material is continuously or intermittently discharged to the outside from a discharge port 2d at the bottom of the furnace 2. After removing unsuitable materials such as metals and coarse grains from the discharged bed material on a circulation line (not shown), the discharged bed material is either resupplied to the furnace 2 or disposed of as is. The circulating material in the furnace 2 circulates within a circulation system consisting of the furnace 2, the cyclone 3, and the circulating material recovery pipe 4.

[0028] The rear flue 5 has a flow path for flowing the gas discharged from the cyclone 3 to a subsequent stage. The rear flue 5 has a superheater 10 that generates superheated steam and an economizer 12 that preheats boiler feedwater as an exhaust heat recovery section that recovers heat from the exhaust gas. The exhaust gas flowing through the rear flue 5 is cooled by heat exchange with the steam and boiler feedwater flowing through the superheater 10 and the economizer 12. The rear flue 5 also has a steam drum 8 that stores the boiler feedwater that has passed through the economizer 12, and the steam drum 8 is also connected to the furnace wall tubes 6.

[0029] The economizer 12 transfers heat from the exhaust gas to the boiler feed water to preheat the boiler feed water. The economizer 12 is connected to the pump 7 by a pipe 21 and to the steam drum 8 by a pipe 22. The boiler feed water is supplied from the pump 7 via the pipe 21 to the economizer 12 and preheated by the economizer 12, and is then supplied to the steam drum 8 via the pipe 22.

[0030] A downcomer pipe 8a and a furnace wall pipe 6 are connected to the steam drum 8. The boiler feedwater in the steam drum 8 flows down the downcomer pipe 8a, is introduced into the furnace wall pipe 6 at the bottom of the furnace 2, and flows toward the steam drum 8. The boiler feedwater in the furnace wall pipe 6 is heated by the combustion heat generated in the furnace 2, and evaporates into steam in the steam drum 8.

[0031] A saturated steam pipe 8b that discharges the steam inside is connected to the steam drum 8. The saturated steam pipe 8b connects the steam drum 8 and a superheater 10. The steam inside the steam drum 8 is supplied to the superheater 10 via the saturated steam pipe 8b. The superheater 10 superheats the steam using the heat of the exhaust gas to generate superheated steam. The superheated steam passes through a pipe 10a and is supplied to a turbine 100 outside the plant 1 to be used for power generation.

[0032] The pressure and temperature of the steam discharged from the turbine 100 are lower than the pressure and temperature of the steam discharged from the superheater 10. Although not particularly limited, the pressure of the steam supplied to the turbine 100 is approximately 10 to 17 MPa, and the temperature is approximately 530 to 570°C. The pressure of the steam discharged from the turbine 100 is approximately 3 to 5 MPa, and the temperature is approximately 350 to 400°C.

[0033] A condenser 102 is provided downstream of the turbine 100. The steam discharged from the turbine 100 is supplied to the condenser 102, where it is condensed and returned to saturated water, and then supplied to the pump 7. A generator is connected to the turbine 100, which converts kinetic energy obtained by the rotation of the turbine 100 into electrical energy.

[0034] The pump 7a supplies makeup water so as to maintain a constant water level in the condenser 102. Fig. 1 shows a flow rate u1 of makeup water supplied by the pump 7a (an example of "process data").

[0035] The process data (data related to the operation of the plant 1) handled in this embodiment may be any data related to the plant 1. For example, it may be data (an example of "process data") measuring the state of the plant 1 with a sensor. More specifically, it may include measured values ​​of the temperature, pressure, flow rate, and the like of the plant 1. FIG. 1 shows a boiler feedwater flow rate u2 (an example of "process data") supplied from the pump 7 to the economizer 12. FIG. 1 also shows a boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 (an example of "process data") supplied from the superheater 10 to the turbine 100, and a saturated steam flow rate u4 (an example of "process data") supplied from the steam drum 8 to the superheater 10. The make-up water flow rate u1 may be controlled to follow the saturated steam flow rate u4. The boiler feedwater flow rate u2 may be controlled to follow the adjustment while monitoring both the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 (or the superheated steam flow rate) and the liquid level of the steam drum 8.

