Unified Interface for Legacy and Modern Control System Alarm Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial process control and automation systems often require the coexistence of legacy and modern control systems, leading to disparate user interfaces and operational challenges, particularly in alarm management, where legacy systems lack advanced features like alarm shelving and filtering, and are less intuitive, making it difficult for personnel to troubleshoot and maintain hybrid control systems.
Innovation Solution
A unified user interface is provided to manage both legacy and modern control systems, allowing for unified status and alarm reporting, enabling users to view and interact with both systems from a common interface, embedding advanced alarm management features in a system management dashboard, and presenting statuses and alarms from both systems in a single graphical display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If legacy control systems are used to maintain existing infrastructure, then system continuity and compatibility are preserved, but alarm management capabilities are limited and interfaces are less intuitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a modern control system as an intermediary layer between operators and legacy control systems. This intermediary provides advanced alarm management capabilities (shelving, filtering, prioritization) while communicating with legacy systems through standardized protocols, thus preserving legacy system continuity while enhancing operational capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The modern control system is designed to universally manage both legacy and modern control systems through a single interface. It provides multi-functional alarm management including shelving, filtering, prioritization, and notification routing that works across different control system types, eliminating the need for separate interfaces for each system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate control systems are maintained for legacy and modern operations, then existing systems continue to function, but personnel must learn multiple interfaces and systems become harder to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the management of legacy and modern control systems into a single unified interface. The modern control system consolidates alarm management functions for both system types, allowing operators to monitor and control diverse equipment through one standardized interface rather than multiple separate interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system is designed with universal capabilities to interface with multiple legacy systems and modern systems simultaneously. It provides a single standardized interface that adapts to different control system types, reducing the number of interfaces personnel must learn while maintaining compatibility with diverse systems.
3Ease of manufacture
If legacy control systems are used, then existing infrastructure is maintained, but advanced alarm management features like shelving and filtering are unavailable
Solution Approach 1:
The modern control system acts as an intermediary that receives alarm data from legacy systems and applies advanced alarm management features such as shelving, filtering, and prioritization before presenting alarms to operators. This allows legacy infrastructure to be maintained while adding modern alarm management capabilities through the intermediary layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The modern control system performs preliminary alarm management actions (filtering, shelving, prioritization) on alarms from legacy systems before they reach the operator interface. This preliminary processing enhances alarm management capabilities without requiring changes to the legacy infrastructure itself.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving information associated with one or more first alarms in a first control system and generating a graphical user interface containing information associated with a second control system. The method also includes presenting, in the graphical user interface, at least a portion of the information associated with the one or more first alarms. The method further includes receiving, from a user via the graphical user interface, an invocation of an alarm management function. In addition, the method includes performing the invoked alarm management function using at least one of the one or more first alarms. The alarm management function could include acknowledging, shelving, and/or filtering the at least one of the one or more first alarms. The first control system may not support acknowledging, shelving, and filtering of alarms, while the second control system may support acknowledging, shelving, and filtering of alarms.