Alarm Management Strategies and Tactics

1
Alarm Management - Strategies and Tactics
MGMT02 Panel Session

• ISA EXPO 2000
• New Orleans, LA
• August 23, 2000

2
Panel Members Topics

• Getting Started
• Mike Clark, BP Amoco
• Alarm Objectives Analysis
• George Pohle, Equilon
• Implementing an Alarm Management Improvement
  Project
• Jim Cawood, Celanese
• Display Systems to Support Alarm Management and
  Alarm System Monitoring
• Tim Montgomery, Chevron

3
Establish An Alarm Philosophy

• Is there consistent understanding of the purpose
  and expectation of the alarm system in the plant?
  
• What is the purpose of an alarm?
• Does it demand operator action?
• Definition of alarm review process
• What are the rules for setting alarm priorities?
• Documentation
• What is captured for Management of Change?
• What alarms are logged? How long?
• What is the required reliability for an input?

4
Alarm Philosophy Issues

• Who is accountable for the alarm system?
• Performance Is it usable? Who says so?
• Alarm limits properly set?
• Adequate security i.e. Management of Change
• Basis for monitoring system? What is measured?
• New projects
• Consistent basis with alarms on existing units

5
Alarm Philosophy Issues

• How do you handle alarm inputs that also feed
  Safety Instrumented Systems?
• Degree of early warning vs redundancy
• Test frequency?
• Dynamic alarm modifications allowed?
• Boolean suppression reactivation of alarms?
• Shelving of alarms for a period of time?
• Modification of limits enabled states during
  procedures?

6
EMMUA Guide Reference

• Alarm Systems - A Guide To Design, Management
  and Procurement, EEMUA Publication No. 191, The
  Engineering Equipment and Materials Users
  Association, 1999.
• See http//www.eemua.co.uk/pub-folder/control.htm
• (you'll need to scroll down to Publication 191)
• Order info at http//www.eemua.co.uk/pub-folder/in
  dex.htm

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Alarm Objective Analysis (AOA)

• After setting the stage with philosophy and
  objective .. Decide what unit to do it on?
• Alarm flood history, work force change
• Resources required
• Doing it
• Learning's

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AOA Resources

• People
• Facilities
• Information

9
AOA Personnel Resources

• Team Dedicated to this task
• Facilitator
• Unit Operations Specialist
• someone certified for the board
• Foreman
• someone who knows outside tasks
• Process Engineer
• Other specialists as required
• rotating equipment, electrical, furnaces

10
AOA Facility Resources

• Dedicated room with table and chairs
• Overhead projector
• Wall space or table space for drawings
• Access to plant wide historian
• Bring in lunch

11
AOA Data Resources

• Drawings
• Existing Limits
• vessel ratings, pump ratings,
• relief valve settings, all emergency shutdown
  settings, auto pump start trip points,
• Existing Alarms Priorities
• Manuals, standing orders
• Environmental permits

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Doing the AOA

• Point by point ask
• Is an alarm required on this point?
• Why? What is the consequence of deviation?
• What setting? Why this setting?
• What is the inside and outside operator action
  associated with this alarm (remember philosophy)
  

13
AOA - Knowledge Capture

• An electronic knowledge capture tool maximizes
  investment in AOA
• MOC repository
• training resource
• decision support resource

14
Learning's

• 30 of all alarms have outside operator action
  only
• Over 60 of alarms receive the highest priority
• Have observed reduction in raw alarm count of 50
  on DCSs installed for longer then 5 years

15
Implementation

• More than a few priority and
• trip point changes

16
Implementation Approaches

• Priority and trip point changes
• Deletions
• Grouping
• Eclipsing
• Dynamic Alarming

17
Implementation Issues

• Standards or best practices
• Operator Interface
• Documentation
• Operator Training

18
Priority and Trip Point Changes

• Operator Training
• Is the priority system significantly different?
• Staged implementation with a mix of priorities
• Effective communication of new trip points
• Operator Interface Impact
• Will alarm be presented differently to operator?

