The Master Alarm Database -Boosting Efficiency in Alarm Rationalization

Alarm Rationalization
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The Master Alarm Database:
Boosting Efficiency in Alarm Rationalization
JAMES FOX
APRIL 2025
As we reach the final blog in this series exploring the benefits of a Master Alarm Database (MADb), I want to take a moment to reflect on one of the most significant advantages it brings to the table: efficiency. Specifically, the efficiency gains when performing alarm rationalization and documentation. Before diving into these benefits, let’s have a quick look at what alarm rationalization and documentation entail and why they are critical to any industrial control system.
Alarm Rationalization

How ISA-18.2 Defines Alarm Rationalization and Documentation
 According to the ANSI/ISA-18.2 Alarm Management Standards, rationalization is:

“The process to review potential alarms using the principles of the alarm philosophy, to select alarms for design, and to document the rationale for each alarm.”

In simple terms, alarm rationalization is about ensuring that alarms in industrial environments — like power plants, water treatment facilities, data centres and oil & gas — are meaningful, actionable, and correctly prioritised. It aims to improve operator effectiveness and plant safety.

The documentation aspect refers to recording the results of the rationalization process. Standards like ANSI/ISA-18.2 and IEC 62682 require that every rationalized alarm’s attributes are meticulously documented, from alarm type and priority to operator actions and consequences of inaction. Typical examples of fields that need to be documented include:

  • Alarm type (e.g., high, low, off, on)
  • Alarm priority (e.g., high, medium, low)
  • Alarm class (e.g., safety, environmental, general)
  • Alarm setpoint or condition (e.g., off-normal)
  • Operator action (e.g., close valve, start pump)
  • Consequences of inaction (e.g., equipment damage, environmental release)
  • Probable causes (e.g., high temperature due to equipment failure)
  • Maximum allowable response time (e.g., 30 seconds)
  • Identification method (e.g., process variable crossing setpoint)
  • Need for advanced alarm techniques (e.g., suppression logic)
This documentation becomes part of the Master Alarm Database, a living record maintained for the life of the alarm system.

ISA-18.2 Compliance: Why Excel Falls Short in Alarm Management
Based on the companies I have worked with over the years, in my experience most people who have already embarked on an alarm management improvement journey to help increase their level of compliance with ISA-18.2 standards or other available alarm management standards and guidelines (IEC:62682 and EEMUA191), will have at some point opted to use Microsoft Excel as their MADb of choice, and those who haven’t started will probably be considering it. Why? Because the chances are their company will have licenses of Excel on hand and may also have a copy of their alarm configuration in a CSV file format, making it easy to get started on rationalizing their alarms without incurring any financial burdens. But the truth is, Excel simply isn’t designed to handle the complexities of ISA-18.2 alarm rationalization. Let me explain.

Excel is not a Database
Excel uses a grid-based system, storing information in rows and columns.

While it works well for straightforward data entry, it becomes cumbersome when dealing with hundreds or thousands of alarm fields to manage. Need to copy non-adjacent fields? Excel will facilitate the copy, but it won’t let you paste them into equivalent non-contiguous fields, making simple tasks frustratingly difficult.

In contrast, a dedicated MADb like ProcessVue Guardian treats each field independently. You can copy any field to another with ease — assuming the data type matches — and even copy multiple fields simultaneously. Rationalising one alarm and applying its configuration across hundreds of others becomes a breeze, saving significant time and effort.

Analysing Alarm Management data

Copy One Alarm to Many
This is where a Master Alarm Database has the advantage, it’s a database. Which means your alarm configuration isn’t stored in contiguous cells. You can access and work with each field individually. You can copy any field of an alarm to any other assuming it’s the same data type (Guardian performs logic data checks). This makes it easy to copy configuration from one alarm to other similar alarms. In fact, ProcessVue Guardian lets you copy multiple fields during the copy process. This means that you can rationalize a single alarm and then copy as much of that alarm’s configuration as you want across as many alarms as you need. Imagine a scenario, where you have a hundred pumps with alarms to rationalise. You could rationalise one of them and copy the rationalised alarm configuration to the other 99 alarms saving you time and effort.

Bulk Edits Made Simple
With ProcessVue Guardian, bulk edits are another game-changer. Instead of scanning through Excel rows, trying to spot common fields across hundreds of tags, Guardian presents you with a list of shared fields and lets you update them all in a single pass. It’s faster, clearer, and far less prone to human error.

Alarm Object Definition Templates
When rationalising alarms and documenting the rationale for them in accordance with ISA-18.2 alarm management, it’s not uncommon to find similar types of alarms that could benefit from information you have already entered for previous alarms of the same type. If using excel you could attempt to copy the information from the earlier tag if you can find it, or you could keep a list of common responses and information that you can use to copy and paste the information into, again this a manual task and is prone to human error. ProcessVue Guardian allows you to create alarm object definitions which contain the information associated with specific types of alarms, such as a storage tank, motor, or pump. You can rationalise and document one of these alarms and save the information as an alarm template, this template can be used to automatically populate synergistic alarms as you carry out your rationalization, speeding up your ISA-18.2 alarm rationalization activities.

Alarm Segregation and User Roles
Alarm segregation is another area where a MADb shines. In Excel, restricting access to alarms for different systems or teams is difficult at best. When you grant access to an excel file, the user is granted full access to the information within. Sure, you can copy alarms to different worksheets, hide columns and tabs, but this is a manual process and applied globally introducing additional setup time and challenges to rationalization activities. ProcessVue Guardian addresses this with project-based segregation. Projects are created, tags are added and users assigned to roles (Reviewer or Approver) and can only access projects they are part of, ensuring better control and security.

Management of Change
Whilst alarm changes can be carried out through a medium like excel, there is no traceability of who made the change and why, or if it was even considered. If you want to record this information it must be done manually and for every change, this soon becomes unmanageable when dealing with large numbers of alarms. A robust approval workflow is built into ProcessVue Guardian.  All changes to alarm configurations have to be approved before being deployed, this demonstrates that all changes are reviewed and considered. Reviewers make changes, Approvers sign them off, and every change creates a new draft that is stored in the database. This makes it easy to evidence that change management is in operation for all of your alarm configuration changes.

