Gains:
- Might explain what alarm fatigue is
- Knows the principles of simplifying the alarm set
- Can organize alerts in order of importance
If hundreds of alarms are going off per shift in a facility, after a while the operator won't look at any of them. This is called alarm fatigue and is the most common reason why the actual fault is overlooked.
Simplification principles
- Every alarm must have an action: what will the operator do? An alarm without action is information, not an alarm.
- Alarms from the same root should be grouped: when a line stops, ten consecutive alarms should not sound.
- Priority levels should really be used: if everything is "critical" then none is critical.
- Recurrent alarms should be analyzed and the root cause should be eliminated, not silenced.
Alarm analysis with artificial intelligence
A "subtract the 10 most recurring alarms and their average duration" analysis of the monthly alarm log shows which equipment is truly problematic. In most facilities, 80% of alarms come from several sources.
A silenced alarm is not considered resolved. Review the alarm list every month; The simplifying list is the list the operator is actually looking at.