[0036] If a hole occurs in the piping system that constitutes the plant 1, the makeup water flow rate u1 increases, or the flow rate difference between the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 and the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 increases. A DCS (Distributed Control System, FIG. 2) 20 receives process data of the plant 1, such as the makeup water flow rate u1, the boiler feedwater flow rate u2, the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3, and the saturated steam flow rate u4, from the plant 1, and monitors the operating status of the plant 1 and whether any abnormalities have occurred in the plant 1. As will be described later, a monitoring device 40 (FIG. 2) evaluates the process data based on alarm determination logic set for each type of abnormality, and issues an alarm if an abnormality occurs.

[0037] Although the makeup water flow rate u1, the boiler feedwater flow rate u2, the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3, and the saturated steam flow rate u4 are exemplified as process data, other data may be used as the process data for the plant 1. The process data for the plant 1 may be other data such as temperature and pressure, or data calculated based on a plurality of process data, or may be unprocessed data acquired from a sensor or the like.

[0038] Next, the system 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the system 30 according to this embodiment. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the physical configuration of the system 30 according to this embodiment.

[0039] The DCS 20 is a distributed control system for controlling the plant 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, acquires process data from sensors and the like installed in the plant 1, and supplies control signals to the plant 1 for controlling the plant 1 based on the process data.

[0040] The system 30 includes a display device 32 and a monitoring device 40. The monitoring device 40 includes a control unit 31 and a storage unit 33. The control unit 31 includes, as functional components, an acquisition unit 311, a statistics calculation unit 312, a reception unit 313, a display control unit 314, and an alarm determination unit 315. The storage unit 33 stores various types of data, such as an alarm information DB 33A and an alarm statistics information DB 33B.

[0041] The acquisition unit 311 acquires process data from, for example, the DCS 20. The acquisition unit 311 sequentially acquires the process data from the DCS 20 while the plant 1 is in operation. Note that the plant 1 is "in operation" as long as at least a portion of the plant 1 is in operation. The operating period of the plant 1 is a period during which at least a portion of the plant 1 is in operation, excluding planned shutdown periods for maintenance or the like.

[0042] The alarm determination unit 315 determines whether an abnormality or the like has occurred in the plant 1 based on the process data acquired by the acquisition unit 311, and determines that an abnormality has occurred. Specifically, the alarm determination unit 315 evaluates the process data according to a preset alarm determination logic. Based on the alarm determination logic, the alarm determination unit 315 determines that an abnormality has occurred, for example, when a value included in the process data exceeds a predetermined threshold or when a predetermined change occurs in the trend. For example, the alarm determination unit 315 may evaluate predetermined process data based on the alarm determination logic and determine whether a blowout (a condition in which metal materials such as tubes and pipes constituting a boiler are damaged and rupture, causing internal steam to leak to the outside, such as a boiler tube leak; this includes a condition in which a blowout is likely to occur in the future; the same applies hereinafter) that may occur in the plant 1 has occurred.

[0043] When the alarm determination unit 315 determines that an abnormality has occurred, it outputs alarm information about the process data (hereinafter also referred to as "alarm information") to the statistics calculation unit 312 and the display control unit 314. The alarm information is information about an alarm (warning) about the abnormality that has occurred, and includes, for example, the alarm item (type of alarm), the date and time the alarm occurred, and the value of the process data related to the alarm (for example, the value of the make-up water flow rate u1 or the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 that has been determined to be abnormal).

[0044] The statistical calculation unit 312 calculates statistical information regarding the occurrence of alarms for each type of alarm based on the alarm information stored in the alarm information DB 33A (and the alarm information acquired from the alarm determination unit 315). The statistical information calculated by the statistical calculation unit 312 includes any statistical information regarding abnormalities that have occurred in the plant 1. The statistical information regarding the occurrence of alarms may be, for example, information regarding the trend of alarm occurrences compiled based on the alarm occurrence history. The statistical information may include, for example, at least one of the average number of alarms occurring per day, the standard deviation of the number of alarms occurring per day, or the maximum number of alarms occurring per day. The above statistical values ​​are not limited to values ​​per day and may be values ​​per other period (e.g., one week, one month, or one year). Furthermore, the statistical information may include, for example, information regarding the trend of changes in the above statistical information over different periods.

