Alarm Management

Principles & Guidance

Bergen op Zoom Seminar
February 2011

Todays Seminar

Most of you here have a Plant, DCS system, ESD system

Improving the effectiveness of the alarm systems improves
overall operation and increases safety
Todays seminar focuses on a good foundation to achieve this

Next generation alarm management

Agenda

Introduction to UReason
Example Cases
Alarm Management Principals & Guidance
How UReason can help You!
Questions & Discussion
(Every attendee will receive the presentation)

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UReason is
Anglo-Dutch Company with offices in Leiden and Maidenhead
Delivers real-time applications and solutions in the area of Operational
Excellence
Customers in Europe, North-America and Middle-East.
Industries: Oil & Gas, (Petro)chemical, Traffic, Energy and Utilities

We Combine our Expertise and

Technology with that of our
customers to improve Operational
Excellence.

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Operational Excellence
Operational Advisories:
Sabic
DSM
Remote Surveillance:
Siemens Power Generation
Vestolit
Shell Global Solutions/NAM
Alarm Management:
BASF
BP
KPE
Siemens Oil & Gas
LyondellBasell
Total E&P
Anglian Water

Active Participant in:

ANSI/ISA S18.02 Standard

ISA S18.02 TR Development
EEMUA 191 Guideline

Simulation:
WaterSpot: DZH/PWN/Waternet
/ABB/DHV/Vitens/TU-Delft

DISCONTO: PWN/DHV/TU-Delft/
Vitens/Dunea/Brabant Water

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Example: Northsea Gas producer

Scope of Supply:
- Alarm Management Survey
- Philosophy Development
- Support Alarm Rationalization
- Performance Auditing
- Advanced Alarm Management System
for Onshore Centralized Control Room
DCS: Foxboro IA
A&E Historian: TiPS LogMate
Alarm Reporting: OASYS-AM
Advanced Alarm Management: OASYS-AM
Alarm reduction on 4 platforms,
Visionary Approach for Centralized Control Room

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Example: LyondellBasell
Corporate Agreement Advanced Dynamic Alarm Management
Scope of Supply:
- Rule Discovery from Historical Data
- Alarm Display Replacement
- Alarm Predictions in Control Room
DCS: Emerson DeltaV
Data: TiPS LogMate
Emerson OPC
Advanced Alarm Management:
OASYS-AM
Overview of the reduction realized, varying between 30% 65%

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Example: Chemical Plant Germany

Operator Advisories

Proactive 24x7 information

on gas leaks
Vision/Smell & Sound
Sensors Combined
Operators dont have to do a
12 hours plant inspection
Important for keeping licence
to operate
Interfaces: Emerson, ABB,
Siemens

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Example: Refinery Netherlands

Scope of Supply:
- Alarm & Event Historization
- Alarm & Event Reporting
- Alarm Awareness Workshops
- Alarm Philosophy Development
- Master Alarm Database
- Alarm MOC
DCS: Honeywell TDC, Foxboro
IA, Yokogawa CS
Historian: SQL Server

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Example: Refinery Netherlands

Scope of Supply:
- Consultancy
- Alarm Awareness Workshops
- Alarm Philosophy Development
- Setup Master Alarm Database
- Vendor Selection
- A&E Historization
- A&E Reporting
- Master Alarm Database & MOC
DCS: Honeywell TDC,
HIMA/MagLog ESD

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Siemens Process Real-Time Historian

PIMAQ

SISOG PIMAQ System Embeds

OASYS-AM
PIMAQ Examples:
-

Maersk Al-Shaheen FDP 2000

Maersk Al-Shaheen FDP 2005
Maersk Halfdan
Petrobas FPSO Piranema
Venture Oil FPSO Hummingbird
Statoil Snorre A, Snorre B
ConocoPhillips EldFiks
Hydro Njord A & B

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Siemens - PIMAQ

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Siemens - PIMAQ

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Alarm Management
Principles & Guidance

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Just imagine you drove to

this seminar and every 2/3
minutes an alarm went off
Breaks are overheating
Left front tire pressure
is down
Oil Temperature
drifting to High
.
And you were also expected to find your way, drive safe-fully,
listen to the radio for traffic jams and decide on alternative routes

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.. our car and our driver

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Why Focus on Alarm Management ?

Abnormal conditions cost billions annually:
Loss of equipment and life
Off-spec Product and Lost Production (3-8% per year)
Environmental Excursions and Remediation

Major contributing factors include:

Information Overflow
Poorly Designed Operator Interfaces
Inadequate Alarm Management System

Alarm Management is recognized as a significant

plant reliability improvement

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The Alarm System - Definition

The primary function of the alarm system is to warn the
operator about a situation that is not normal
Operators Response to
an alarm = action:

Source EEMUA 191

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Some Examples

Source HSE CRR 166

On 13th May 2002, pilot lights on the flare system at a chemical plant were
extinguished. This occurred because there were fluctuations in the gas
supply to the flare. A large gas cloud formed but, fortunately, did not ignite.
The flare gas came from an installation which was being restarted.
The restart process produced 3,700 alarms so, not surprisingly, the
operators failed to detect the alarm for the flare.
HSE Briefing Note No. 9

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Alarm System Contributes to Stress

Alarm annunciation is the biggest stress factor for operators

Stress is the main

cause for human errors
Human errors are the
most frequent cause for
incidents and upsets

Picture Source: ASM Consortium

Human errors are

caused by ineffective
systems

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How did we get here ?