Audit Trails for Full Transparency
Audit trails provide a level of traceability that Excel simply cannot offer. ProcessVue Guardian logs every change, allowing you to track actions either by project or across the entire lifecycle of the alarm system.

Ensuring Consistency Through Alarm Philosophy
Another invaluable benefit of a Master Alarm Database like ProcessVue Guardian is its ability to embed sections of your alarm philosophy directly into the rationalization process. For example, priority methodologies can be incorporated into the system, ensuring that users have the information to rationalise alarms without having to consult the sites’ philosophy on alarms, and it ensures every user applies the same criteria when determining alarm priorities. This promotes a consistent approach to ISA-18.2 alarm management, regardless of who is performing the rationalization.

With this kind of structure in place, you can ensure that everyone rationalises alarms in accordance with the company’s established alarm philosophy. Whether it’s setting response times, identifying probable causes, or defining operator actions, the MADb acts as a guiding framework that helps prevent subjective decision-making and reinforces best practices across the board.
Conclusion
While Excel may seem like an accessible entry point into alarm rationalization, the reality is that its limitations quickly become apparent. A dedicated Master Alarm Database like ProcessVue Guardian not only streamlines the process but also ensures accuracy, security, and traceability every step of the way. For anyone serious about effective alarm management, the choice is clear. Thank you for following along in this series. I hope it has shed some light on the incredible value a MADb can bring to your alarm management processes. If you’re considering making the switch or want to dive deeper, I encourage you to explore further. Trust me, your future self will thank you.
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How the Master Alarm Database Can Help Tackle the Silent Threat of Unauthorised Changes

Workers discussing industrial change management
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How the Master Alarm Database Can Help Tackle the Silent Threat of Unauthorised Changes
JAMES FOX
FEBRUARY 2025
In my last blog, part of a series exploring the features and benefits of the Master Alarm Database (MADb), we examined who should use a MADb, why they should use one, and when to derive the most value. Continuing the series, this blog focuses on how the MADb can assist with management of change (MOC), particularly its ability to identify unauthorised changes to control systems and support best practices in change management.
Workers discussing industrial change management
The Importance of Change Management in Industrial Operations

In the competitive industrial manufacturing landscape, where efficient operations can determine success or failure, optimised alarm configurations are critical. A company’s reputation is often measured by its environmental impact and operational efficiency. Implementing effective alarm configurations ensures facilities operate efficiently and cost-effectively, helping businesses stay ahead.

However, deviations from approved alarm configurations can have significant reputational and financial consequences. Unauthorised changes can increase operating costs, impact maintenance and safety, and disrupt operations. What may seem like a minor adjustment can trigger a cascade of inefficiencies, resulting in financial and operational nightmares.

The Hidden Danger of Inefficient Configurations

Imagine a seemingly minor adjustment to an industrial control system, such as a small change in a production line’s temperature setting or the unapproved modification of a motor’s speed. Initially, everything appears normal. But over time, energy consumption rises, equipment underperforms, and production efficiency declines. In worst-case scenarios, these inefficiencies may lead to operational disruptions.

Beyond energy costs, inefficient configurations result in suboptimal performance. Machines running outside their ideal parameters experience accelerated wear and tear, leading to increased maintenance expenses and reduced lifespan. In some cases, improper configurations cause frequent breakdowns, forcing companies to allocate substantial budgets for repairs and replacements.

Product quality is another key concern. Incorrect system configurations can cause defects, leading to costly rework or wasted materials. For example, an incorrect pressure setting on a production line could result in defective products, increasing material waste and operational downtime.

The Cybersecurity Angle

Unauthorised changes are not always internal actions. Cybersecurity threats are a growing concern, as malicious actors can introduce inefficiencies to disrupt operations. Attackers gaining unauthorised access to control systems may manipulate configurations, making tracing disruptions challenging. This highlights the need for secure control systems to prevent both intentional breaches and unintended misconfigurations. 

cybersecurity expert
The Role of Alarm Management Standards

Given the potential impact of unauthorised changes, it is no surprise that alarm management standards emphasise their importance. The ISA-18.2 standard, for instance, considers the number of unauthorised alarm configuration changes as a key metric for assessing alarm management commitment. Without proper monitoring, identifying and investigating these changes becomes impossible.

Mitigating the Risk of Unauthorised Changes

To prevent costly inefficiencies, robust access controls must be in place. Every control system change should be logged and authorised by appropriate personnel. In my experience many SCADA and DCS systems lack detailed audit trails for MOC, providing only basic details like who made a change. The absence of contextual information often necessitates cumbersome manual documentation processes, delaying approval and implementation.

However, these traditional approaches fall short in identifying unauthorised changes, making it difficult to take corrective action. This is where a Master Alarm Database like ProcessVue Guardian can significantly improve change management procedures.

ProcessVue Guardian and Change Management

ProcessVue Guardian serves as the central repository for alarm configurations, enabling structured and secure change management through several key features:

  • Comparison Between MADb and Live Systems

    Once alarm configurations are imported into ProcessVue Guardian, rationalised, and deployed, a comparison can be performed between the MADb and the live system. By exporting the running alarm configuration and re-importing it into Guardian, users can highlight unauthorised changes and investigate them. If necessary, these changes can be rolled back, preventing unnecessary wear and tear on operations.

  • Approval Workflow for Controlled Changes

    An approval workflow ensures that alarm configuration changes undergo review and authorisation before deployment. Changes must be assessed and approved by designated personnel. Only approved changes can be implemented, ensuring that all modifications are considered before application.

  • Projects for Structured Alarm Management

    ProcessVue Guardian utilises projects to structure alarm rationalisation and documentation activities. Projects allow segmentation of alarms and restrict access to authorised personnel, ensuring only designated users can modify configurations. This enhances security and accountability in alarm management.

  • Comprehensive Audit Trails

    Every alarm configuration change is automatically recorded, detailing who made the change, what was modified, and when the change occurred. This full audit trail simplifies compliance reviews and enhances transparency in MOC practices.

