Industrial Alarm Management – The Strategy for Well-Managed Operations

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Industrial Alarm Management The Strategy for
Well-Managed Operations

• Everyone involved in the manufacturing process
  seeks safety and stability within the plant. It
  takes a lot of work and effort to maintain the
  security and integrity of an industrial plant or
  facility. Synonymous with safety, alarm
  management in an industrial plant is not just a
  theoretical philosophy but a way of life. It is
  not just another project that is carried out.
  Since you would never enter an industrial
  environment without the right gear, would you
  prefer working at a plant that has no proper
  alarm management? We bet you wont. Like all
  other components of a fully functional
  industrial facility, an alarm management system
  is highly critical and needs to be updated to
  match the plant's changing requirements.
• Before the Distributed Control System (DCS)
  became prevalent, in the early years of control
  systems, alarm configuration was done
  mechanically using annunciators, light boxes,
  etc. Ever since the introduction of the DCS, the
  cost of adding extra alarms has considerably
  decreased because the majority of the work can
  now be done by software. However, the operator
  will still be overloaded with unnecessary alarms
  if the control system is not handled properly.
• Let us look at some of the effective alarm
  management strategies that can help streamline
  operations within an industrial facility or
  plant. In addition, hiring professional alarm
  management services from industry specialists can
  also come in handy in most cases.
• Seven Key Steps for Alarm Management
• Below mentioned are seven critical steps for
  better alarm management, with alarm
  rationalisation being one of them.
• Alarm philosophy creation
• The alarm philosophy document is a critical
  element without which it would be impossible to
  establish an effective alert management system.
  The expected KPIs that will be used to gauge the
  effectiveness of the alarm management system are
  all listed in this document, which also serves
  as the foundation for the overall design
  standards.
• The alarm philosophy document must cover the
  interface design for the operator, making it
  simple to identify disruptions and have clear
  images.
• Alarm performance benchmarking
• Understanding the magnitude of the existing alarm
  problem is necessary to calculate the
  effectiveness of any alarm management system.
  What are the existing flaws in the control
  system? How many alarms are triggered each day,
  and how many alarms is the operator

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• handling on an hourly basis? Benchmarking is the
  place to start if you have any of these valid
  concerns. It would even be advantageous at this
  point to conduct research like HAZOP.
• Bad actor resolution
• The majority of alarms in the control system
  originate from a small number of sources, thus
  checking and repairing them will have a
  significant impact on the overall alarm count.
  Industrial facilities and plants might benefit
  from the assistance of an alarm management
  specialist like SAROM GLOBAL in developing a bad
  actor remediation checklist to keep the alarm
  systems completely under control.
• Documentation/rationalisation
• The most crucial step of alarm rationalisation is
  making sure that each modification is documented
  and that the alarm adjustments adhere to the
  alarm philosophy. By redesigning the DCS or
  implementing suppression techniques, meaningless
  alarms can be completely eliminated.
• Audit/Enforcement
• The hard work doesn't end once the
  rationalisation is over! If suitable change
  management controls aren't in place, the alarm
  system will revert to its previous actions. To
  guarantee that all modifications are
  implemented, think about using the Management of
  Change (MOC) method for the alarm system.
  Commissioning plant information management
  systems with assistance from alarm management
  service providers can also be useful. This can
  help in determining the changes to alarm
  settings and, if necessary, automatically
  enforcing the best ones.
• Real-time alarm management
• It is highly advisable to use alarm management
  strategies for routine activities that will
  assist rather than restrict the operator by
  offering alarm shelving, state-based alarming, or
  other alarm suppression technologies.
• Control and maintain performance
• It is essential to maintain compliance with the
  alarm philosophy by regularly monitoring the
  alarm KPIs and making any necessary adjustments
  using a MOC-style method. Designate an "alarm
  champion" that will be in charge of handling
  ongoing problems. However, always keep in mind
  that managing alarms is a multi-step process.
• Highly critical industries like chemical, oil and
  gas, refinery, and petrochemical require top-
  class safety and security systems to identify and
  prevent any types of hazardous situations.
  Effective alarm management provides a clear view
  of the operating conditions by removing any
  blind spots that might cause unexpected plant
  downtime and emergencies. The above- mentioned
  strategies not only warrant the safety of the
  facility and its occupants but also streamline
  operations.

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