7/27/2019 Alarm Management Cheat Sheet. RevIII (Sept 2011)

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The ISA-18.2 Alarm Management Lifecycle

September 2011Copyrightexida

2011

What is an Alarm? (per ISA-18.2)

An alarm is an audible and/or visible means ofindicating- There must be an indication of the alarm.An alarm limit can be configured to generate controlactions or log data without it being an alarm.to the operator - The indication must be targeted to theoperator to be an alarm, not to provide information to anengineer, maintenance technician, or manager.

an equipment malfunction, process deviation, orabnormal condition- The alarm must indicate aproblem, not a normal process condition. (e.g., pumpstopped ,valve closed)..

requiring a response. - There must be a definedoperator response to correct the condition and bring theprocess back to a desired (safe and/or productive) state.

If the operator does not need to respond, then thecondition should not be an alarm.

Stage Activity Inputs Outputs

PhilosophyDocument the objectives, guidelines, and workprocesses for the alarm system.

Objectives and standards.Alarm philosophy andAlarm System ReqmntSpecification (ASRS).

Identification Determine potential alarms.PHA report, SRS, P&IDs,operating procedures, etc

List of potential alarms.

Rationalization

Work process that determines which alarms arenecessary, establishes their design settings (e.g.,priority, limit, classification), and documents their

basis (cause, consequence, corrective action,time to respond, etc) in a Master Alarm Database.

Alarm philosophy, and listof potential alarms.

Master alarmdatabase, alarm design

requirements.

Detailed Design

Designing the system to meet the requirementsdefined in rationalization and philosophy. IncludesBasic alarm design, HMI design, and advancedalarming design.

Master alarm database,alarm design requirements.

Completed alarmdesign.

ImplementationAlarm system is put into operation (installation &commissioning, initial testing, and initial training).

Completed alarm designand master alarm database.

Operational alarms,Alarm responseprocedures.

OperationAlarm system is functional. Operators useavailable tools (e.g., shelving and alarm responseprocedures) to diagnose and respond to alarms.

Operational alarms, alarmresponse procedures.

Alarm data.

MaintenanceAlarms are taken out of service for repair andreplacement, periodic testing.

Alarm monitoring reportsand alarm philosophy.

Alarm data.

Monitoring &Assessment

Alarm system performance is measured andcompared against KPIs from the philosophy.Problem alarms are identified (nuisance alarms,frequently occurring alarms).

Alarm data and alarmphilosophy.

Alarm monitoringreports, proposedchanges.

Managementof Change

Process to authorize additions, modifications, anddeletions of alarms.

Alarm philosophy, proposedchanges.

Authorized alarmchanges.

AuditPeriodic audit of alarm management processes(e.g., comparing DCS alarm settings to the Master

Alarm Database)

Standards, alarmphilosophy, and auditprotocol

Recommendations forimprovement

ISA-18.2 Alarm Management Lifecycle

7/27/2019 Alarm Management Cheat Sheet. RevIII (Sept 2011)

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The Alarm Rationalization Process

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