Alarm Management Using Trigger Alarms and On-Demand Secondary Alarm Review
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Solution Overview
Problem
In distributed control systems, when equipment abnormalities trigger secondary process abnormalities, the operator is overwhelmed with alarms (alarm flood), and relying solely on the trigger alarm for recovery may not resolve the issue efficiently.
Innovation Solution
An alarm management apparatus that presents a trigger alarm to the operator, stores suppressed alarms related to the trigger alarm, and displays them based on operator operations, optionally with emphasis if effective for resolution, to enhance recovery efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If all alarms indicating abnormalities are displayed on the monitoring screen, then the operator can see all alarm information, but the monitoring screen becomes covered in alarms (alarm flood), confusing the operator
Solution Approach 1:
The alarm information is segmented into trigger alarms and suppressed alarms. Trigger alarms are displayed on the monitoring screen to avoid alarm flood, while suppressed alarms are stored separately and can be viewed on demand through the alarm history function, thus resolving the contradiction between information completeness and operator confusion
Solution Approach 2:
The alarm management apparatus acts as an intermediary between the alarm generation sources and the operator. It filters and manages alarm information by identifying trigger alarms for immediate display and suppressed alarms for stored retrieval, preventing alarm flood while ensuring no information is lost
2Ease of operation
If only the trigger alarm is presented to the operator without suppressed alarms, then the monitoring screen is not covered in alarms, but the operator may overlook important suppressed alarm information
Solution Approach 1:
Suppressed alarms are preliminarily stored in the alarm management apparatus when they occur, rather than being displayed immediately. This allows the monitoring screen to remain clear while ensuring suppressed alarm information is preserved and can be retrieved later through the alarm history function
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback mechanisms through the alarm history function that allows operators to retrieve suppressed alarms on demand. This feedback loop ensures that important suppressed alarm information is not lost but remains accessible when needed for troubleshooting
3Loss of information
If suppressed alarms are stored and presented based on operator operation, then necessary secondary alarm information is provided without causing alarm flood, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alarm management apparatus performs multiple functions: it identifies trigger alarms, suppresses secondary alarms, stores suppressed alarms, and provides alarm history retrieval. This multi-functionality consolidates complex alarm management operations into a single universal system, managing complexity while preserving information
Data Source
AI summary
An alarm management apparatus of the present disclosure presents a trigger alarm, which should be presented to an operator, to the operator when the trigger alarm is included in an alarm that is received or generated. The alarm management apparatus stores a suppressed alarm related to the trigger alarm, without presenting the suppressed alarm to the operator, when the suppressed alarm is included in the alarm and presents the stored suppressed alarm to the operator based on an operation by the operator.