Alarm Management Blueprint: Achieving Pacesetter Status · Enterprise alarm and event (A&E) historians that collect alarms and events in real time also act as an operational and engineering

Alarm Management Blueprint: Achieving Pacesetter Status

Executive Summary

The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of how facilities are leveraging their investment in alarm management

technology for maximum benefit to production, productivity and safety. Alarm Manager is Powered by Matrikon, which represents

vendor neutrality. This product works with third-party control systems and applications. By providing this overview document of the

functional alarm management elements that make up a typical pacesetter in this area, the process and benefits therein will become

evident. The intention is to use this document in conjunction with Honeywell’s industry wide experience so that an alarm management

model can be developed that makes the best business sense for each facility and their unique goals while fully leveraging the lessons

learned within the appropriate industry. Maximizing the potential of alarm management technology will produce an alarm management

model that improves operational performance while meeting regulatory compliance and safety standards.

The following are the characteristics of a pacesetter facility:

Developing and adopting an alarm philosophy

Understanding of industry standards and corporate governance requirements

Incorporating an alarms and events database

Defining primary alarm management work processes

Leveraging technology in all business areas

Defining metrics for tracking

Visibility and accountability

Proven execution methodology

Continuous improvement model

Each of these areas is discussed in further detail below.

Alarm Management Blueprint: Achieving Pacesetter Status 2

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Alarm Philosophy ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Industry Standards and Corporate Governance Requirements ............................................................................................. 4

Alarms and Events Database .................................................................................................................................................... 5

Primary Alarm Management Work Processes ......................................................................................................................... 5

Plant/Operations Manager ................................................................................................................................................ 5

Operating Supervisors ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

Engineers .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Maintenance Technician ................................................................................................................................................... 7

Panel Operator .................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Leveraging Alarm Management Technology ........................................................................................................................... 9

Maintenance Support ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

Engineering Support ......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Optimizing and Managing Operations Resource Allocation .............................................................................................. 11

HSE ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Defined Metrics for Tracking ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

Plant Management (Monthly Reporting) ............................................................................................................................ 11

Operating Supervisors (Weekly or Daily Reporting) .......................................................................................................... 13

Engineers (Monthly or Weekly Reporting) ......................................................................................................................... 14

Visibility and Accountability ...................................................................................................................................................... 14

Execution Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................. 14

Continuous Improvement .......................................................................................................................................................... 15


Table of Figures Figure 1: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Figure 2: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Figure 3: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Figure 4: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Figure 5: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Figure 6: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Figure 7: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Figure 8: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Figure 9: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Figure 10: .................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Figure 11: .................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Figure 12: .................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Figure 13: .................................................................................................................................................................................... 15


Alarm Philosophy

Pacesetter facilities have a developed alarm philosophy that provides the guiding principles and targets by which alarm systems are

configured and alarm system performance is measured. The alarm philosophy is clearly communicated to all stakeholders in the

organization. There is a clear understanding of the standards and compliance requirements within the organization. The alarm

philosophy covers the following topics:

Define the goals and objectives of the alarm management system.

Define any compliance requirements to industry standards.

Define roles and responsibilities.

Define alarm generation criteria.

Differentiate between process alarms, system alarms, annunciator alarms and alerts.

Define the alarm identification procedures and the integration with process safety management processes.

Describe how to prioritize alarms, and define implementation requirements.

Describe expected alarm change control procedures.

Explain alarm performance monitoring techniques.

Define a continuous improvement model and compliance-tracking mechanism.

After the alarm philosophy document is developed, best practices require it to be used in the following ways:

The document is distributed to personnel outlined in its “roles & responsibilities” section.

The document is periodically (annually) reviewed and modified to ensure it is up-to-date.

The document is applied by performing an alarm rationalization for existing alarms.

New alarms from expansion projects are reviewed using the methodology described.

New alarms arising from incident investigations adhere to alarm philosophy practices.

The compliance-tracking requirements are reviewed annually to ensure that the system is delivering on the continuous

improvement requirements. Through these practices, the site can be confident that the alarm philosophy document is part of the

plant lifecycle and fully institutionalized.

