Are nuisance alarms causing a production line bottleneck?
 
Are alarm floods hindering facility effectiveness?

The facts are:

• Most DCSs have too many alarms
• Most DCSs have a large number of misapplied/poorly engineered alarms
• Nuisance alarms in the system lead operators to develop a low regard for the integrity of alarms
• Recent reports estimate that the cost of preventable abnormal situations in the U.S. petrochemical industry at $20 billion annually

Improving the availability of assets can have a significant impact on the bottom line. Implementing the right alarm management philosophy for an organization can offer:

• Reduced startup time for new plants and units
• Improved operator decision support
• Reduced operator loading
• Reduced control system network traffic
• Improved safety and response to abnormal situations
• Reduced risk of excursions, releases, shutdowns and regulatory incidents
• Increased plant utilization, productivity and profitability
• Retained knowledge of experienced personnel beyond retirement (aging workforce)
• Reduced nuisance alarms and alarm floods
• Ability to better measure and monitor performance

The IPS Alarm Management solution provides an applied tool set combined with expert services for rationalizing process, system, and equipment alarms to dramatically reduce nuisance alarms and virtually eliminate the alarm storms.

We use a life cycle management approach of Assess, Design, Implement, and Manage, include the following:

• Alarm Management Assessment - This customized report allows the customer to prioritize investment and actions to improve the effectiveness of plant operators. The study lays the groundwork for reducing operator loading and decreasing the risk of excursions, releases and shutdowns. The result is a comprehensive plan to enable alarms that will permit a decrease in costs and an improvement in operational efficiencies within the plant.

• Alarm Management Architecture - Invensys' team will work with the customer to develop and implement the right alarm philosophy for the organization. This stage also includes an in-depth alarm philosophy workshop to train site personnel on alarm management principals and best practices.

• Alarm Management Modernization and Implementation - Implementation of a customized solution, including alarm rationalization and advanced alarming, is performed by the Invensys team of experts utilizing proven solutions.

• Alarm Management ongoing Management and Optimization - To maintain optimal performance, Invensys offers a long-term maintenance contract that provides online and onsite support.

A company can enter at any point in the life cycle process, allowing the solution to be tailored to specific needs, matching specific funding requirements, and providing the appropriate time for internal change management.

The IPS Alarm Management Services are compatible with I/A Series^® systems as well as other DCS platforms. The solution is a custom fit to individual needs.