Alarm Management System Interface Logic
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current alarm management systems require significant manual training and skill development for operators to handle alarms efficiently, as they need prior knowledge of control parameters and familiarity with multiple user interfaces, leading to time-consuming navigation and potential missed critical alarms due to information overflow.
Innovation Solution
An alarm management system that defines and makes logical control objects directly accessible from the alarm display interface, reducing the need for manual training by associating alarm codes with logical control objects and rendering them in the alarm display interface, allowing operators to address alarms efficiently without navigating through multiple user interfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If operators are provided with comprehensive training and knowledge of control parameters and user interfaces, then alarm remediation capability is improved, but training time and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-configures alarm-specific control parameter sets and presents them automatically when an alarm occurs, eliminating the need for operators to have prior knowledge of which parameters to investigate. The control system proactively prepares and delivers the relevant information subset at the moment of alarm, rather than requiring advance training.
Solution Approach 2:
The alarm management system acts as an intermediary between the complex control system and the operator. It filters, organizes, and presents only the relevant control parameters and interface elements needed for alarm remediation, shielding the operator from the underlying complexity of the full control system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple user interfaces are provided for accessing control parameters, then functional versatility is improved, but navigation time and interface complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple interface functions into a single integrated alarm display interface. When an alarm occurs, the interface automatically combines alarm information with the specific control parameters and interface elements needed for remediation, eliminating the need for separate navigation to different user interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The alarm display interface is designed as a universal interface that can adaptively display different control parameters and interface elements depending on the alarm type. A single interface serves multiple functions: displaying alarm status, presenting relevant control parameters, and enabling direct manipulation of control elements without switching interfaces.
3Loss of information
If comprehensive alarm information is displayed to operators, then information completeness is improved, but alarm flooding and critical alarm obscuration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by tailoring the information display to the specific alarm context. Each alarm triggers a customized information subset that is locally optimized for that particular alarm type, rather than displaying all possible information uniformly. This ensures critical information is prominent while non-relevant information is excluded.
Solution Approach 2:
The alarm information is segmented into hierarchical levels of importance and relevance. The system divides the comprehensive control system information into discrete, alarm-specific subsets, presenting only the segments relevant to the current alarm condition. This segmentation prevents information overload while maintaining completeness of critical data.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses an alarm management system and a method for operating the same. The alarm management system is suitable for use in a control system. Accordingly to the techniques of the present invention, initially, one or more logical control objects are defined for regulating one or more control parameters in the control system. One or more of these logical control objects are associated with at least one alarm code based on a user input therefor. Subsequently, the information related to the alarm code along with corresponding logical control objects is maintained. Finally, at least one alarm message is received from the control system, and rendered, along with corresponding logical control objects based on the alarm code thereof, in an alarm display interface.