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Alarms and events
Issue
Messages
Events
Planning and designing your alarm system
It is generally agreed that the purpose of an alarm system is to announce to operators that
something is abnormal and that action is (or may be) required in response to that situation.
In an ideal world, operators would only see alarms for process events and states that require
specific operator action within a relatively short time. However, even in the most well-
designed alarm system, operators may find that the primary alarm summary display includes
alarms that are of no immediate operational relevance.
Other problems that can occur in alarm systems are:
Excessive standing alarms: When alarms are continually on the primary alarm summary
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display, operators often learn to ignore these alarms. This makes it less likely that
operators will see alarms that really do require action.
Alarm floods: When alarms are raised so quickly that operators do not have enough
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time to react to them, important alarms that require a prompt response become
obscured. In situations like this, the alarm system can hinder rather than support
effective operations.
A well-planned and thoughtfully designed alarm system that encompasses a range of
strategies and solutions can, however, minimize the number and type of alarms that prevent
operators from focusing on and dealing with the most urgent or important alarms at any given
time.
The following topics describe:
Honeywell product solutions that support effective alarm strategies
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Factors that contribute to excessive alarms
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Strategies for dealing with such factors
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Honeywell 2017
Comments
enough to be alarms.
When defining an alarm for certain types of standard point (status, analog and
accumulator), you can assign an appropriate message that helps operators
understand the significance of the alarm. (The Alarm Summary display only shows
basic details—such as the point ID, date/time and priority—which may not be
sufficient for operators.)
Consider your event storage and archiving needs. (Events include changes in
alarms, changes in point status and operator actions.)
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