Alarm systems are vital tools for modern plant operations, providing critical alerts when equipment malfunctions or process deviations occur. However, without a proper alarm management system in place, it’s easy for operators to experience an “alarm flood,” overwhelming them with non-critical alerts that create distractions, reduce efficiency, and increase safety risks. If this sounds familiar, we can help you regain control. By implementing alarm rationalization, a systematic process that prioritizes actionable alarms and eliminates unnecessary noise, you can stop worrying about missing important warnings that can lead to costly shutdowns and unsafe working conditions.

WHY YOU NEED ALARM RATIONALIZATION

In general, with proper alarm rationalization, pertinent information, such as the meaning of an alarm, required responses, and the potential consequences of an alarm not being addressed, can be incorporated into the plant’s HMI, leading to improved situational awareness. Some more specific benefits of alarm rationalization include the following:

1. Enabling process improvements – Analyzing alarm patterns can reveal process inefficiencies and training gaps, leading to improved operations as improvements are implemented.
2. Enhancing training – Operators can gain clearer insights into alarm meanings and response times, reducing errors and turnover.
3. Fostering better communication with operators – Engaging operators in the process of developing your alarm rationalization criteria fosters ownership while better refining workflows based on their daily experience.
4. Increasing situational awareness – When alarms are more defined and organized, you can enhance your HMI to better inform operators.
5. Improving safety – Prioritizing critical alarms reduces the risk of overlooking urgent issues, creating a safer work environment.
6. Preserving knowledge – Documenting alarm data ensures long-term consistency and supports knowledge transfer.

GETTING STARTED WITH ALARM RATIONALIZATION

A good starting place for developing your alarm rationalization strategy is to use the framework provided by the International Society of Automation (ISA) in the ISA 18.2 standard. This standard outlines best practices for defining alarms, setting boundaries, and documenting responses. It also emphasizes prioritization, operator training, and continuous monitoring to maintain an optimized alarm system.

While implementing an alarm rationalization system using this standard as a guide may still seem like a daunting task, breaking the process down into manageable steps will ensure you’re covering all the questions and rationale needed to make a bigger system change. Outlined below is our recommend five-step process for getting started with alarm rationalization: 

1. Communicate the business need – Gain management buy-in by demonstrating the impact of alarm rationalization on safety, efficiency, and quality.
2. Audit current alarms – Analyze alarm frequency, timing, and triggers to identify unnecessary or redundant alerts.
3. Create a master alarm database (MADB) – Define alarm conditions, response actions, criticality, and the consequences of not responding in a timely manner to guide operators.
4. Design and implement system improvements – This includes configuring your DCS or PLCs to identify and “declare” alarms as well as incorporating MADB information into your SCADA so that it is easily available to operators on the HMI.
5. Maintain regular reviews – Establish a process for performing periodic assessments and gathering operator feedback to refine and adapt the system.

Overall, alarm rationalization isn’t just about reducing noise – it’s about empowering operators, improving safety, and optimizing processes. An experienced systems integrator such as ACE can help guide you through this procedure, facilitate working with process engineers to review your processes, look at existing alarms, and sit on a committee as a technical resource to provide guidance along the way.

Download our white paper, Fighting the Alarm Flood: How to Implement Alarm Rationalization in Your Plant, to learn more.