Alarm Management System with Segmented Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large-scale technical installations like power plants, existing alarm management systems overwhelm operators with numerous alarms, making it difficult to identify temporal relationships and prioritize messages, leading to delayed responses due to excessive noise from acoustic signals and limited SMS/email notifications.
Innovation Solution
An alarm management system with data processing devices that create alarm channels with specific boundary conditions for display modules, allowing only relevant alarms to be displayed, using comparison and fallback rules to manage and filter messages effectively, ensuring operators receive only critical alerts in a timely manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If all alarm messages are displayed to operators, then complete information is provided, but operator overload occurs and response time decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The alarm management system segments alarm messages into different channels based on priority levels, source systems, and operational context. High-priority alarms are routed to immediate attention channels with acoustic and visual notifications, while lower-priority alarms are directed to asynchronous channels like SMS or email. This segmentation allows operators to focus on critical alarms without being overwhelmed by the complete set of all alarms, thus maintaining information completeness while reducing operational overload.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the display and notification parameters for alarm messages based on their priority level and current system state. Critical alarms trigger immediate acoustic signals and prominent visual displays, while non-critical alarms use subdued notifications or asynchronous communication methods. This parameter adjustment ensures that operators receive comprehensive alarm information with varying intensity levels, preventing overload while maintaining complete awareness of system status.
2Ease of operation
If acoustic signals are used for high-priority alarms, then operator attention is captured, but noise pollution increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by providing acoustic signals only to specific alarm channels and locations where they are most needed. High-priority alarms originating from critical systems trigger acoustic notifications in control room displays, while lower-priority or non-urgent alarms use silent visual indicators or asynchronous notifications. This localized application of acoustic signals maintains effective alarm detection for critical issues while minimizing unnecessary noise pollution in the operational environment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If SMS/email notifications are used for alarms, then operator mobility is supported, but notification reliability decreases when alarm volume is high
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the notification method for each alarm message based on its priority level and the current alarm volume. When alarm volume is low, SMS and email notifications are used to support operator mobility and flexibility. However, when alarm volume exceeds thresholds or when critical alarms occur, the system dynamically switches to more reliable immediate notification methods such as acoustic signals and prominent visual displays in the control system. This dynamic adaptation maintains notification reliability across varying operational conditions while preserving operator flexibility when appropriate.
4Ease of operation
If multiple display channels are created for different alarm types, then alarm prioritization is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alarm management system implements multi-functionality by creating display channels that can handle multiple alarm types and priorities within a unified framework. Each channel is designed to accommodate various alarm sources, priority levels, and notification methods through configurable parameters rather than requiring separate dedicated displays for each alarm category. This universal channel structure improves alarm prioritization clarity while avoiding the exponential increase in system complexity that would result from creating entirely separate display systems for each alarm type.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an alarm management system for the management of alarm messages of a technical installation or of a technical process, the alarm messages being fed to a data processing system and being able to be displayed by means of display modules (41, 42, 43...4n). The data processing system comprises a module (10) for creating alarm channels (K1, K2, K3) for different ways of representing the pending alarm messages, each alarm channel (K1, K2, K3) created by the module (10) being associated with one of the display modules (41, 42, 43... 4n), and the display modules (41, 42, 43... 4n) providing forms of representation for the pending alarm messages as lists, alarm clouds, or displays in conjunction with acoustic signals and/or alarm records.