Alarm Management

To Enable Higher Stability and Safer Plant Operations

Bulletin 30A25A10-01EN
 To Enable Higher Stability and
Safer Plant Operations
Yokogawa provides alarm management to help increase the stability and
safety of plant operations through well managed alarm systems.

Is a lack of alarm management causing problems in your plant?

Approach 1
● Your operational staff is often overwhelmed with alarms during abnormal conditions and Improvement Approach
Starting from the Philosophy(*)
they cannot correctly diagnose problems and perform corrective actions.

● Critical alarms often are overlooked and ignored.

Philosophy (*)
● You cannot cope with the increase in the number and types of alarms as plant operations
become more sophisticated and complex.
Identification
Solution 1
Reasons for difficulties to perform alarm management
Alarm System
Design Optimization Rationalization
● Alarm system design cannot be standardized and unified.
Management Solution 3
Master Database and
● The human-machine interface (HMI) of alarm systems does not allow you to find the necessary alarm quickly. of

Operators have difficulty to quickly understand the correct action to resolve the situation. Detailed Design
Change Management of Change

The operator has no choice but to manually deal with multiple different operational states.

● Inability to evaluate alarm systems continuously prevents the establishment of an improvement cycle. Implementation
● Inability to manage alarm system changes results in missing changes and change errors.
Solution 2
Lack of technical resources to implement an alarm management strategy.
Advanced Operator Operation
Assistance Monitoring Solution 4
Yokogawa provides four solutions and two flexible improvement & Performance and
Assessment Normality Evaluation
approaches to achieve well managed alarm system for end users. Maintenance

● These solutions and approaches must be effective to improve the stability and safety
for customers' plant operation.
Approach 2 Provides
two improvement approaches
Improvement Approach
● Yokogawa alarm solutions comply with the ISA18.2, the EEMUA#191, and the IEC 62682/Ed. 1.
－ ISA18.2 : Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries by Site-driven
Provides
four solutions
－ EEMUA#191 : Alarm Systems : A Guide to Design, Management and Procurement
－ IEC 62682/Ed. 1 : Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries
*) The Philosophy that establishes the basic definitions, principles,
and processes to design, implement, and maintain an alarm system.

Case study of an accident caused by ignoring alarms

Alarm Management is the continuous management, the standardization and unification of alarm-assisted
operational management and techniques. In a large petrochemical plant a trip occurred on a compressor. Two days� production was lost before the plant was put
back on-line (cost around £1M). Also, components in the plant were damaged by the trip, and some months later the
Alarm System is a human interface that constantly monitors processes and if abnormalities (abnormal conditions plant had to be taken off-line for an unscheduled outage to repair this damage. This outage cost about £12M, but other
and failures) are found, notifies the operator with alarms to prompt for action. work was done during this outage, so not all the costs can be attributed to the trip. Six weeks prior to the compressor
trip there had been an alarm for high axial displacement which the operators accepted but did not investigate. Three
Alarms notify the operator about plant abnormalities quickly to prompt for action, which is essential for the stability days prior to the trip there was a second similar alarm which also was not investigated. Subsequent to this incident a
and safety of plant operations. major drive to improve the alarm systems has been initiated at the plant.
Source: HSE Contract Research Report - The Management of Alarm Systems (1998)

1 Alarm Management Alarm Management 2

 Four Solutions
Yokogawa provides the best alarm management solution to
fit the needs of the customer using its knowledge, experience and tools.

Master Database and

Solution 1 Alarm System Design Optimization Solution 3
Management of Change
Alarm design optimization by utilizing Yokogawa collaborative consulting A large amount of information is managed in a single alarm master database
▲

▲
experience assisting organaizations to improve their alarm performance, to facilitate continuous alarm improvement.
technically and culturally; resulting in improved operations performance. ● Management of Change Function
This function keeps the history of changes and approvals and provides information
Provision of seamless engineering to incorporate the alarm design into the
▲

for various plant functions on status of alarm improvement.