Old days hardwired
optimized alarm system

DCS systems Inflation of

number of configured alarms
per operator station:

(100 Light Fixtures)

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What Do you Have?

Seminar Attendees:
Question1: How many configured alarms
does your plant have?
Question2: How many Operator stations
does your plant have?
Question3: Has an HAZOP ever revealed
information overload and led to
operability improvements?

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Unfortunately incidents (re)focus attention

Esso LongFord
Total BunceField
BP Refinery Texas City
Texaco Refinery Milford Haven

Increased attention leads to regulation and

improvements

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An Example - Milford Haven (94)

On 24th July 1994 there was a major explosion at the oil refinery at
Milford Haven jointly owned by Texaco and Gulf. There was plant
damage that cost about 48M to repair. There was also two months
lost production from the complete plant and four months lost
production from the area that was damaged. The plant owners were
prosecuted and fined a total of 200,000 plus costs.
Alarm system shortcomings were one major contributor to this
incident. There was a lightning strike which caused a significant plant
upset. For several hours after the lightning strike the operators were
heavily loaded with alarms at a rate estimated to be in excess of 1
every 2-3 seconds. During this period several operators failed to
identify the build up of liquid in a knock-out vessel. This eventually
overfilled and resulted in the explosion taking place. A number of
instrument faults contributed to the operating confusion. A large
number of people (26) sustained minor injuries as a result of the
explosion, but fortunately there were no major injuries.
Source HSE CRR 166

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An Example - Milford Haven (94)

Lesson 1 - Alarm System
The control displays and alarms did not aid operatives
A process overview would have helped diagnosis
The alarms appeared faster than they could be responded to
and key alarms were missed in the flood
87% of the 2040 alarms displayed as "high" priority, despite
many being informative only - safety critical alarms were not
distinguishable from the rest

Lesson 2 - Safety Management System (SMS)

SMS failures included:
The plant modification procedure did not prevent removal of
the flare knock-out drum emptying facility
The instrument maintenance system did not prevent 40% of
instruments from being defective

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An Example - Milford Haven (94)

Lesson 3 - Training and competence
Training should include:
Clear guidance on how to manage unplanned events
Clear guidance on when to initiate emergency plant shutdown
Clear authority to initiate shutdown

Lesson 4
Ultimate plant safety must not depend on operator response

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Milford Haven Has Led To ?

Recognition of the Alarm

Management Problem
Definition of Alarm Metrics
EEMUA 191 (1999/2007)
. and Many Alarm
Improvement Programs based
on EEMUA 191 Guidelines
Be careful with using this picture .. Statistics and Averaging tend to hide real issues

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Some EEMUA Metrics

Source EEMUA 191

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Some EEMUA Metrics

Source EEMUA 191

Message: Start Measuring Your Alarm System

Performance Compare and Take Action

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OKAY ..
We know what to measure
and how to compare
We are engineers
Lets Start !

Using What Framework ?

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Dont start building your house without a good

foundation

Foundation:
Alarm Philosophy (Rules)
Management of Change
Monitoring & Assesment
KPIs + Follow-up

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The SP18 The Alarm Management Lifecycle

The lifecycle model is useful
in identifying the
requirements and
responsibilities for
implementing an alarm
management system.
The lifecycle is applicable for
the installation of new alarm
systems or managing an
existing system.

Source ISA SP18

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The Alarm Philosophy

Source ISA SP18

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The Alarm Philosophy

The Alarm Philosophy Document can be a small
document. Keep in mind that the purpose is to get
common understanding, metrics and rules for MOC

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First Focus On?

When writing an Alarm Philosophy first Focus on:
1. Roles & Responsibilities
2. Alarm Prioritization Method
3. Key Performance Indicators

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Roles & Responsibilities in Alarm

Management
Key is to (re)define Roles & Responsibilities related to
alarm management activities. An example:

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Prevent Information Overflow

Adopt a Single Prioritization Method:
1. Classify the Health, Safety, Environment, Financial & Reputation
Consequences
2. Decide what Operator Response Times you use to prioritize

< 3 minutes
3 10 minutes
10 minutes >

= Immediate Action
= Swift Action
= Take Action

3. Decide levels for Consequences of no Response, f.ex.:

Small - Immediate Action required but Small Consequence = LOW

Priority
Moderate - Immediate Action required but Medium Consequence =
HIGH Priority
High - Immediate Action required but Severe Consequence =
EMERGENCY Priority

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Example Matrix

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Set Targets
Set Targets for:

Average Alarm Rate per time period

(day/hour/minute) ~ 6 per hour
Percentage of hours containing more
than >= N alarms 2% = 14 hours
per month in flood condition
Percentage contribution of the top 10
most frequent alarms to the overall
alarm load
Number of standing alarms on any day
Annunciated priority distribution
during alarm flood
Annunciated priority distribution in
steady operation
The top 10 most frequent
disabled/enabled alarms.
The top 10 most frequent inhibited
alarms.