  • Version Control for Tracking Changes

    ProcessVue Guardian employs a robust version control system, applying both minor and major version numbers to alarm configurations. Minor versions track iterative changes, while major versions indicate full deployments. This systematic tracking enables users to monitor and manage configuration history effectively.

Final Thoughts

Industrial engineers play a crucial role in optimising systems to maximise efficiency and minimise costs. Inefficient configurations pose a silent yet significant threat, potentially leading to severe financial and operational consequences. By leveraging a Master Alarm Database like ProcessVue Guardian, organisations can enhance their management of change governance, promptly identify unauthorised modifications, and protect their operations, bottom line, and environmental impact.

With ProcessVue Guardian, facilities can ensure a structured, secure, and efficient approach to alarm management, enabling them to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive industrial landscape.

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Master Alarm Database – What, Why and When?

Master Alarm Database
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Master Alarm Database
What, Why and When?
JAMES FOX
JANUARY 2025

In my role here at ProcessVue as Product Delivery Manager, I am fortunate to meet and talk with a wide array of people from different industries who are encountering challenges with their alarms and alarm systems. During these conversations, we inevitably touch upon how they are currently managing their alarms and the topic of best practices.

From these conversations several common questions often arise: “What is a Master Alarm Database?”, “Do I need one?”, and “When is the best time to implement one?”

These are all excellent questions and make a perfect topic for a blog. So, here we are on a cold winter’s morning in January.

Over the next few months, I will write a series of blogs focusing on the Master Alarm Database (MADb) and the benefits it brings. I will use ProcessVue’s Master Alarm Database (ProcessVue Guardian) to help illustrate my points, as it’s the Master Alarm Database I am familiar with and have easy access to. A brief introduction to ProcessVue Guardian is warranted to set the scene.

ProcessVue Guardian can be described as a Master Alarm Database that provides a centralised, compliance-focused alarm management platform. It is designed to help and streamline the lifecycle of alarms within industrial or process control environments, including pharmaceutical, oil & gas, chemical processing and power generation industries to name but a few.

Master Alarm Database
What is a Master Alarm Database (MADb)?

A MADb is a database of your alarm configurations and their associated settings. It serves as a single point of reference for all alarm-related information. Whether you want to know the cause of an alarm, the consequence of missing it, or simply examine its configuration, the MADb provides easy access to that information.

The MADb extracts the alarm configuration from the alarm system and its associated control environment while transforming it into the ideal format for making changes during alarm rationalisation.

Because the MADb is a database, it can hold additional information about alarms, information not easily stored in the alarm system such as the supporting details mentioned in the ISA-18.2 Alarm Management Standards. Including the cause of an alarm, the consequence of missing it, and the actions operators should take to mitigate the issue. This additional information ensures that operators and engineers have a deeper understanding of the alarms, their purpose, and their criticality.

Who Should Use It?
MADbs are relevant to all businesses regardless of size, from small and medium-sized facilities to large-scale industrial plants, manufacturing operations and utilities.
A MADb provides value to:

  • Multi-Site Operations:

    Ensures a consistent approach to alarm management practices across multiple locations.

  • Industries with Complex Systems:

    Supports operations with numerous interconnected systems, such as oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, and power generation.

  • Organisations Focused on Safety, Productivity, and Reputation

    Essential for businesses where mismanagement of alarms can damage operations, profitability, or reputation.

When Should It Be Used?

While a MADb is often introduced at the beginning of an alarm rationalisation project, its utility extends across the entire alarm management lifecycle.

A solution like ProcessVue Guardian supports the following lifecycle steps:

  • Alarm Identification and Prioritisation

    Helps classify alarms based on importance and compliance requirements.

  • Alarm Rationalisation

    Facilitates efficient review, modification, and optimisation of alarm configurations promoting a standardised approach.

  • Operations

    Facilitates an alarm response manual, providing guidance to operators when less frequent alarms annunciate, that same information can be used to form the basis of operator training.

  • Ongoing Maintenance and Compliance

    Serves as the central repository for all alarm-related information, ensuring consistency, compliance, and continuous improvement.

Why Is It Important?

The importance of a MADb cannot be overstated. Alarm mismanagement can lead to alarm floods, missed critical events, and, ultimately, safety incidents or operational inefficiencies. A MADb not only mitigates these risks but also drives improved productivity, regulatory compliance, and standardisation.

By centralising alarm information, facilitating rationalisation, and supporting compliance, a MADb ensures that businesses can focus on proactive alarm management rather than firefighting issues.

In the coming blogs, I will dive deeper into specific aspects of the Master Alarm Database, exploring how ProcessVue Guardian assists with efficient alarm rationalisation, the standardisation of alarms and management of change.

Stay tuned as we explore the transformative power of a well-implemented MADb.

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The Key to Standardised Alarm Management

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The Master Alarm Database:
The Key to Standardised Alarm Management
JAMES FOX
NOVEMBER 2024

Introduction

As someone who has worked extensively with complex alarm systems across multiple sites, I’ve come to understand the importance of centralising and standardising alarm management. One of the most powerful tools in achieving this is a Master Alarm Database (MADb). There are many benefits to implementing a Master Alarm Database, in this blog I’ll focus on the ability it provides to centrally manage your alarms.
The Power of Standardisation Across the Enterprise

One of the most immediate benefits of a MADb is its ability to standardise alarms across the entire organisation. Before implementing a MADb, it is common to find variations in how the same types of alarms are described or prioritised from one site to another. These inconsistencies often lead to confusion, inefficiencies, and occasionally, delayed responses during critical moments.

With a MADb you can implement a standardised alarm framework. Every alarm, regardless of where it’s triggered, is described and categorised in a consistent manner across the whole enterprise with approved sets of alarm response procedures. This common language will simplify training, improve operator understanding, and create uniformity in how alarms are perceived and managed.

Having a standardised set of alarms means that anyone in the organisation can work with any site’s alarm system confidently, knowing that the alarms follow the same structure. It reduces the need to relearn or recalibrate for different sites and ensures that responses to alarms are swift and based on a universal understanding.

