Holistic alarm management throughout the plant lifecycle

Alarm management is a key facilitator of safe, effective and efficient operations and never more valuable than on high hazard facilities such as those in the petroleum and chemical industry. An effective alarm system can both reduce the probability of health, safety and environmental accidents and mitigate their impact. The new global standard IEC 62682 "Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries" [6] reinforces a more holistic lifecycle approach. Management of Change (MoC) is a central requirement and must be facilitated- by management processes supported by appropriate automation systems and engineering systems. IEC 62682 defines a common framework and a common language for alarm management. It helps suppliers and operators to gain a clearer understanding of relative obligations and expectations concerning complex projects where multiple organizations are involved, and where alarm management can be seen as someone else's responsibility or something that can be "bolted-on" during commissioning or subsequent operations. The continuous improvement process, whether applied during the engineering or operations phase is not focused purely on alarm data but also on the processes and resources which have created it. The emphasis on lifecycle reminds us that alarms should not be considered as something that is engineered once and never touched again after commissioning. As business operations, process characteristics and equipment evolve over time, the alarm management system (hardware, software, procedures and people) need to be adapted accordingly. Continuous improvement is important and needs to be adequately supported by the system. Good tools that holistically manage changes throughout the complete lifecycle allow confident implementation of identified improvements.