[0045] The statistical calculation unit 312 calculates statistical information about alarms that have occurred in the plant 1 for each type of alarm, for example, at any predetermined timing (for example, when an alarm occurs, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). The types of alarms used to calculate the statistical information can be classified in any manner. For example, the types of alarms may be classified according to the sensors that measure the state of the plant 1. In this case, the types of alarms may include, for example, alarms related to makeup water flow rate, alarms related to boiler feedwater flow rate, alarms related to boiler outlet steam flow rate, alarms related to saturated steam flow rate, etc.

[0046] Specific examples of statistical information will be described with reference to FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 shows specific examples of statistical information that can be calculated by the statistics calculation unit 312. Each piece of statistical information can be calculated for each type of alarm. In detail, FIG. 4 shows statistical information calculated for each of multiple different time periods. The multiple different time periods include, for example, short-term (the most recent week), medium-term (the most recent 1.5 months), and long-term (the past year). Multiple types of statistical information calculated for each time period are also shown. The multiple types of statistical information include the average [times / day], standard deviation [times / day], maximum [times / day], and alarm day rate [%]. The meanings of each piece of statistical information are as shown in FIG. 4 .

[0047] FIG. 4 also shows statistical information indicating trend information over a predetermined period (e.g., short-term and medium-term). The trend refers to the trend of change in statistical information between a certain period (first period) and another period (second period). The trend includes, for example, the trend of change in the average number of alarms generated between the first period and the second period. FIG. 4 also shows that the short-term trend is calculated by subtracting the average number of alarms generated over the past year from the average number of alarms generated over the past week and the average number of alarms generated over the past year. It also shows that the medium-term trend is calculated by subtracting the average number of alarms generated over the past 1.5 months from the average number of alarms generated over the past year.

[0048] 4 illustrates the trend in the average number of alarms, but is not limited to this. Statistical information that can be calculated by the statistics calculation unit 312 may include the trend in the standard deviation of the number of alarms in the first period and the second period. This trend in the standard deviation can be calculated by replacing the average number of alarms in the calculation of the trend in the average number of alarms in the first period and the second period with the standard deviation of the number of alarms.

[0049] Furthermore, the statistical information that can be calculated by the statistical calculation unit 312 may include a change trend of the maximum number of alarms occurring per day in the first period and the second period. The change trend of the standard deviation can be calculated by replacing the average number of alarms occurring in the calculation of the change trend of the average number of alarms occurring per day in the first period and the second period described above with the maximum number of alarms occurring per day.

[0050] 4 further shows statistical information regarding the number of days since the occurrence of an alarm, including the latest alarm (number of days), the oldest alarm (number of days), and the longest alarm (number of days). The latest alarm (number of days) is the number of days since the last occurrence of an alarm of the same type (the most recent alarm occurrence). For example, if the current date is January 20, 2020, and the most recent occurrence of an alarm of the target type is January 15, 2020, the latest alarm (number of days) is 5.

[0051] The oldest alarm [days] is the number of days since the first occurrence of the same type of alarm (oldest date). For example, if the current date is January 20, 2020, and the oldest occurrence date of an alarm of the target type is January 14, 2020, the oldest alarm [days] is 6.

[0052] The maximum number of days since the alarm occurred is the number of days since the maximum number of alarms of the same type occurred in a single day. For example, if the current date is January 20, 2020, and the maximum number of alarms of the target type occurred on January 17, 2020, the maximum number of days since the alarm occurred is 3.

[0053] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 2, the reception unit 313 receives inputs, instructions, selections, etc. of various information in response to operations by the operator. For example, the reception unit 313 receives instructions for transitioning display screens, designation of planned shutdown periods, inputs, selections, and selections of periods during which alarms for calculating statistical information have occurred.

[0054] The display control unit 314 generates display data based on the acquired process data, alarm information, and various statistical information calculated based on the alarm information, and causes a display screen based on the display data to be displayed on the display device 32. That is, the display control unit 314 controls the display of information related to the operating state of the plant 1, such as displaying the process data and statistical information on alarms and issuing alarms on the display device 32. Examples of screens displayed on the display device 32 will be described later.

[0055] The alarm information DB 33A stores alarm information acquired from the alarm determination unit 315. That is, the alarm information DB 33A stores alarm information (alarm history information) related to alarms that have occurred so far. The alarm information includes, for example, an alarm item (alarm type), the date and time of the alarm occurrence, and the value of process data related to the alarm (for example, the value of the make-up water flow rate u1 or the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 determined to be abnormal).