These factors ranged from poor notification of alarm conditions, operators not knowing how to handle critical situations, and limited

access to the proper operating procedures, to bypassed safety measures.

Industry Standards and Corporate Governance Requirements

The pacesetters have anchored their alarm management program to a well-established standard or industry best practice. A well-

known guide in the area of alarm management is the Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association’s “Alarm Systems: A

Guide to Design, management and Procurement” (EEMUA publication No. 191). The ISA SP18.2 standard is currently under

development and will also be providing clear guidelines in this area.

OSHA (Appendix C TO 1910.119-Compliance Guidelines and Recommendations for Process Safety Management) clearly outlines a

need for best practices in the area of alarm management. Similar guidelines are also provided by other organizations such as HSE,

Responsible Care®, OSH, ISO, global regulatory bodies and insurance companies. For example, the insurance industry spends $22

billion per year on equipment damage claims and, as a result, is forcing many insured facilities to implement alarm management

solutions. The Health and Safety Executive is also cracking down on alarm management by enforcing deadlines for facilities if they

want to retain their operating licenses. Finally, many companies that are members of the Responsible Care program are likely

in the midst of improving their alarm management programs, as this has been strongly recommended over the past few years.

Alarms and Events Database

A history of alarm system performance is necessary to provide concrete evidence of facility’s performance. The database makes it

possible to define practical and concrete goals within the alarm management philosophy that are realistic and achievable. More

importantly, it is this information that guides the alarm management process, enabling the organization to focus on problem areas and

achieve measurable improvements.


Enterprise alarm and event (A&E) historians that collect alarms and events in real time also act as an operational and engineering

support tool. For example, the inside and outside operators can leverage an alarm and events historian for shift handoff procedures, or

as a tool to review and monitor what happened in the previous shift. It may also be leveraged to review incidents by correlating alarms

and operator actions with process data and to verify safe shutdowns and startups.

It is critical that the alarm and event historian collect data from all informational points. In other words, audible alarms, non-audible

alerts, system messages and operator actions should all be archived in the A&E historian. Operator actions, in particular, can help

to demonstrate:

automation opportunities (new advanced or regulatory controllers)

automation problems (range/sizing issues, tuning problems, or valve problems)

alarm system effectiveness (through ratio analysis with alarms)

If this data is organized properly, made readily available and communicated to plant personnel, then a strong foundation is in place to

succeed in the area of alarm management.

Primary Alarm Management Work Processes

For pacesetter facilities, just generating results is not sufficient. To realize full value from investment, the results generated must be

acted upon. This requires the technology to interact with the plant workflow processes and be fully integrated with daily standard

operating practices. Clear roles and responsibilities are usually defined in the alarm philosophy, and pacesetter facilities ensure that

these functions are integrated into standard work processes. In other words, work processes are clearly identified, understood and

executed. The following summarizes the normal functional roles in a plant-operating environment and summarizes best practices

procedures and responsibilities.

Plant/Operations Manager

The responsibilities of a plant senior operational management team with respect to the alarm management program include:

Understanding the goals and objectives of the alarm management program.

Providing leadership and commitment to the alarm management program.

Understanding the industry standards and corporate governance requirements.

Having established high-level metrics to ensure that the alarm management program is achieving the defined goals and objectives,

and ensure periodic review and reporting of these metrics.

Supporting an organizational structure capable and committed to executing and sustaining an alarm management program.

Reporting into corporate-level requirements for tracking of enterprise-level goals


Figure 1

Operating Supervisors

The typical responsibilities of an operating supervisor/superintendent are similar to those of a plant manager, but deal more with the

day-to-day monitoring and enforcement of the defined alarm management work processes. In particular, operating

supervisors/superintendents must sustain performance for their own operating areas by monitoring performance and ensuring that the

alarm management technology is being fully utilized for operational improvement and benefit.