production control system reducing the work load and time of the customer.
● Alarm Change Management Service
● Fundamental Nuisance Alarm Reduction Service
This service allows you to design the method to change the parameters and definition
A cross-functional team is formed with the customer to identify the root causes
information as well as the privileges of change and approval, and apply them to the system.
for the existing nuisance alarms and figures out the optimal solution for reduction.
<< Engineering >> << Operating >>
● ISA18.2-based Alarm System Design Service
Philosophy (*)
Yokogawa designs alarm systems based on the hazard and operability (HAZOP) study
(a process safety evaluation technique) and on the alarm system design standards,
and builds production control systems based on the design. Evaluation
Identification Recognition
<< Before rationalization >> << After rationalization >>

Rationalization
Management
of

Detailed Design
Change Solution 4 Performance and Normality Evaluation
A reporting and analytics environment that allows you to evaluate

▲
Implementation the alarm performance and soundness objectively and
Solution 2 Advanced Operator Assistance clarify target areas of improvement.

Operation E-mail reports are sent to you at constant intervals

▲
Standardization of all alarms enables the operation and monitoring
▲

Monitoring to support continuous alarm improvement.

of alarms in a single view, thus reducing the load on the operator. &
Assessment According to ISA18.2, EEMUA#191, and IEC 62682.

▲
The visibility of important alarms can be increased and the efficiency Maintenance
▲

of operation and monitoring can be enhanced. ● Alarm Analysis and Report Function
This function makes possible the standard alarm performance
● Integrated Alarm Monitoring Function *) The Philosophy that establishes
report of 26 key attributes,
the basic definitions, principles,
The alarm sorting, filtering, shelving, and eclipsing functions facilitate reading such as Management, Operation, and Maintenance.
and processes to design, implement,
the indicated alarms and events. and maintain an alarm system.
● Alarm Performance Monitoring Service
● Operational State-based Alarm Management
In addition to the above function,
Service
you can design user custom-made reports and
This service allows you to design optimized alarm applying to system.
thresholds and alarm suppression based on different
operational states such as startup and brand switching
and set them dynamically.

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 Two Improvement Approaches
Yokogawa provides two flexible improvement approaches to suit
the plant lifecycles of customers.

Approach 1
Improvement Approach Starting
Improvement E xample : 01
from the Philosophy
Yokogawa provides an improvement approach starting from the alarm design
▲

phase using a wide range of product and facility operations knowledge gained
Reduced 93% of alarms in 4 months for ethylene vinyl
through many years of experience. alcohol copolymer resin plant (5,000 I/O & 1,900 PID control loops)
This enables alarm system design to be implemented taking advantage
▲

Solution provided
of the results of the HAZOP study and performance analysis.
● Fundamental Nuisance Alarm Reduction Service
In addition, use of Yokogawa's integrated solutions minimizes the costs for linking
▲

● ISA18.2-based Alarm System Design Service

data between products and engineering, thus helping the customer to generate
further profits.
● Operational State-based Alarm Management Service

Results

● Reduced 93% of alarms in 4 months; from 19,241 alarms/day to 1,312 alarms/day

Philosophy(*) Approach 1
Improvement Approach
● Don't have to deal with nuisance alarms saving resources both monetary and personnel
Starting from the Philosophy(*) ● The problem of important alarms being turned off has been alleviated reducing potential risk
Identification
● Operators now have more time to attend to true process concerns

Rationalization
Management
of

Detailed Design
Change Improvement E xample : 02

Implementation
Benefits of using alarm philosophy
Operation
Greenfield process LNG plant that used corporate alarm philosophy
Monitoring
document at early stages in the design
Approach 2 &
Assessment
Improvement Approach Maintenance
● Reduced alarm rationalization process time
by Site-driven
*) The Philosophy that establishes ● Reduced alarm rates during commissioning
the basic definitions, principles,
and processes to design, implement, ● Complied with best practices recommended KPI's
and maintain an alarm system.
● Overall improved safe operations in the plant

Approach 2 Improvement Approach by Site-driven Brownfield process Chemical plant that used Yokogawa's site customized
alarm philosophy document

Yokogawa provides an improvement approach starting from the operation phase ● Simplified and expedited alarm rationalization process
▲

by utilizing a large amount of data gained through plant operations ● Reduction in Plant downtime
for the performance and soundness evaluation. ● Improved alarm responsiveness and handling methods
● Overall improvement of safe operations in the plant
Ability to identify alarm system problems more clearly compared to the operation
▲

and monitoring function alone makes it easier for the customer to carry out
improvement activities.
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