[0056] The alarm statistical information DB 33B stores statistical information relating to the occurrence of alarms in the plant calculated by the statistics calculation unit 312. Examples of the statistical information are as described above.

[0057] The display device 32 displays various display screens including information related to the operation of the plant 1 based on the display data supplied by the display control unit 314. The various display screens displayed by the display device 32 will be described later.

[0058] As shown in Fig. 3, the system 30 physically includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 30a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 30b, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 30c, a communication unit 30d, an input unit 30e, and a display unit 30f, and these components are connected via a bus so as to be able to transmit and receive data to and from each other. Each functional block of the system 30 shown in Fig. 2 is realized by the physical configuration shown in Fig. 3.

[0059] Although the present embodiment describes a case in which the system 30 is configured with a single computer, the system 30 may be realized by combining multiple computers. For example, in addition to the display unit 30f, a display constituting a different display unit for displaying other information may be provided. The system 30 may also be configured with a tablet terminal. By configuring the system 30 with a tablet terminal, the system 30 can be carried around and used, for example, while patrolling the plant 1. The configuration shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the system 30 may have other configurations or may not have some of these configurations. Furthermore, some of the configurations may be provided in a remote location. For example, the control unit 31 including the CPU 30a may be provided in a remote location. In this case, the display device 32 including the display unit 30f may be configured to receive control signals generated by the control unit 31 provided in the remote location via a network.

[0060] The CPU 30a is a calculation unit that controls the execution of programs stored in the RAM 30b or the ROM 30c and calculates and processes data. The CPU 30a is a calculation unit that executes a program (monitoring program) that displays graphs and descriptions of process data of the plant 1. The CPU 30a receives various data from the input unit 30e and the communication unit 30d, and displays the calculation results of the data on the display unit 30f or stores them in the RAM 30b.

[0061] The RAM 30b is a rewritable storage device among the storage units, and may be configured with a semiconductor storage element such as a DRAM or an SRAM. The RAM 30b may store data such as programs executed by the CPU 30a and process data of the plant 1. Note that these are merely examples, and the RAM 30b may store data other than these, or may not store some of these data.

[0062] The ROM 30c is a memory from which data can be read, and may be configured, for example, with a semiconductor memory element such as a flash memory. The ROM 30c may store, for example, computer programs for executing the various processes described in this embodiment and data that is not to be rewritten. The data that is not to be rewritten includes, for example, information regarding the plant 1 and the specifications of components of the plant 1. The ROM 30c may also store, for example, process data of the plant 1, information regarding generated alarms, and data such as planned shutdown periods.

[0063] The communication unit 30d is an interface that connects the system 30 to other devices, and may be connected to a communication network such as the Internet.

[0064] The input unit 30e receives data input in response to operations by an operator, and may include, for example, a keyboard and a touch panel.

[0065] The display unit 30f has a screen that visually displays the results of calculations performed by the CPU 30a, and may be configured, for example, by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display unit 30f may display graphs of process data and explanatory text. The display unit 30f may also be configured so that a single screen is configured by connecting multiple displays.

[0066] A computer program for executing the various processes described in this embodiment may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as the ROM 30c, or may be provided via a communication network connected by the communication unit 30d. In the system 30, the CPU 30a executes the monitoring program to realize various operations included in this embodiment. Note that these physical configurations are merely examples and do not necessarily have to be independent configurations. For example, the system 30 may include an LSI (Large-Scale Integration) in which the CPU 30a and the RAM 30b or the ROM 30c are integrated.

[0067] 3, the system 30 may also include a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD). The data stored in the storage device is processed by the CPU 30a. The data resulting from the processing by the CPU 30a is also stored in the storage device.

