Method and system for managing plant alarm systems

Abstract

A system and method of managing notifications of a plurality of states of a plant of equipment are provided. The alarm system includes a memory device and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory device. The one or more processors are programmed to receive parameters relating to a potential alarm, receive an indication of a plant event from at least one of a plurality of field devices, compare the received indication to the received parameters, and display a notification of the potential alarm as at least one of an event, a diagnostic, an alert, and an alarm based on the comparison and in accordance with the received parameters.

1 - 6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . A plant annunciation system for rationalizing alarms associated with a plurality of equipment configured to operate cooperatively in a system using a managed alarm feature including a parent/child association between potential alarms, said system comprising:
 a rationalized alarm system comprising one or more processors communicatively coupled to one or more memory devices;   a plurality of field devices comprising at least one of a sensor, a virtual sensor, a control device, a controlled device, and a network configured to communicate with said rationalized alarm system to indicate a fault within at least one of the system hardware, software or plant components; and   a human machine interface (HMI) including at least one display of a rationalized alarm, said HMI configured to reduce an operator sensory load by reducing annunciated alarms to those that have been designed, categorized, and prioritized using said rationalized alarm system.   
     
     
         8 . The plant annunciation system of  claim 7 , wherein said rationalized alarm system is configured to receive parameters relating to a potential alarm, the received parameters include at least one of an active condition parameter, which indicates operating conditions for which the potential alarm is applicable, a triggering event parameter, which describes logic that triggers the potential alarm, and an alarm setpoint parameter, which indicates a threshold value that triggers an alarm when exceeded. 
     
     
         9 . The plant annunciation system of  claim 7 , wherein said rationalized alarm system is configured to receive parameters relating to a potential alarm, said received parameters include a shelving parameter, which defines a shelving mechanism for the potential alarm, the shelving mechanism is initiated by an operator to temporarily suppress a generated alarm or alert, the shelving parameter includes a maximum duration of a shelve period, the maximum shelf time determined using an allowable response time and an urgency category. 
     
     
         10 . The plant annunciation system of  claim 7 , wherein said rationalized alarm system is configured to receive parameters relating to a potential alarm during a design phase of an alarm rationalization process, the design phase including at least one of pre-checking of potential alarms in a system, defining the potential alarms, determining a relationship of potential alarms within a given system, and determining an operator guidance including a determination of the specific action to take and the urgency with which the operator needs to act to avoid a consequence of inaction. 
     
     
         11 . The alarm system of claim  1 , wherein said one or more processors are programmed to categorize potential alarms as Events, Diagnostics, Alerts or Alarms by separating alarms into annunciation types based on common requirements. 
     
     
         12 . The plant annunciation system of  claim 7 , wherein the common requirements include at least one of an event annunciation type, a diagnostic annunciation type, an alert annunciation type, an alarm annunciation type, an allowable response time between an annunciation of the alarm and the time the operator must take corrective action to avoid the consequence, and whether the potential alarm is actionable. 
     
     
         13 . A computer-implemented method of managing notifications of a plurality of states of a plant of equipment, the method implemented using a computer device coupled to a user interface and a memory device, the method comprising:
 receiving notification of a potential alarm;   determining if the potential alarm meets criteria of being an alert or alarm;   determining if the potential alarm is at least one of meaningful, unique, and abnormal; and   determining operator guidance for the potential alarm including determining at least one of a probable cause for the potential alarm, a consequence of inaction upon notification of the potential alarm, an operator action for mitigating an effect of the cause of the potential alarm and an operator urgency for responding to the potential alarm.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 defining the potential alarm, where the definition includes the conditions under which the potential alarm is active, whether an operator is allowed to shelve it, and defining an area of the plant the potential alarm is associated;   determining one or more relationships of the potential alarm within an associated system of the plant;   defining a parent/child association of the potential alarm based on the determined one or more relationships;   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 categorizing the potential alarm based on common requirements into annunciation types including at least one of an event, a diagnostic, an alert, and an alarm;   determining an alarm class for the potential alarm that indicates an urgency of response based on a seriousness of consequences and an allowable response time;   assigning a level of operational importance to the potential alarm based on the determined alarm class; and   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining a consequence of inaction upon notification of the potential alarm comprises determining one or more potential adverse occurrences to a plant system or plant component if the operator does not react to an alarm. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining a probable cause for the potential alarm further comprises determining a difficulty of determining a cause of a fault, a solution to the fault, and a probability of a cause of the fault. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining an operator action for mitigating an effect of the cause of the potential alarm comprises associating the operator action to a potential cause of the fault causing the potential alarm. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining an operator urgency for responding to the potential alarm comprises assigning an alarm class, which indicates the urgency of response to the potential alarm, the alarm class determined by evaluating each consequence area of a plurality of consequence areas to determine a most severe category of the plurality of consequence areas with respect to an operator urgency. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising prioritizing the potential alarm.