Aligning Priorities Across the Organisation

Standardisation doesn’t just apply to alarm descriptions—it’s equally critical when it comes to prioritisation. In my experience, before using a MADb companies often face the issue of alarms having different priority levels at different sites, even though they are addressing the same event. This lack of consistency causes major operational problems, especially when cross-site coordination is necessary.

With a MADb, companies can align alarm priorities across the entire enterprise. This means that critical alarms are treated with the same level of urgency at every location, ensuring consistency in how they handle emergencies or important operational issues. Whether a team is responding to an equipment failure, a safety hazard, or a production anomaly, the priority is clear and consistent.

The aligned priorities help eliminate confusion and streamline decision-making. No matter where an alarm originates from, we know exactly how critical it is and can take the necessary actions immediately. It’s been cited as a game-changer for improving response times and ensuring that critical alarms are never overlooked.

ProcessVue Guardian screen
Diagram showing the ProcessVue Priority Matrix Manager (click image to enlarge)
Tailoring Alarm Priorities for Individual Sites

While standardisation and aligned priorities are essential, it’s also important to recognise that not all sites have the same operational demands. Each location might follow a unique alarm philosophy based on its specific risks, equipment, or production goals. That’s where the flexibility of a MADb like ProcessVue Guardian really shines.

A MADb which encompasses flexible priority matrixes allows us to tailor the alarm priority for each individual site. This means that while the structure and framework of alarms are standardised, the priority levels can be adjusted to reflect each site’s unique needs.

What I find most valuable about this system is that you can manage a site’s alarm configuration from a central location with full confidence you are adhering to the site’s specific priority matrix. Whether rationalising alarms, adjusting priorities, or making changes, the system ensures that everything aligns with the site’s tailored alarm philosophy. This ability to customise priorities while maintaining standardisation makes your alarm management process far more flexible and effective.

Working with Confidence from a Central Location

One of the biggest operational advantages of using a MADb like ProcessVue Guardian is the ability to manage alarms from a central location without losing sight of individual site needs. A MADb that doesn’t provide tailored priority matrixes can make it challenging when making modifications remotely because customers cannot always be sure they are applying the correct priorities for each site.

Customers who leverage an MADb like ProcessVue Guardian, can adjust or fine-tune a site’s alarm configuration from head office with complete confidence. The alarm priority matrix specific to that site is embedded into the system, so any updates or rationalisations they make follow the site’s unique rules. This central oversight allows for greater efficiency and eliminates the need for on-site intervention every time a change needs to be made.

Streamlining Alarm Rationalisation

The process of rationalising alarms—ensuring that every alarm is necessary and set at the correct priority level—has become far more streamlined thanks to the MADb. In the past, alarm rationalisation could be a time-consuming and disjointed process, especially when multiple sites had conflicting configurations.

With a MADb, rationalising alarms is much more efficient. Companies can now evaluate alarms across the enterprise while respecting each site’s specific alarm philosophy. This will help companies reduce unnecessary alarms, cut down on alarm fatigue, and focus on the alarms that truly matter. Centralised rationalisation also ensures that every alarm configuration adheres to both global standards and local needs.

Conclusion: The Power of Central Governance and a Master Alarm Database

Implementing a Master Alarm Database and central alarm management can transform the way a company handles alarms across its organisation. It brings standardisation, ensuring that all alarms follow a uniform structure and are prioritised consistently. At the same time, the ability to tailor each site’s alarm priority matrix means that you never lose sight of individual site needs. You can work on any site’s alarm configuration with confidence from a central location, knowing that you will be using the correct priority matrix for that site. Beyond that, central governance of alarms offers even more benefits. It enhances the overall awareness and understanding of how alarms are configured and managed across the organisation. Operators, engineers, and decision-makers can all learn from similar alarm setups across sites, which helps identify best practices and allows lessons to be shared and applied universally.

This approach not only improves alarm response times and safety but also enables us to optimise our alarm systems continuously. The combined power of central governance and a Master Alarm Database has brought consistency, clarity, and control to alarm management, which has improved both operational efficiency and organisational confidence. If you’re looking to streamline alarm systems across multiple sites, I can confidently say that central alarm management paired with a Master Alarm Database like ProcessVue Guardian is a great place to start.

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Digitalisation: ISA-18.2 and the future of Alarm Management

Alarm Management control panel
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Digitalisation: ISA-18.2 and the future of Alarm Management
JAMES FOX
OCTOBER 2024
Introduction
Alarm management is a cornerstone of safe and efficient industrial operations. The ISA-18.2 standard, developed by the International Society of Automation, gives us a structured approach to managing alarms in the process industry. As the digital age continues to evolve, we’re exploring how digitalisation can assist or even revolutionise alarm management, with multiple stakeholders contributing to these efforts. In this blog, I’ll explore the fundamentals of ISA-18.2 and examine how the ongoing exploration of digitalisation is being shaped by active contributions from industry experts.
Woman at control centre using ProcessVue alarm management software
The Basics of ISA-18.2
ISA-18.2, officially titled “Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries,” was introduced in 2009 and has since become the industry benchmark for alarm management. The standard outlines a comprehensive lifecycle for alarm systems, focusing on key principles such as:

  • 1 - 1. Alarm Rationalisation

    Streamlining alarm systems by analysing and categorising alarms to minimise unnecessary alerts.

  • 2 - Alarm Prioritisation

    Prioritising alarms based on their criticality to ensure that operators can focus on the most significant issues.

  • 3 - Alarm Suppression

    Temporarily suppressing alarms under specific conditions to prevent alarm floods and operator overload.

  • 4 - Operator Response

    Establishing clear, actionable responses for each alarm to enable timely and effective intervention.

These principles have been instrumental in guiding the industry towards safer and more efficient operations. However, as technology advances, the exploration of digitalisation within the ISA-18.2 framework is gathering momentum, with key industry members actively contributing to this evolution.
Digitalisation in Alarm Management: A New Frontier
Digitalisation, the integration of digital technologies into existing processes, promises to enhance alarm management by enabling greater automation, data-driven insights, and operational efficiency. Within the context of ISA-18.2, digitalisation is still in its exploratory phase, but several promising use cases are emerging, driven by leading alarm management specialists like ProcessVue and other industry experts:

  • 1 - Enhanced Alarm Rationalisation

    Digital tools embodying master alarm databases can automate aspects of the alarm rationalisation process. With the ability to embed key portions of your alarm philosophy documentation they help to enforce standardised and consistent approaches to alarm management.