The key responsibility for a shift supervisor is to identify and communicate the best practices to operations. Specifically, this means

conducting training for panel operators using past alarm and event data. The shift supervisor also participates in alarm change

practices, such as approving/rejecting shelved or inhibited alarms. The supervisor should ensure maintenance is acting on these alarms

(work tickets submitted) and that they are not forgotten over time. Responsibilities include:

ensuring that the alarm management system is providing the support required to the operators in ensuring the safe and reliable

operation of the unit.

daily reviewing of unit-level operating alarm targets.

iIdentifying problems and ensuring problem resolution.

leveraging the historical alarm and events data to benchmark operator performance, loading, and work distribution.

ensuring that the operating teams are following the goals and work processes defined in the plant alarm philosophy document.

ensuring that effective Management of Change (MOC) procedures are being followed.

ensuring that the operating teams are fully leveraging the A&E data for process understanding and effective operation.

Engineers

Process engineers, operating engineers, and process control engineers support the safety, reliability and optimization of all units. A

poorly designed or operated alarm management system will have a negative impact on these goals and thus the engineering team is an

integral part in ensuring that the alarm management is respected across the entire alarm management lifecycle. Some of the

engineering tasks that can support the alarm management requirements or leverage the alarm management technology include:

Leveraging the historical A&E database for incident reviews and process analysis.

Identifying control opportunities and poorly performing automation assets.

Participating in review of alarm system problems and supporting required modifications

(e.g., change DCS settings as required to remove chattering)

Ensuring effective integration of process safety management procedures with alarm management requirements

Supporting integrity of DCS alarm system with respect to alarm management audit requirements (ensuring control system settings

match the Engineered settings)


Ensuring integrity of the master alarm database and alarm management MOC procedures (ensuring documentation and references

are maintained)

Supporting the rationalization process

Figure 2

Maintenance Technician

Alarm and events data contain useful information for the maintenance technician. The data can be used both in daily maintenance and

for preparation of a turnaround. Alarm management standards also focus on the maintenance and support of the instrumentation

systems to ensure that the end devices are properly supported within the context of the alarm management program. The plant

maintenance functions can interact and be greatly impacted by a well-defined alarm management program. Some of the more common

interactions include:

establishing a maintenance program that includes written procedures for maintaining, testing and repairing alarm systems.

understanding the alarm system maintenance requirements and the definition of these requirements in the alarm

philosophy document.

leveraging the A&E historical database to optimize the maintenance workload. For example, prior to turn-around, list safety

instruments that have actuated “recently.” It may be possible to exclude these from turnaround activities, thus

minimizing time.

leveraging the automated collection and storage of A&E data to facilitate any equipment data recording requirements for condition-

based monitoring requirements.


Figure 3

Panel Operator

The panel operator is the primary client for the alarm management system and will drive much of the requirements. Effective interaction

with the system and ability to fully leverage the technology for operational improvement are essential in any facility. The panel operator

is expected to interact with the alarm management system in the following ways:

Understanding and supporting the goals and objectives of the alarm management program.

Supporting the development, update, and access of alarm assistance information.

Understanding and recording the impact of poorly performing alarm systems on the operation of the facility.

Effectively processing and managing the real-time information of an alarm system.

Understanding and supporting the MOC processes for the effective maintenance of the DCS alarm settings.

Fully leveraging the A&E historical database for improved operational performance, including standard reports for shift change,

reports for outside operators, incident capture, and training review.

Figure 4


Leveraging Alarm Management Technology

Pacesetter plants not only use the implemented technology for its primary alarm management purposes, but also leverage the

technology in other business areas. This enables the facilities to truly “institutionalize” alarm management within the organ ization. The

diagram below shows the different areas where the alarms and events data and technology can be leveraged across the organization.

Figure 5

Maintenance Support

Open access to electronically stored alarm and events data will provide immense maintenance support. It allows plant maintenance

teams to use this data in their analysis and have it automatically integrated into condition-based maintenance requirements. The ability

to also flag certain types of alarms as maintenance-based alarms allows simple access and automated reporting. Some specific

examples of such applications applied in facilities include:

DCS integrity alarms.

Tracking and verifying interlocks, safety alarms requiring routine test.

Identifying and tracking transmitter errors.

Identifying, via operator actions, problematic control loops.

