Alarm Control Apparatus Prioritizing Plant Signals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing alarm control systems in plants mix important alarms with negligible ones, requiring operators and maintenance staff to conduct cumbersome checks, lack customization for adding user-specific information, and cannot stop unnecessary alarm deliveries.
Innovation Solution
An alarm control apparatus with a defining section for customizing a conditioning process, including filtering, significance change, and message attachment, which executes an if-then rule-based filtering process to prioritize and manage alarms effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all alarms from the plant are collected and delivered to operators and maintenance staff, then complete alarm information is provided, but the operators and maintenance staff must conduct cumbersome checking operations and there is a risk of overlooking important alarms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments alarms into different priority levels (first priority, second priority, third priority) based on their significance. This segmentation allows the system to present only relevant alarms to operators at different levels, reducing the cognitive load and checking operations required while maintaining reliable detection of important alarms through the priority classification system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing system between the alarm collection and the operator. This intermediary automatically analyzes incoming alarms, determines their priority levels based on predefined criteria, and routes them appropriately. This mediator eliminates the need for operators to manually check all alarms while ensuring important alarms are reliably identified and delivered to the right personnel.
2Productivity
If the alarm control apparatus delivers all alarm information without customization, then all alarm data is provided, but fine-tuned delivery service is not available and unnecessary alarms are delivered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic alarm delivery by allowing the system to adapt its delivery behavior based on alarm priority and recipient preferences. High-priority alarms are automatically delivered to relevant personnel, while lower-priority alarms can be filtered or delayed. This dynamic approach improves delivery efficiency by reducing unnecessary notifications while maintaining the ability to customize delivery parameters for different users and alarm types.
3Reliability
If the alarm control apparatus delivers all alarms including those not requiring delivery, then complete alarm coverage is achieved, but unnecessary alarm deliveries occur reducing operational efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes unnecessary alarms from the delivery stream while retaining complete alarm coverage in the system. Through priority-based filtering and customizable delivery rules, the system extracts only the alarms that require delivery to specific personnel. This extraction process maintains reliable alarm coverage for monitoring purposes while eliminating wasteful deliveries that reduce operational efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
An alarm control apparatus which collects alarms from a plant and handles the alarms includes: a defining section for defining a conditioning process which is executed when performing a filtering process on the alarms; and a filtering section for performing the filtering process on the collected alarms in accordance with the conditioning process defined by the defining section.