  • 2 - Advanced Data Analytics

    By applying big data and machine learning, digitalised alarm management systems can detect patterns and trends that may not be visible to human operators. This capability could lead to more accurate alarm predictions and early detection of potential issues.

  • 3 - Improved Operator Responses

    Master alarm databases being integrated with HMI’s providing operators with important information about alarms directly in the HMI, such as the authorised responses to alarms and the consequences of missing them.

  • 4 - Insight and reviews of operator actions

    Digitalised alarm management systems providing collaborative environments to facilitate the recording and reviews of operator actions, helping to identify additional operator training opportunities.

  • 5 - Dynamic Alarm Management

    Traditional alarm systems are often static, with predefined thresholds. Digitalisation introduces dynamic alarm management, where settings can be adjusted in real-time based on current operating conditions, reducing nuisance alarms and improving efficiency.

Alarm Management control panel
Active Contributions to Standards and Validation

As digitalisation efforts progress, multiple members of the process industry, including ProcessVue, are actively contributing to the development and refinement of alarm management standards and technical reports. Our involvement ensures that the exploration of digitalisation is grounded in practical, real-world applications. By validating emerging use cases and sharing insights from our operational experiences, we help shape the direction of standards like ISA-18.2.

Our contributions are not just theoretical; they are based on rigorous testing and validation of digital technologies in real-world environments. This collaborative approach helps ensure that digitalised alarm management solutions are effective, reliable, and aligned with industry needs. It also provides a feedback loop that allows us to refine our practices continuously, incorporating the latest innovations while adhering to the core principles of ISA-18.2.

Challenges and Considerations
While digitalisation offers significant potential, it also presents challenges that must be addressed:

  • Data Security

    As digitalisation increases data collection and analysis, ensuring robust cybersecurity measures is critical to protect sensitive information.

  • Interoperability

    Integrating digital tools with existing systems can be complex. Ensuring that new solutions are compatible with legacy systems is essential for a smooth transition.

  • Standardised Data

    Alarm data must be standardised to allow consistent analysis of data across multiple systems and sites

  • Human Factors

    Digitalisation should complement, not replace, human decision-making. Training operators to effectively use new digital tools is crucial for success.

The Future of Alarm Management

As digitalisation continues to evolve, the ISA-18.2 standard is expected to incorporate new technologies, guided by the contributions of industry experts. This collaborative effort will ensure that digitalised alarm management solutions are safe, effective, and aligned with industry best practices.

Organisations looking to stay ahead should begin exploring digitalisation opportunities within their alarm management systems, engage with industry forums, and contribute to the ongoing development of standards. Our active participation in these efforts ensures that we are not only adapting to change but also helping to drive it.

Conclusion

The digitalisation of alarm management represents a significant opportunity for the process industry. By integrating advanced analytics, dynamic management, and remote monitoring, digitalisation can enhance operational efficiency, safety, and reliability. However, this journey is just beginning, and it requires careful consideration of challenges and implications.

Our active contributions to the development of alarm management standards like ISA-18.2 ensure that these new technologies are validated and refined in real-world settings. By staying engaged with these efforts, organisations can leverage the full potential of digitalised alarm management and contribute to shaping the future of the industry.

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Boosting Efficiency with Alarm Definition Templates in Alarm Rationalisation and Documentation

Viewing alarm definition templates
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Boosting Efficiency with Alarm Definition Templates in Alarm Rationalisation and Documentation
JAMES FOX
SEPTEMBER 2024
With the increasing complexity of processes, the number of alarms in any given system has skyrocketed. Managing these alarms efficiently is a significant challenge that demands a well-structured approach. One of the most effective strategies in achieving this is the use of alarm definition templates. These templates, which allow you to save supporting alarm information, play a crucial role in alarm rationalisation and documentation. This blog will explore how leveraging these templates can significantly enhance operational efficiency
Viewing alarm definition templates
The Role of Alarm Rationalisation

Alarm rationalisation is the process of reviewing and assessing each alarm to ensure it is necessary, appropriately configured, and that it adds value to the operator’s decision-making process. During this process, each alarm is scrutinised to determine whether it should be active, its appropriate priority, and the conditions under which it should trigger.

Alarm rationalisation is a critical step in preventing alarm overload, where operators are saturated with too many alarms, leading to desensitisation and the potential for critical alarms to be missed. By rationalising alarms, organisations can significantly reduce the number of unnecessary alarms, improve operator response times, and ultimately enhance safety and efficiency.

Understanding Alarm Definition Templates

Before diving into the benefits, it’s essential to understand what alarm definition templates are. Essentially, these templates are standardised information sets that capture all necessary information about an alarm. This information typically includes the alarm’s supporting information including, priority, potential causes, operator actions, and any other relevant details. The purpose of these templates is to improve the efficiency of alarm rationalisation and enable a consistent and complete approach in how alarm types are defined, managed, and documented across the entire system.

How Alarm Definition Templates Enhance Efficiency
Click image to enlarge
How Alarm Definition Templates Enhance Efficiency
Supporting actions in alarm rationalisation workshops are the tasks that ensure the smooth execution of the workshop and the implementation of its outcomes. These include:
1. Standardisation and Consistency

  • One of the primary benefits of alarm definition templates is that they promote standardisation of alarm types. By using a consistent format for defining alarms, you ensure that all alarms of a specific type across the system are documented in the same way. This consistency is crucial for effective alarm management, as it reduces the likelihood of errors and omissions that can occur when alarms are documented ad hoc.

  • Standardisation also makes it easier for operators and engineers to understand and respond to alarms. When each alarm is defined using the same template, there is no ambiguity about what the alarm means or what actions should be taken. This clarity can lead to faster and more accurate responses, reducing downtime and improving overall system performance.

