Glossary · HMI, SCADA and operations
Alarm management
Also known as: Alarm system management
German: Alarmmanagement
In process automation, alarm management is the set of processes and practices for determining, documenting, designing, operating, monitoring and maintaining alarm systems across their lifecycle, as described in ANSI/ISA-18.2 and IEC 62682.
- HMI and SCADA
- Process industry
- Standards
In one sentence
Alarm management is the lifecycle discipline for designing, operating and improving alarm systems, as described in ISA-18.2 and IEC 62682.
Example
A chemical site writes an alarm philosophy, rationalizes 12,000 alarms down to 3,500 and reviews alarm rates every month.
Explained in context
Context cards connect this term with others to answer one question. Also in British English and German.
How it applies
- Engineering: The lifecycle starts with an alarm philosophy (definitions, priorities, colors, performance targets), followed by identification, Alarm rationalization, detailed design, implementation, operation, maintenance, monitoring and assessment. EEMUA 191 and NAMUR recommendations are other widely used guides.
- Operation: Key performance indicators include alarm rate, flood percentage, standing alarms and top bad actors.
- Change: Changes to alarm limits or priorities go through Management of change (MOC) against the master alarm database.
- Documentation: The alarm philosophy and master alarm database are controlled documents. Operator-facing alarm help texts should be derived from the rationalization records so causes and actions stay consistent.
Alarm management vs. message management
Alarm management covers conditions needing operator response. Message management in HMI systems handles all messages, including events and status messages. Alarm management principles help keep the alarm share of messages small.