[0068] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the transitions between various display screens displayed on the display device 32 in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the display device 32 displays a login display screen DP0, a statistical information display screen DP1, and an alarm map display screen DP2. The arrows between the display screens shown in FIG. 5 indicate the transitions between the display screens based on instructions from the operator. That is, in the system 30, transitions from the login display screen DP0 to the statistical information display screen DP1 and the alarm map display screen DP2 can be made based on instructions from the operator. Note that when transitions occur between display screens in the system 30, the previous display screen may be replaced with the next display screen, or the previous display screen may remain and the next display screen may be displayed together. The above-described display screens are merely examples, and the display device 32 may display display screens other than these display screens. For example, before transitioning to a certain screen shown in FIG. 5, transitions may be made to a screen not shown in FIG. 5 (e.g., a menu screen), the statistical information display screen DP1 may include multiple types of screens, and the alarm map display screen DP2 may include multiple types of screens.

[0069] The login display screen DP0 displays information necessary for the operator to log in to the system 30. The information necessary for logging in includes, for example, the operator's user ID and password. The login display screen DP0 accepts input of the user ID and password from the operator. From the login display screen DP0, transitions to a statistical information display screen DP1, an alarm map display screen DP2, and the like are possible.

[0070] The statistical information display screen DP1 is a screen that displays statistical information of alarms that have occurred in the plant 1 as the operating status of the plant. The statistical information displayed on the statistical information display screen DP1 is statistical information calculated by the statistics calculation unit 312. The statistical information of alarms displayed on the statistical information display screen DP1 may be displayed in a manner associated with the type of alarm that has occurred. Displaying statistical information in a manner associated with the type of alarm that has occurred means that the statistical information and the type of alarm are displayed so that the statistical information for a certain type of alarm can be easily understood. For example, displaying statistical information in a manner associated with the type of alarm that has occurred includes displaying the type of alarm and the statistical information corresponding to that type of alarm side by side.

[0071] The alarm map display screen DP2 is a screen displayed to assist the operators of the plant 1 in determining whether any action needs to be taken in response to an alarm that has occurred. The alarm map display screen DP2 displays, for example, the importance or urgency of the action to be taken in response to an alarm that has occurred. The importance or urgency of the action may be determined, for example, based on the average number of alarms that have occurred in a predetermined period and the number of days on which alarms have occurred in the predetermined period. Specific examples of the alarm map display screen DP2 will be described later.

[0072] Next, an example of the statistical information display screen DP1 displayed on the display device 32 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The statistical information display screen DP1 shown in Fig. 6 includes an area R61 and an area R62.

[0073] Area R61 shows alarm information that has occurred in plant 1. The alarm information displayed in area R61 includes the date and time of the alarm that occurred in plant 1 (occurrence date and time) and the item of the alarm that occurred (alarm item). The alarm item indicates the type of alarm that has occurred. In the example shown in FIG. 6 , alarm items such as "Alarm A" and "Alarm B" are displayed. Furthermore, for each alarm that has occurred, the date and time of occurrence and the alarm item are displayed in association with each other.

[0074] Area R62 shows various statistical information about alarms that have occurred in plant 1. The statistical information about the alarms includes statistical information for the past week, the past 1.5 months, and the past year. The statistical information about the alarms further includes statistical information about the change trend and the number of days elapsed. The meanings of each piece of statistical information have been explained with reference to FIG. 4, so explanation of the meanings of each piece of statistical information will be omitted here.

[0075] As described above, according to this embodiment, the display device 32 displays statistical information about alarms that have occurred in the plant 1 in association with the type of alarm. As a result, the operators of the plant 1 can grasp statistical information about the occurrence of each alarm type up to now. Furthermore, based on the statistical information, the operators can grasp the occurrence trend of the currently occurring alarm (for example, whether the alarm occurs frequently), and as a result, can determine the urgency or importance of taking action against the alarm.

[0076] Furthermore, the statistical information displayed on the display device 32 includes information on the trend of changes within a predetermined period (for example, short or medium term), which allows the operators of the plant 1 to grasp the trend of alarm occurrences up to now, and by comparing this with the trend, determine whether the alarm that has occurred recently differs from the previous trend, and determine the urgency or importance of taking action against the alarm.

[0077] Next, an example of an alarm map display screen DP2 displayed on the display device 32 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 shows, as the alarm map display screen DP2, an alarm map that represents the relationship between the average number of alarm occurrences (average [times / day]) in a predetermined period (e.g., one year) and the percentage of days on which an alarm occurred in the predetermined period (e.g., one year) (alarm day rate [%]). For example, the alarm day rate [%] for one year (365 days) is calculated using the following formula: alarm day rate [%] = {(number of days on which an alarm occurred in one year) / 365} x 100

[0078] Point a1 is a point plotted (mapped) at a corresponding position on the alarm map based on the average [number of times / day] and daily rate [%] of alarms of the same type as the alarm that has occurred.