2. Streamlined Documentation Process

  • Documenting alarms manually can be a time-consuming and error-prone process. Alarm definition templates streamline this process by providing a predefined structure for capturing all relevant information for the associated alarm type. This not only saves time but also ensures that no critical details are overlooked.

  • Furthermore, having a comprehensive and well-organised documentation system is invaluable during audits or reviews. With alarm definition templates, all the necessary information is readily available and easy to navigate, making the documentation process much more efficient.

3. Improved Alarm Rationalisation

  • During the alarm rationalisation process, having well-documented alarms is crucial. Alarm definition templates provide a clear and detailed record of each alarm type, making it easier to evaluate whether the alarm is necessary and correctly configured.

  • The templates also facilitate collaboration among team members during the rationalisation process. When all relevant information is captured in a standardised format, it becomes easier for different stakeholders to review and discuss the alarm's configuration and potential impact. This collaborative approach can lead to more informed decision-making and more effective alarm management strategies.

Conclusion
In conclusion, alarm definition templates are a powerful tool in the quest for operational efficiency. By promoting standardisation, streamlining documentation, enhancing the alarm rationalisation process, and supporting continuous improvement, these templates help organisations manage alarms more effectively and efficiently. Investing in a robust system of alarm definition templates is not just a good practice—it’s a strategic imperative for any organisation looking to optimise its operations and maintain a competitive edge.
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Building Blocks of Success: Ensuring Each Workshop Advances Your Alarm Rationalisation Goals

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Building Blocks of Success:
Ensuring Each Workshop Advances Your Alarm Rationalisation Goals
JAMES FOX
AUGUST 2024
Alarms are a key component of industrial operations, helping to keep processes safe and efficient. However, when alarm systems are cluttered with poorly configured alarms they can lead to confusion, inefficiencies and even accidents.
This is where alarm rationalisation comes into play. A systematic approach to reviewing and documenting alarms to enhance their usefulness for operators, enabling better management of abnormal situations. To successfully conduct an alarm rationalisation improvement project, a series of supporting actions are essential. Managing these actions efficiently can make the difference between a successful outcome and an overwhelming one. Enter ProcessVue Guardian’s new action list, a tool designed to streamline and enhance the management of these supporting actions.
Understanding Alarm Rationalisation Workshops
Alarm rationalisation workshops are collaborative sessions where operators, engineers and safety engineers come together to review, evaluate and optimise alarm settings. The primary goal is to ensure that every alarm is justified, necessary, and configured correctly to provide clear and actionable information to operators. This process involves several steps:

  • 1 - Reviewing Existing Alarms

    Analysing current alarm settings to identify redundant, unnecessary, or poorly configured alarms.

  • 2 - Classifying Alarms

    Determining the priority and function of each alarm to ensure they align with operational and safety requirements.

  • 3 - Defining Alarm Limits

    Establishing thresholds and setpoints that trigger alarms, ensuring they are neither too sensitive nor too lenient.

  • 4 - Documenting Rationalisation Decisions

    Keeping a detailed record of the rationale behind each alarm's configuration and priority.

  • 5 - Training and Implementation

    Ensuring that operators understand the changes and can effectively respond to alarms as intended.

Each of these steps generates its own set of supporting actions, from data collection and analysis to stakeholder engagement and training. Managing these actions efficiently is critical to the success of the workshop and the overall effectiveness of the alarm system.
The Role of Supporting Actions
Supporting actions in alarm rationalisation workshops are the tasks that ensure the smooth execution of the workshop and the implementation of its outcomes. These include:

  • Data Gathering

    Collecting historical alarm data, operator feedback, and system performance metrics.

  • Stakeholder Engagement

    Coordinating with different departments, such as operations, maintenance, and safety, to gather input and ensure alignment.

  • Analysis and Reporting

    Analysing data to identify trends and issues, then reporting findings to the workshop participants.

  • Documentation

    Recording decisions made during the workshop, including the rationale behind each alarm's configuration.

  • Follow-up Actions

    Scheduling further reviews, updates to documentation, or additional training sessions as needed and implementing alarm configuration updates based on agreed changes.

These supporting actions can quickly accumulate, creating a complex web of tasks that need to be managed carefully to avoid delays, omissions, or errors.
How ProcessVue Guardian’s New Action List Enhances Management
Click image to enlarge

How it makes a difference:

  • 1 - Centralised Task Management

    ProcessVue Guardian’s action list provides a centralised platform where all supporting actions can be logged, tracked, and managed. This centralisation ensures that nothing falls through the cracks and that every task is accounted for.

  • 2 - Prioritisation and Assignment

    The action list allows users to prioritise tasks based on urgency and importance, and to assign them to specific team members. This clarity in task ownership helps distribute the workload evenly and ensures that everyone knows their responsibilities.

  • 3 - Real-time Updates

    As tasks are completed or updated, the action list can be updated to reflect these changes.

  • 4 - Integrated Communication

    ProcessVue Guardian’s action list facilitates communication by allowing users to comment on tasks, comments can take the form of questions, and information updates directly within the platform. This reduces the need for external communication and keeps all relevant information in one place.

  • 5 - Tracking and Reporting

    The action list offers robust tracking features, allowing stakeholders to monitor progress and identify bottlenecks. This visibility is crucial for keeping the workshop on track and ensuring that all necessary actions are completed.

  • 6 - Audit Trail

    Every action, comment, and update within the action list is automatically logged, creating a comprehensive audit trail. This is invaluable for compliance purposes and for reviewing the effectiveness of the alarm rationalisation process over time.

ProcessVue Guardian’s new action list is a game-changer for managing the supporting actions involved in alarm rationalisation workshops.
Conclusion

Alarm rationalisation workshops are essential for optimising alarm systems, but they involve a wide range of supporting actions that must be carefully managed to ensure success. ProcessVue Guardian’s new action list provides a powerful tool for organising, tracking, and executing these tasks, helping teams to streamline their processes, reduce errors, and achieve their alarm management goals more effectively.

By leveraging ProcessVue Guardian’s action list, organisations can enhance the efficiency of their alarm rationalisation workshops, ultimately leading to safer, more reliable operations. The future of alarm management is not just about refining alarms themselves, but also about refining the processes that support those alarms—and ProcessVue Guardian’s new action list is leading the way.

