Alarm management has passed a critical point, now appearing on the “To do” list of plant personnel and company management. The increased focus has been triggered by new industry standards and increased understanding of its effects on plant safety and operational excellence. The factors creating this “perfect storm” for alarm management:
Poor alarm management effects plant safety. It has been identified as a contributing cause in accidents such as Buncefield Oil Depot and Texas City Refinery.
New standards such as (ANSI/ISA-18.2-2009) and existing guidelines (like EEMUA 191) , are forcing companies to re-evaluate what they do to ensure compliance with these “good engineering practices”.
Personnel reductions and changes in the workforce have made it more important than ever to optimize the operator’s performance.
Ineffective response to alarms often leads to unplanned downtime, which has a direct financial impact on the bottom line (($10K - $1M / hour).
