Alarm Management for Process Control

630 Pages·2009·0.23 MB·English

by  Ph. D. Douglas Rothenberg

Alarm Management
What Others are saying Rothenberg Douglas H. Rothenberg
for Process Control
“This book provides a thorough view of what it
by Douglas H. Rothenberg, Ph.D. takes to manage our alarms. But it is not just a
book on alarm management; the underlying mes-
sages are about Safety and Awareness. It solidly
This book elevates alarm management from a fragmented collection
conveys the mantra that the most effective way to
of procedures, metrics, experiences, and trial-and-error, to the level
run a manufacturing site is this: Ensure employee
of a technology discipline. It provides a complete treatment of best Alarm
safety & provide a work environment that deliv-
practices in alarm management. The technology and approaches
ers the right amount of information at exactly the
found here provide the opportunity to completely understand the
right time. The book contains details and insight Management
what, the why, and the how of successful alarm systems.
that can only be gained through experience, les-
No modern industrial enterprise, particularly in such areas f A
sons learned, and problem solving. It is presented
as chemical processing, can operate without a secure and reliable o
for those of us with an interest or desire for proper for Process
infrastructure of alarms and controls—they are an integral part of l
alarm management, yet who do not know where a
all production management and control systems. Improving alarm r
to start or how to sustain our progress.”
management is an effective way to provide operators with high-value —a. t. stump r Control
support and guidance to successfully manage industrial plant opera- P
tions. Readers will find: “His book is a comprehensive treatment of the m
current best practices in industrial process control r
• Recommendations and guidelines are developed from funda-
alarm management. Doug covers the entire alarm
mental concepts to provide powerful technical tools and work- o
able approaches. management process from how to recognize the M
level of performance of existing systems through
• Alarms are treated as indicators of abnormal situations, not c A Best-Practice Guide for
simply sensor readings that might be out of position. the methodology and procedures for redesigning
a
• Alarm improvement is intimately linked to infrastructure (or designing new) state-of-the-practice alarm e
management, including the vital role of plant maintenance systems. All critical tasks are explained, with ex- Design, Implementation,
n
to alarm management, the need to manage operators’ charter amples and insight into what they mean.” s
to continue to operate during abnormal situations vs. cease —W. Boyes, Control Magazine a and Use of Industrial
s
operation, and the importance of situation awareness without
COntents:
undue reliance upon alarms g
Introduction; PART I: Meet Alarm Manage- Alarm Systems
The ability to appreciate technical issues is important, but this book ment; Abnormal Situations; Strategy for Alarm C
e
requires no previous specific technical, educational, or experiential Improvement; Alarm Performance; PART II:
background. The style and content are very accessible to a broad in- Permission to Operate; Alarm Philosophy; Ra- o
m
dustrial audience from board operator to plant manager. All critical tionalization; Enhanced Alarm Methods; PART
tasks are explained with workflow processes, examples, and insight III: Implementation; Life Cycle Management; n
into what it all means. Alternatives are offered everywhere to enable Project Development; Situation Awareness e
users to tailor-make solutions to their particular sites. t
r n
aBOut the authOr: o
t
Doug rothenberg is founder and President of D-RoTH, Inc., a leading world-class consulting

firm in all areas of alarm management systems for industrial manufacturing and technology l
providers, based in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from
Virginia Tech, a MSEE from Case Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering
from Case Western Reserve University. He is past president of the Cleveland Instrumentation,
Systems, and Automation Society and remains active in both regional and national engineering
and professional societies, including ISA and Sigma Xi. He serves on ISA 18 and API 1167
alarm management standards committees.
ISBN: 978-1-60650-003-3
90000
www.momentumpress.net
9 781606 500033
Alarm
Management
for Process
Control
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Alarm
Management
for Process
Control
A Best-Practice Guide for
Design, Implementation,
and Use of Industrial
Alarm Systems
DOUGLAS H. ROTHENBERG
MOMENTUM PRESS, LLC, NEW YORK
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Alarm Management for Process Control
Copyright © Doug Rothenberg, 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or any other
except for brief quotations, not to exceed 400 words, without the prior permission of the publisher
First published in 2009 by
Momentum Press®, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, N.Y. 10017
www.momentumpress.net
ISBN-13: 978-1-60650-003-3 (hard back, case bound)
ISBN-10: 1-60650-003-1 (hard back, case bound)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60650-005-7 (e-book)
ISBN-10: 1-60650-005-8 (e-book)
DOI forthcoming
Cover Design by Jonathan Pennell
Interior Design by Scribe, Inc. (www.scribenet.com)
First Edition March 2009
5 6 7 8 9 10
Printed in Taiwan ROC
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To my dearest wife, constant companion, champion, and best friend, Katarzyna
Gustaw, under whose sheltering roof and within whose protecting walls the fi rst
words to this book, nearly the fi nal words, and much in between were written.
Książkę tą dedykuję mojemu najlepszemu przyjacielowi, drogiej żonie mojej
Katarzynie Gustaw. Za jej to przyczyną i w jej przyjaznym domu pracowałem
przez długi czas, rozpocząłem i zakończyłem pisanie.
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About the Author
D
ouglas H. Rothenberg is the president and principal
consultant of D-RoTH, Inc., a technology consult-
ing company providing innovative technology and
services for industry. His background includes 10 years as an
independent consultant to Fortune 1000 companies; over 20
years with Standard Oil, BP Oil, and BP Amoco, where he
was responsible for new, state-of-the-art technology to sup-
port advanced manufacturing solutions; and 10 years in aca-
demia at Case Western Reserve University. Current areas of
specialty with D-RoTH include alarm management, fi t-for-
purpose product design, and innovation development for new
products and services.
Rothenberg has a PhD in systems and control engineering from Case Western
Reserve University, an MS in electrical engineering from Case Institute of Technology,
and a bachelor of electrical engineering degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
He has several patents in instrumentation and controls. He is active in the Instrumen-
tation, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA, formerly the Instrument Society of
America) and a member of Sigma Xi, the Scientifi c Research Society. He is the recipi-
ent of 2005 Educator of the Year Award from Cleveland Technical Societies Council,
Cleveland, Ohio.
vii
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Contents
About the Author vii
List of Figures xxviii
List of Tables xxxiii
Foreword xxxvi
Acknowledgments xxxviii
Credits xxxix
Introduction xl
Not a Handbook xli
Audience xli
Usefulness xlii
Contents xlii
Part I: The Alarm Management Problem xliii
Part II: The Alarm Management Solution xliii
Part III: Implementing Alarm Management xliii
Book Deliverables xliv
Important Word xliv
Note xliv
Part 1: The Alarm Management Problem 1
Chapter 1: Meet Alarm Management 3
1.1 Key Concepts 4
1.2 Alarm Performance Problems 5
Symptoms 5
Evidence 5
1.3 Reasons for Alarm Improvement 6
How Alarms Fit into Process Operating Situation 6
Alarm Management 8
Benefi ts 8
ix
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