Integration into predictive maintenance program such as vibration monitoring to predict compressor failures and heat exchanger

temperature analysis to track fouling and predict failures.

Figure 6


Figure 7

Engineering Support

Alarms and events data can also be used for engineering support. Specific areas where the data is being used for engineering support

are outlined below:

Integrating alarm and events data with process data directly in the historian tool set. This reduces the time and effort in

troubleshooting process upsets

Integrating reliability analysis with supporting data from the alarm & events database

Analyzing the impact of process upsets and poor unit performance on overall plant profitability

Figure 8


Optimizing and Managing Operations Resource Allocation

Traditional data (operator loop count) are poor metrics for optimizing staffing levels. The alarm and events database contains the

information required to best assess and optimize DCS operator staffing. The data is analyzed to assess the impact of:

operator attrition

control room consolidation

new unit integration

tracking Operator training requirements

HSE

The Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) personnel can benefit from the alarm management system by simplifying the access to

critical alarms and the automated reporting of key incidents. Typical uses of an alarm management system include:

compliance reporting

quickly identifying and troubleshooting environmental/safety alarms

providing a secure database for post-audit analysis.

integration with enforcement and assist tools.

Figure 9

Defined Metrics for Tracking

An important item for the success of alarm management is to clearly define performance metrics as well as a system to track these

metrics. Alarm system performance metrics can be broken down by the functional roles and should be monitored and integrated into

standard plant reporting at set frequency.

Plant Management (Monthly Reporting)

High-level Alarm Performance Indicators (API) reports consolidate facility-unit level alarms into an indication of plant operating stability

and safety. These KPIs for the processing industries are designed to identify whether a plant or operating unit is operating with the

standards or norms of the EEMUA 191 guidelines, such that a plant can be assigned to on of these operating environments:

Overloaded: Both the peak alarm rate and average number of alarms in this facility is such that a single operator cannot effectively

process the alarm information. Thus, the alarm information is of little value and the plant is at risk of serious incident.

Reactive: Both the peak alarm rate and average number of alarms in this facility is such that a single operator can only process a

limited amount of the alarm information and typically is acting in a purely reactive nature to the alarm information. This could be

considered the minimum entry level for most plants. Some improvements have been made for the average alarm rate, by


comparison with the overloaded state, but the peak rate during upset is still unmanageable, and the alarm system will continue to

represent an unhelpful distraction to the operator for long periods. Thus, the alarm information is of limited value, and the plant is

somewhat at risk of a serious incident.

Stable: Typically, by careful selection of which variables to alarm either via a rationalization exercise or via rational selection of

alarms up-front during a project phase, improvements have now been made to both the average alarm and peak alarm rates.

Problems due to nuisance alarms have been kept under control by regular review and continuous improvement, but there still

remains a problem with the alarm burst alarm rate. In general, the alarms have been well-defined for normal operation. However,

the system is less useful during plant upset and thus is still somewhat susceptible to missed alarms or a potential plant incident.

Robust: Possibly at the limit of what is achievable with commercially available technology today, this level of performance

represents a realizable aspiration for most plants today. The rate of alarming is such that an operator can effectively process all

incoming information and has time to relate alarm system information to required operating actions. Both the average and the peak

alarm rates are under control, the latter under the full range of foreseeable plant operating scenarios. Considered a “pacesetter”

performance region for today’s operating environment.

Predictive: This level of performance meets the ideal targets set in EEMUA Publication 191, but for many plants may not be

achievable today with commercially available technology. Even when achievable, it may not be justified for most plants. It will

require fully-adaptive alarming, whereby the alarm system predicts the future state of the plant and adjusts its configuration to meet

the needs of the moment to achieve breakthrough performance on both the average and the peak alarm rate. This is typically the

domain of research and development activity and is likely to be an important step in achieving paradigm shift toward remote

manning and the facilities models of the future.

The objective of the management level KPIs is simply to ensure that the business- and safety-level objectives of the facility are not

being compromised by the alarm system performance and to identify on a unit level the areas that are compliant with the goals of the

organization. These metrics are typically visible in the facility monthly reporting structure.

