Graphical Alarm Dashboard for Industrial Failure Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern automation and control systems are complex and heterogeneous, making it difficult for operators to monitor equipment health and diagnose problems due to the overwhelming number of alarms and lack of intuitive visualization, especially when downstream consequences of upstream issues are involved.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for presenting a customizable graphical view of system status, incorporating dashboards that integrate live status and alarms, allowing operators to create visual representations of equipment and relationships, facilitating rapid identification of system failures through intuitive visualization and customizable dashboards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a textual alarm-based error reporting system is used to present prioritized list of failures, then specific information about problems is provided, but the system becomes difficult for operators to process when there are many alarms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional textual alarm lists to two-dimensional graphical displays that map alarms to their physical locations and relationships in the control system. This spatial dimension allows operators to visually comprehend system status and alarm relationships without being overwhelmed by text volume, resolving the contradiction between information completeness and operator processing ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates visual copies of the control system's physical layout and relationships in the graphical display interface. These graphical representations copy the actual system topology, equipment locations, and interconnections, allowing operators to understand alarm contexts without processing raw textual data, thus reducing cognitive load while preserving information.
2Reliability
If traditional alarm systems are used in complex automation and control systems, then all alarms are captured, but downstream consequences of upstream problems are more difficult to diagnose and prioritize
Solution Approach 1:
The graphical display system provides visual feedback that shows the relationships between upstream problems and downstream consequences. By mapping alarm propagation paths and system dependencies graphically, the system feedback mechanism helps operators understand causal relationships and prioritize diagnoses based on visual evidence of system state and alarm interconnections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the dimension of spatial and relational visualization to alarm data. Instead of flat textual lists, alarms are displayed in the context of their physical locations and system relationships, enabling operators to visually trace upstream-downstream problem propagation and prioritize diagnoses based on graphical system state information.
3Loss of information
If comprehensive monitoring of equipment health is implemented in large control systems, then system status information is complete, but the complexity of the monitoring system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The graphical display system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it displays alarm status, shows system topology, indicates equipment locations, visualizes alarm relationships, and provides navigation capabilities. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate monitoring systems into a single integrated interface, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive monitoring information.
Data Source
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AI summary
An embodiment of this disclosure provides a method for presentation of system alarms. The method includes obtaining (802) information associated with a plurality of sections in an industrial process control and automation system (100). The information includes, for each section of the plurality of sections, an operating status (306), an alarm status (308), and a location of each of the plurality of sections within the system. The method also includes displaying (804) a dashboard (302) including the plurality of sections in a hierarchical format. The method also includes, for each of the plurality of sections, displaying (806) an icon (304, 314-320) for the section and displaying (808) visual indicators for the alarm status of the section and the operating status of the section.