19
Deletion

• Operator Training - dont want the operator
  waiting on the alarm before taking action
• Compound alarms
• Snooze alarms

20
Grouping

• Standards on how to group alarms
• High/low select blocks
• Programs
• Will the operator be able to see the grouped
  alarm?
• Documenting grouping
• Operator understanding that there will only be
  one not two alarms

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Eclipsing

• Standards on how to eclipse
• Operator training
• Documentation

22
Dynamic Alarming

• Depends on Operators Role
• Operator Training
• Documentation
• Presentation

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Alarm Presentation Practices

• Use Human Factors to Help Operator Quickly
  Recognize Plant State and Take Appropriate Action
  
• Provide a Common Interface to ALL Alarms - - -
  Critical or Otherwise
• Implement Displays That Support Operator Tasks
  and That Facilitate Navigation

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Alarm Presentation Practices

• Understand Operator Tasks
• Enlist Help of Operators
• Operators Look at Things Differently from
  Engineers
• OK to Have Same Info on Multiple Displays
• Make Displays Readable
• Consistent Color Scheme and Layout
• Keep Simple - Not Too Busy
• NO ANIMATION (When Status is OK)

25
A Busy Graphic
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
10
81FC2105
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
Z
100
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
81PI2102
81FC2109
890
V-310
81LC2102
Z
75
81PI2103
Z
51
800
FC2106
81FC2101
5
V-320
C 3 1 0
81FC2103
650
Z
52
LC2104
FC2110
200
81FC2102
390
1240
150
C 3 2 0
81FC2107
81PI2101
V-301
Z
50
150
81LC2101
48
81LC2103
81FC2111
Z
81FC2104
46
81FC2112
Z
Z
81LC2105
300
640
81FC2108
840
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Look Away
27
Whats Changed?
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
10
81FC2104
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
Z
100
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
81PI2103
81FC2104
890
V-310
81LC2103
Z
75
81PI2104
Z
51
750
FC2106
81FC2104
5
V-320
C 3 1 0
81FC2104
890
Z
52
LC2104
FC2110
200
81FC2104
390
1240
150
C 3 2 0
81FC2104
81PI2101
V-301
Z
50
150
81LC2101
48
81LC2102
81FC2104
Z
81FC2104
46
81FC2104
Z
Z
81LC2105
300
640
81FC2104
840
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Improved for Alarm Management
10
OK
Interlock Status
Z
100
890
Z
5
143
51
Z
800
220
75
A
247
Z
650
52
200
350
1240
390
A
150
Z
135
840
150
440
50
Z
48
550
Z
A
300
50
Z
640
B
Show Tags
Show Units
Show Eq. Nos
29
Look Away
30
Now Whats Changed?
10
OK
Interlock Status
Z
100
890
Z
5
143
51
Z
800
220
75
A
247
Z
650
52
100
370
1240
390
A
150
Z
135
840
150
440
50
Z
48
550
Z
A
300
50
Z
640
B
Show Tags
Show Units
Show Eq. Nos
31
Do People Really Make Graphics That Busy?
32
People Do!
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Alarm System Monitoring

• EEMUA Recommended Metrics
• Usefulness Questionnaire
• Alarm Rate - normal operation lt1/10 min
• Alarm Rate - upset operation lt10/10 min
• Average of Standing Alarms lt10
• Average of Shelved Alarms lt30
• 10 Worst Actor List address regularly
• UK HSE survey showed 1 per 2 min average

Reference EEMUA Alarm Systems Guide, pp 37-38
102-109
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Alarm System Monitoring

• EEMUA Recommended Metrics (cont.)
• Configured Alarms
• per controller lt6, preferably lt4
• per analog input lt2, preferably lt1
• per digital input lt0.6, preferably lt0.4
• Priority distribution
• Critical lt20 of total High Priority lt5
• Time in alarm monitor and understand
• Incidents reports that include alarm system

Reference EEMUA Alarm Systems Guide, pp 37-38
102-109
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Questions?