[0079] The alarm map shown in FIG. 7 is divided into four regions, R61 to R64. R61 is a region where both the average [times / day] and the alarm day rate [%] are low. R62 is a region where the average [times / day] is low and the alarm day rate [%] is high. R63 is a region where the average [times / day] and the alarm day rate [%] are high. R64 is a region where the average [times / day] is high and the alarm day rate [%] is low.

[0080] If an alarm that has occurred is plotted in region R61, the alarm may not be an alarm that has occurred frequently statistically, but may be an unusual alarm, and therefore may be judged to require a high level of urgency or importance of treatment.

[0081] If an alarm that has occurred is plotted in area R62, the alarm is likely to occur regularly due to its high daily alarm rate [%], and therefore it may be determined that the urgency or importance of treatment is low.

[0082] When an alarm that has occurred is plotted in region R63, the alarm has a high average [times / day], but also a high daily alarm rate [%], so it is likely to occur regularly, and therefore the urgency or importance of treatment may be judged to be low.

[0083] If an alarm that has occurred is plotted in region R64, the alarm has a low alarm occurrence rate [%] and a high average [times / day], and therefore may be occurring disproportionately at a particular time (for example, when plant 1 is started up). In this case, the alarm may be determined to have low urgency or importance for action.

[0084] Point a1 is shown in region R61. Therefore, according to the above, the alarm map display screen DP2 indicates that the alarm related to point a1 is an alarm of high urgency or importance for treatment. Similarly, according to the above, if a point corresponding to an alarm is displayed in region R62, R63, or R64, the alarm map display screen DP2 indicates that the alarm is of low urgency or importance for treatment.

[0085] As described above, according to this embodiment, the display device 32 displays the severity or urgency of measures to be taken for an alarm, determined based on the average number of alarms occurring in a predetermined period and the number of days on which alarms occurred in the predetermined period. As a result, operators of the plant 1 can easily determine whether or not to take action on an abnormality related to an alarm that has occurred. It is also possible to use the alarm map display screen DP2 shown in FIG. 7 to understand trends in improvement or deterioration of the operational status based on changes in alarm occurrence over time. For example, by comparing the alarm map display screen DP2 mapping alarms occurring in the past year with the alarm map display screen DP2 mapping alarms occurring in the past week, it is possible to understand which areas of the alarm map display screen DP2 (which areas of areas R61 to R64) have increased or decreased in alarms over the past week compared to the past year. Such analysis allows for macro- and long-term plant operation management or the creation of guidelines. Furthermore, by changing the highlighting method (for example, size) of the mapped mark depending on the impact of the alarm that has occurred, it is possible to easily grasp the impact of the alarm that has occurred.

[0086] [Display Method] Next, a processing flow by the system 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 8. This flowchart particularly shows a processing flow for displaying information related to an alarm that has occurred in the plant 1. This processing is executed under the control of the control unit 31. Note that the content and order of the steps shown below are merely an example, and the operation processing is not limited to this.

[0087] First, while the plant 1 is in operation, the acquisition unit 311 acquires process data of the plant 1 from the DCS 20 (S11). The acquisition unit 311 may store the process data sequentially supplied from the DCS 20 in the storage unit 33 or the like. Thereafter, the alarm determination unit 315 evaluates the process data acquired in step S11 based on alarm determination logic and determines whether an alarm has been issued due to an abnormality occurring in the plant 1. If the alarm determination unit 315 determines that a predetermined abnormality has occurred in the plant 1 and that an alarm needs to be issued (Yes in step S13), the process proceeds to step S14. Otherwise (No in step S13), the process shown in FIG. 8 ends.

[0088] In step S14, the statistics calculation unit 312 calculates statistical information about the alarm that has occurred. The statistical information is calculated based on, for example, alarm information about an alarm that has occurred in the past and alarm information about an abnormality that is determined to have occurred in step S13. Note that the alarm information about the abnormality that is determined to have occurred in step S13 does not have to be used to calculate the statistical information in step S14. Examples of the calculated statistical information and the method for calculating the statistical information have already been described with reference to FIG. 4 etc.