Figure 10


Operating Supervisors (Weekly or Daily Reporting)

The role of the operating supervisor is to review dynamic alarm system performance on a daily or weekly basis, in an effort to ensure

that performance targets are being met and that any violation from desired benchmarks can be related to specific, unit-level operating

problems. Operating supervisors also ensure that these benchmark performance metrics are visible to the operating and maintenance

teams that must provide corrective action to re-establish compliance with goals and targets. The dynamic alarm system metrics most

often tracked at this level include:

average alarm rate (should be under 20 per hour per operator)

peak alarm rate (should be under 15 alarms in 10 minutes)

percent upset (should be under 2%)

standing alarms (should be less than 10 on average)

average action rate (should be 15-30 per hour)

operator actions to alarms ratio (should be >1)

top 20 alarm percent (should contribute <20% of total)

top 20 action percent (should contribute <20% of total)

priority distribution (priority 1 << priority 2 << priority 3)

Figure 11

The operating supervisors must also track compliance with the established management of change procedures. This ensures that the

work processes defined in the alarm philosophy are being adopted by the plant and that the static configurations of the alarm systems

are compliant with design and change practices. The performance metrics typically tracked at this level include:

DCS settings to alarm master database discrepancies

audit trail of who and when modifications to alarm settings were made


Engineers (Monthly or Weekly Reporting)

The engineer plays a key role in designing and sustaining any alarm management system. If the alarm system is not configured

according to standard industry guidelines, it is most probable that its dynamic performance will not produce alarm rates within the

guidelines. Thus, monitoring and reporting of the configuration side will help ensure that an effective alarm management system is

being designed. Also, reports of the discrepancies between the DCS settings and the master alarm database will ensure that the proper

MOC procedures are being followed and any alarm setting that has been improperly modified or set will be flagged. The performance

metrics typically tracked at this level include:

configuring alarm metrics (# of alarms per tag, priority distribution, total alarms per Operator console, etc.).

auditing reports on alarm setting deviations from master database.

Figure 12

Visibility and Accountability

The alarm management technology is implemented in a manner that provides clear and accessible information to all plant layers.

Visualization becomes a critical element in the effort to present the right results to the right people at the right time. Pacesetter facilities

have adopted web-based visualization and collaboration tools to address this need. The power of visualization is to provide large

amounts of alarm data in a few performance metrics that enable users to identify problem areas. Results from the different process

areas are shared within the individual site and within the overall corporation, such that the goals of the entire enterprise can

be tracked.

Execution Methodology

Pacesetter facilities have adopted a lifecycle approach to their alarm management initiative. This lifecycle ultimately defines the overall

workflow required to deliver on the objectives of the alarm philosophy. The workflow of these general steps is outlined in greater detail

through the following alarm management lifecycle in the figure below. This pertains to plants embarking on an alarm management

initiative and plants that have a well-established program.


Figure 13

Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an essential part of any pacesetter alarm management strategy. Although the maintenance and monitoring

tasks can ensure that performance is sustained, the continuous improvement element is designed to identify and flag areas where

improvements/enhancements are possible and changes can bring added business value to the alarm management initiative.

The feedback loops in the alarm management lifecycle diagram shown in the diagram above are designed to ensure that any new items

or areas for improvement are clearly identified and integrated into an action plan.

Alarm Management Lifecycle


For more information:

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visit our website www.honeywell.com/ps or

contact your Honeywell account manager.

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www.honeywell.com/ps

On a broader scale, some of the typical elements adopted by plant pacesetters to ensure that they are adopting a best practices

approach to alarm management include:

yearly review of alarm philosophy document

yearly review of alarm management MOC procedures

yearly review of industry standards and best practices guidelines

corporate benchmarking of facilities

WP 637

August 2011

© 2011 Honeywell International Inc.

http://www.matrikon.com/

http://www.honeywell.com/ps

Documents

Alarm Management Blueprint: Achieving Pacesetter Status · Enterprise alarm and event (A&E) historians that collect alarms and events in real time also act as an operational and engineering