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A New Era in Alarm Response and Governance

ProcessVue - Alarm Response and Governance
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A New Era in Alarm Response and Governance
JAMES FOX
JUNE 2024
Control room operators are essential for the smooth and safe operation of critical systems, requiring a blend of technical knowledge, vigilance, problem-solving skills, and effective communication. Their role is vital in ensuring that operations run efficiently, safely, and in compliance with all relevant standards and regulations.

When abnormal situations occur, control room operators are tasked with taking corrective action to avert the abnormal situation. Which can range from a simple action such as opening a valve to complex multi-step procedures depending on the situation at hand.

Sounds simple enough until you factor in the number of alarms a site can have configured, a thousand? ten thousand? Or more. That’s a lot of responses to remember. An operator’s experience will carry them so far, enabling them to store a set of responses for the regular alarms, but it’s the less frequent alarms that will cause problems.

ProcessVue - Alarm Response and Governance

This is where operator training on alarm responses can help operators to take the correct actions in a timely manner. With the advent of Master Alarm Databases businesses are creating databases of their alarms, storing the configurations and adding the supporting information as defined in the alarm management standard (ISA-18.2) such as the cause of the alarm, the consequence of missing and the required operator actions for responding to the alarm.

Thanks to Master Alarm Databases businesses now have a single place to find all of the information about their approved alarms, and operators have access to reference materials and alarm response manuals to help them manage those alarms. Add to this regular alarm response training and operators should be well placed to manage those alarms and take appropriate action against them. All that’s missing is the ability to record and review the operators’ actions in response to the alarms.  Without this information it’s a challenge to assess how operators are performing, making it difficult to provide additional support and training when deviations from procedures occur. This is an area where the ProcessVue Analyser and the shift worklist can help.

ProcessVue Analyser is an alarm historian that connects to SCADA and DCS systems, capable of capturing the sequence of events as they occur, it provides alarm analytics helping you to understand your alarm management challenges. It now also includes a shift worklist, part of the worklists additional module. The shift worklist is designed to help you keep track of alarms and associated operator actions taken during a shift.

ProcessVue Analyser dashboard
Alarms can be added to the shift worklist and assigned to responsible people who can document the actions they take in response to alarms. When a shift ends any open alarms can be transferred to a new shift for continuity. The completed shifts, along with the alarms and any comments or recorded actions are stored in the database for future review. The shift worklist also features an approval workflow which when used in conjunction with the alarm response manual or other set of documented operating procedures, can be used to demonstrate operator competence and help identify additional operator training opportunities.

How it works
The first step to using the shift worklist is to determine your shift patterns. When using the shift worklist for the first time you will be required to create a shift worklist, designating the start and end time of a shift, this range becomes part of a shift pattern and is used to create future shifts

Shift Worklist Feature
The next step is to add alarms as they occur during the shift. If an alarm occurs multiple times during the shift, the worklist will compress the occurrences into a single instance of the alarm making it easy to record actions and observations against it, regardless of how many times it may occur during the shift.
ProcessVue admin page

Once added to the worklist, the alarms can be assigned to operators who can record actions and observations regarding the alarms and when an alarm has been dealt with, it can be marked as complete.

When a shift ends, the current shift worklist can be closed and the worklist enters an approval state, where a user with the relevant permissions can log in and approve the actions, comments, and observations made in response to the alarms. The reviewer can also add additional comments to the alarms during the review stage.

Once reviewed, the worklist is archived in the ProcessVue database and can be accessed later through the shift worklist’s selection option.

Having an audit trail of actions taken by operators against alarms during a shift and being able to compare those actions with alarm response manuals or other existing operating procedures allows us to identify deviations from official responses, paving the way for further support and learning opportunities for operators and helps demonstrates good working practices.

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Alarm Enrichment with Metadata

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Alarm Enrichment with Metadata
JAMES FOX
MAY 2024
Alarms exemplify an area ripe for digitalisation, offering numerous tangible benefits. Consider a water company utilising alarm data to track incidents contributing to environmental breaches of consent, enabling them to sidestep potential fines, or optimising their alarms to reduce expensive callouts to remote facilities. Similarly, a pharmaceutical company could leverage alarm data to uphold product quality standards in pursuit of the perfect batch. Meanwhile, operators overseeing offshore assets might utilise alarm data to identify the stroking of ESD valves, thereby reducing the duration of planned shutdowns.

Despite the potential rewards, why do we not see more companies harnessing their alarm data in unique and innovative ways?

One plausible explanation lies in the fundamental purpose of alarms which is: to alert operators to abnormal situations. As a result, alarm messages are typically crafted with elements that serve this core objective, promptly notifying operators of potential issues. These messages typically comprise a unique identifier, a description, a status, a priority, and other pertinent attributes to inform operators about the issue at hand.

To fully leverage alarm data in a digitalisation strategy, it’s imperative to tailor alarms for their intended audience and purpose. This necessitates retooling alarms to ensure they are easily digestible and relevant across different facets of the business. For instance, a water company seeking to centralise operations for cost reduction and deeper insights may face challenges when trying to discern the source of alarms generated across various sites. Here, the incorporation of metadata proves invaluable. By appending location information such as, region, site name, or other categorisation data to alarm and events, companies can effortlessly identify the source of each alarm, facilitating streamlined operations.

Crucially, it’s vital not to compromise the functionality of alarms that are essential for operators managing abnormal situations. This underscores the importance of leveraging alarm historian tools like ProcessVue to add metadata seamlessly. ProcessVue employs Comma Separated Value (CSV) lookup files to augment alarms with additional metadata, provided there exists a unique identifier within the messages.

A single line in the CSV file can be used to add multiple fields to your alarm and event data. The image below depicts an alarm enrichment CSV file containing location data that would help a water company understand where their alarms are generated and by what equipment.

A single line in the CSV file can be used to add multiple fields to your alarm and event data

In this example the water company could aggregate their alarm data with confidence knowing they can pinpoint exactly where the alarm originated and what piece of equipment generated the alarm.

