1.1 General applicability
This document specifies general principles and processes for the management of alarm systems based on controls system and human-machine interfaces (HMI) for facilities in the process industries. It covers all alarms to be presented to the operator through the control system, which includes alarms from basic process control systems, annunciators, packaged systems, and safety instrumented systems. The practices in this document are applicable to continuous, batch, and discrete processes. There can be differences in implementation to meet the specific needs based on process type. The primary function within the alarm system is to notify operators of abnormal process conditions or equipment malfunctions and support the response. The alarm systems can include both the basic process control system (BPCS) and the safety instrumented system (SIS), each of which uses measurements of process conditions and logic to generate alarms. Figure 1 illustrates the concepts of alarm and response dataflow through the alarm system. The alarm system also includes a mechanism for communicating the alarm information to the operator via an HMI, usually a computer screen or an annunciator. Additional functions of the alarm system are an alarm and event log, an alarm historian, and the generation of performance metrics for the alarm system. There are external systems that can use the data from the alarm system. Figure 1 is not intended to represent physical wiring. Figure 1 — Alarm system dataflowNOTE 1 Packaged systems (e.g., refrigeration machines) can be included in the control system.
NOTE 2 Panel can refer to annunciator panel or other panel types.
NOTE 3 The lines are intended to represent data flow and not physical wiring.
A Commented Version (CMV) of this standard is available here. Please note, the CMV of the standard is not adopted, and therefore doesn’t contain an additional national foreword, or national annex that might be contained in the BS adoption of the standard. However the IEC text that forms the content of the standard is identical to the BS adoption of the standard.
Commented Versions (CMVs) are specialized publications featuring detailed commentary from technical experts on the major changes between the new edition of a standard and the previous one. Comments may include an explanation for the changes as well as information on the impact of these changes on the application and usability of the standard.