[0089] Next, the display control unit 314 controls the display device 32 to display alarm information about the abnormality determined to have occurred in step S13 and the statistical information calculated in step S14 (S15). For example, the display control unit 314 controls the display device 32 to display statistical information about alarms that have occurred in the plant 1 in association with the type of alarm. Examples of statistical information displayed by the display device 32 are as described with reference to FIG. 6 etc.

[0090] Next, the display control unit 314 classifies the alarm for the abnormality determined to have occurred in step S13 (S16), and controls the display device 32 to display the alarm classification results (S17). For example, the severity or urgency of the measures to be taken for the alarm is determined based on the average number of alarms occurring in a predetermined period and the number of days on which alarms occurred in the predetermined period, and the alarm is classified based on the determination results. The alarm classification results according to the severity or urgency of the measures to be taken are displayed on the display device 32, for example, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0091] As described above, according to this embodiment, the display device 32 displays, for example, statistical information on alarms that have occurred in the plant 1 in association with the type of alarm. As a result, it becomes possible to easily grasp the trend of alarm occurrence in the past.

[0092] As a modification of the process shown in FIG. 8, the system 30 may not perform the processes of steps S16 and S17, and an operator or the like may classify the alarm (determine the severity or urgency of the measures to be taken).

[0093] The embodiments described in the above embodiments can be combined, modified, or improved as appropriate depending on the application, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such combinations, modifications, or improvements are also included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0094] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...plant, 2...furnace, 2a...fuel supply port, 2b...gas outlet, 2c...air supply line, 2d...discharge port, 3...cyclone, 3a...exhaust gas flow path, 4...circulating material recovery pipe, 4a...loop seal section, 5...rear flue, 6...furnace wall pipe, 7...pump, 7a...pump, 8...steam drum, 8a...downcomer pipe, 8b...saturated steam pipe, 10...superheater, 10a...pipe, 12...economiser, 13...area, 21...pipe, 22...pipe, 30...system, 30a...CPU, 30d...communication section, 30e...input section, 30f...display section, 31...control section, 32...display device, 100...turbine, 102...condenser, 311...acquisition section, 312...statistics calculation section, 313...reception section, 314...display control section, 315...alarm determination section

Claims

1. A display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and that displays statistical information for each type of alarm that has occurred in the plant in a manner that corresponds to the type of alarm.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the statistical information includes information on a change trend within a predetermined period.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the change trend includes a change trend of the average number of occurrences of the alarm in a first period and a second period.

4. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the change trend includes a change trend of the standard deviation of the number of occurrences of the alarm in a first period and a second period.

5. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the change trend includes a change trend of the maximum number of occurrences of the alarm per day in a first period and a second period.

6. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the statistical information includes information on the number of days that have passed since the first or last alarm occurred.

7. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the statistical information includes information on the number of days that have passed since the day on which the maximum number of alarms was issued per day.

8. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which displays the seriousness or urgency of measures to be taken in response to the alarm, determined based on the average number of occurrences of the alarm in the specified period and the number of days on which the alarm occurred in the specified period.

9. A control device that controls a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires alarm information regarding alarms that have occurred in the plant; a calculation unit that calculates statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the alarm information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a display control unit that associates the calculated statistical information with the type of alarm and displays it on the display device.

10. A control device as described in claim 9, further comprising a reception unit that receives a selection of a period, and wherein the display control unit causes the display device to display the statistical information for the selected period in association with the type of alarm.

11. A control method for controlling a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, comprising: acquiring alarm information regarding alarms that have occurred in the plant; calculating statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the acquired alarm information; and displaying the calculated statistical information in association with the type of alarm on the display device.

12. A control method as described in claim 11, which includes accepting a selection of a period, and wherein the displaying includes displaying on the display device the statistical information for the selected period in association with the type of alarm.

13. A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, the control method including: acquiring alarm information regarding alarms that have occurred in the plant; calculating statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the acquired alarm information; and displaying the calculated statistical information in association with the type of alarm on the display device.

14. The program according to claim 13, further comprising accepting a selection of a period, and wherein said displaying includes displaying on said display device the statistical information for the selected period in association with the type of alarm.