Below is an example of the enriched alarm data with the new information on display.

an example of the enriched alarm data with the new information on display.

Enriched alarm data opens avenues for unlocking new analytical capabilities. For instance, companies can identify failing equipment, monitor alarm frequencies based on groups, or analyse alarm demographics by category. The potential applications for enhanced alarm management with metadata are virtually limitless, ranging from monitoring environmental alarms to identifying ESD valves to help streamline operations on oil platforms.

Incorporating metadata into alarms represents a significant leap forward in enhancing their functionality and utility. By providing context, personalisation, prioritisation, integration, and analytical insights, metadata transforms alarms from mere notifications into intelligent tools that empower continuous improvement processes and help drive efficiency and productivity.

Watch the video below to learn more about implementing alarm enrichment features in ProcessVue Analyser 4.0′.

Do more with your data!

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Your Alarm Management Journey – Let’s Get Started!

Your Alarm Management Journey
PROCESSVUE

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Your Alarm Management Journey – Let’s Get Started!
Laurent Bourrouilhou
DECEMBER 2023
Alarm Management. A lot consider it as the weak link of modern industrial systems, but it’s undoubtedly an area where companies can get valuable return on investment relatively easily. Here, we cover how companies can get started on their journey to alarm management excellence.
Your Alarm Management Journey
Alarm systems have a purpose: making sure that a process doesn’t get into abnormal situations that are not only a potential hazard but could also result in quality issues, equipment damage and unplanned downtime. And it’s not just about profits. It’s also about people. Because a good alarm system allows for:
  • Faster training of operators
  • Better working conditions
  • Better employee retention

However, the prospect of cleaning up an alarm system, or “rationalising an alarm system” (as people familiar with alarm management would say) can be seen as a daunting and costly task which often ends up being postponed.

Without rationalising, the inefficiency of the alarm system will contribute to a reactive management of your operations year after year, meaning automatic shutdowns and the triggering of safety systems become common practice.

Of course, alarm management excellence is a long journey, but, as with every journey, what matters is to get started and to keep walking at a comfortable pace, because every step will provide tangible results. Alarm Management is after all a journey, not a destination!

Analysing Alarm Management data

There are two routes aspiring companies looking to take back control of their alarms can take. They can enlist the assistance of an experienced alarm management software provider (AMS) or form an alarm management taskforce within the company. Both routes are viable. One will provide a fast track to getting your alarms under control, whereas the in-house route will involve learning experiences and will take a more scenic approach, learning as they go.

Whichever route is taken though, the journey will follow the same path:

  • Step 1 - A review of your alarm philosophy document

    The starting point to getting your alarms under control should be with a review of your alarm philosophy document. If you don’t have one, you should seriously consider implementing one. It’s the foundation for a successful implementation of alarm management, setting out the key principles required for designing, implementing, and maintaining an alarm system. It serves as a reference guide for all personnel involved in the alarm management process and also helps to ensure that alarms are used effectively and efficiently, and that they do not contribute to overloading the operator with alarms. If you have one, it should be reviewed to ensure that it is relevant to your site, to your operations and that it is up to date with the latest revision of the alarm management standards and guidelines.

  • Step 2 - Measure your alarm system performance

    To plan alarm management improvement activities, it is important to take stock of where you currently reside on the alarm management spectrum. This involves acquiring alarm management software such as ProcessVue Analyser which will enable you to benchmark your alarm system against the alarm management industry standards and guidelines (ISA-18.2, EEMUA191 and IEC62682). It will provide focus, allowing you to tackle your problem areas such as chattering and fleeting alarms and will help ensure you get the most success from your actions. The results of this step will then go on to form the base line with which to measure the success of your alarm management improvement activities.

  • Step 3 - Start working on your most frequent alarms

    Through generating most frequent reports at a regular cadence (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly) you can identify nuisance alarms and take action to reduce them – this could involve addressing maintenance issues, or resetting the parameters which trigger them. It should not be understated what this simple process can do to help reduce the overall alarm load on your operators. ProcessVue Analyser is equipped with nuisance alarm activity worklists enabling you to assign nuisance alarms to responsible personnel who can track their remediation activities within the software. This provides two benefits: it allows you to demonstrate a continuous improvement process through the audit trail, and it acts as a knowledge base allowing you to reduce mean time to repair on repeat offenders.

  • Step 4 - Look for relationships and patterns

    Over time, with the volume of alarms being reduced through nuisance alarm remediation you will be presented with the opportunity to start looking for relationships between alarms and patterns in the reports, matching those patterns to what else is happening in the environment, such as an unidentified problem with a pump causing issues under certain load conditions. By recognising the changes in alarm loads, it is possible to identify potential causes and organise appropriate remedial action and apply advanced alarm handling techniques. These steps can set the operator on a course towards taking their system from its default configuration, which was set when the system was commissioned, on towards a bespoke system, tuned to the requirements of your operation, further fine-tuned by the realities of operation. Again, those familiar with alarm management will know this as documentation and rationalisation of alarms. A Master Alarm Database which provides an efficient route to rationalisation and documentation is desired here, especially when dealing with hundreds or thousands of alarms. A good Master Alarm Database application like ProcessVue Guardian will provide batch editing functionality allowing you to effect changes across hundreds or thousands of alarms in a single pass, while the workflow will ensure all changes are approved before being deployed.

Alarm Management Dashboard
Guardian’s welcome screen with the list of on-going projects and their completion status

Learn more about ProcessVue Guardian

The benefit of undertaking these simple steps should not be underestimated, but for those companies tackling alarm management as part of a digital transformation approach, it’s good to have help from alarm management professionals who can not only streamline this process and offer the benefit of their experience but can also help you to develop a more effective alarm management philosophy.

Productivity features and the ability to split the work into chunks that can be completed fast is our contribution to the “journey” – helping to keep teams motivated, probably the key success factor of an alarm management project.

Fast and visible results demonstrate to the stakeholders at every level in the organisation that poor alarm management can be addressed, step by step.

How do you eat an elephant? Bite after bite!

So… let’s get started!

Alarm Management - Let’s get started!
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