~ 6 per hour
2% = 14 hours per month in flood
condition
< 5% (otherwise many bad actors)
<5
~5%, 15%, 80% (Emergency, High
Low)
<1%, 10%, 90% (Emergency, High
Low)
<1% of total configured alarms
< 1% of total configured alarms

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Monitor & Take Action

Monitor Weekly/Bi-Weekly/Monthly
Followed by quick bad-actor mitigation to improve

Actual
Target

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Identify & Improve

Bad Actor Mitigation is a quick-win solution (fixes the
alarms that are a problem now).
Alarm Performance Monitoring may have identified
following Issues:
-

Priority Distribution is Off

Too many alarms in stable operation
Too many alarms during and following trips
Large number of disabled alarms

Rationalize: rethink and document your alarms

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Document & Rationalize

Choose a fitting Rationalization
approach:
1. Unit-by-Unit
2. Full-scale
Reduce scope: Only rationalize
the alarms that actually
triggered during the last 12
months
Document and Rationalize
according to your rules in
your Alarm Philosophy.

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Alarm Rationalization & Documentation

What Alarm Information Should
you document:

Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm
Alarm

Rationale
Cause
Consequences
Consequential Alarms
Actions
Settings
Priority
Mode Dependencies

Tools available that help you retrieve current

settings and alarm information, store and audit
(and enforce) unrequested changes

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What Do you Have?

Seminar Attendees:
Question 1: Does your plant/site have an
Alarm Philosophy?
Question 2: Do you have clear metrics whereby
you can measure system performance? .. And
do you frequently monitor these?
Question 3: Do you have an alarm historian?
Question 4: Do you store and audit changes on
your alarm configuration data?

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Where to Start?
HELP I just experienced an Alarm Management Information Overflow
Where to Start:
1. Alarm Philosophy Document
2. Use Current Systems Improve Procedures:
-

Document
Measure
Audit
Take Actions (Weekly/Bi-Weekly)

3. Invest in Alarm Systems:

-

Alarm & Event Historization

Master Alarm Configuration Database
Alarm MOC (Electronic)
OASYS-AM
-

Foundation
Document/Measure &
Improve

State Based Alarming/Shelving

Operator Advisories: supporting the non routine situations
Reducing the alarm load
Prevent Alarm Storms with Alarm Predictions

- HMI improvements : sounds and presentation!

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Your Goal ?!
Good Alarm Management Practices:
1. Allow your operator to focus on improving the process
instead of responding to the system
2. Result in less stress and reduction of human failure
3. Result in less excursions to the safety and integrity
limits of your operations and as a result fewer trips
and reduction of downtime

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UReason can help you in the entire Alarm Management

Lifecycle:
- Alarm Awareness Workshops
- Alarm Philosophy Development
- Alarm Rationalization & Documentation
- Alarm MOC
- Measuring & Improving Alarm
Systems Performance
- Alarm Management Systems:
- A&E Historian, A&E Reporting,
Master Alarm Database,
Alarm MOC
- Advanced Alarm Reduction

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Thank You for your Attention !!

Questions !??

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Contact Details:
UReason Leiden
Pompoenweg 9
2321DK Leiden
071-5281700
www.UReason.com

Presenters:
Lieven Dubois: ldubois@ureason.com
Jules Oudmans: joudmans@ureason.com

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Future developments
The average age of control room operators is high
knowledge retention is becoming more and more a
hot topic
There is a change in workforce:
1. Higher educated control room operators staying short
period of time (2/3 yrs in control room)
2. Lower educated control room operators requiring
smarter systems helping them
Improved Operational Information (at the fingertips) and
Operator Training !

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Future developments

ISA S18 is released this will lead to updated OSHA

regulations in turn leading to investments in
Improved AM procedures, Reporting and Improved
Alarm Management systems
New regulations to follow

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Further reading:
ISA SP18:
http://www.isa.org/MSTemplate.cfm?Site=SP18,_Instru
ment_Signals_and_Alarms
EEMUA 191:
http://www.eemua.co.uk/p_instrumentation.htm
HSE CRR 166: ISBN: 0717615154
Human Factors & Alarm Management:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/alarmmanagement.htm

Next generation alarm management