Alarm System Effectiveness

How to Measure it and Why You Should

If You Do Not Measure, You Cannot Manage

You've heard the phrase, "Too many alarms", but how many alarms is too many? A joint research effort between the
EEMUA® and the ASM® Consortium established a comprehensive guide to best practices in alarm management, including
target metrics for alarm activity. The document, EEMUA Publication 191, Alarm Systems: A Guide to Design, Management,
and Procurement, or "EEMUA 191", is the current "de facto" standard for alarm management.

The EEMUA alarm performance targets were established through extensive human behavior studies. By observing the time
required to respond to different categories of alarms and accounting for that within the other demands of an operating team,
the group was able to establish alarm activity targets and other protocols that maximize operator capabilities while
mitigating stress. The result is fewer upsets and an operating team that can successfully reverse upsets when they occur.

Clear communication of plant condition and enhanced responsiveness of the operating team results in additional capacity
without compromising safety, tangible benefits to business performance and corporate vigilance.

EEMUA Targets
The EEMUA recommended alarm system performance metrics are summarized below in a KPI grid created by Ian Nimmo,
President of User Centered Design Services®. Ian was a founding member of the ASM Consortium, managing many of the
control room studies that led to the creation of the EEMUA benchmarks.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator) Target

Manageable Steady State 1 per 10 minutes
Flood State 10 in 10 minutes
Average Process Alarm Rate 5 per hour (120 per day)
% of Time Alarms Exceed Target Average Rate 0%
Peak Alarm Hourly Rate 15 per hour
Peak Alarm Minute Rate 2 per minute
Alarm Activity Priority Distribution ~ 5%
~ 15%
~ 80%
Alarms Within 10 Minutes of a Major Upset 10 or less
Chattering Alarms 0
Stale alarms (more than 1 day old) 0
Average Alarms / Controller 4
Unauthorized Changes to Alarm Settings 0

EEMUA derived alarm performance metrics (© User Centered Design Services)

Recommended References
EEMUA - Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association®

The EEMUA is a premiere worldwide resource for alarm management information, through their Publication 191 - Alarm
Systems - A Guide to Design, Management and Procurement. The first edition was a cooperative effort with the ASM
Consortium, the Abnormal Situation Management Consortium, (see below), released in 1999. The second edition will be
released on June 21st of this year. Publication 191 includes guidelines for alarm system design and performance
measurement. The guide can be purchased at http://www.eemua.org/.

ASM Consortium - Abnormal Situation Management® Consortium

The ASM Consortium is devoted to researching and establishing techniques for avoidance and successful management of
plant upsets. Many of the people involved with the ASM Consortium were on the forefront of what would become the field of
alarm management. http://www.asmconsortium.com/

UCDS® - User Centered Design Services

User Centered Design Services, LLC (UCDS) was organized to provide consulting expertise that dramatically improves the
nature of operations in production facilities. UCDS was founded by Ian Nimmo, a founder and the initial Program Director of
the ASM Consortium. Common to our employees and affiliates is the application of knowledge of plant operations, industry
standards, best practices, regulatory requirements, human factors, and years of knowledge and proficiency in managing
abnormal situations. http://www.mycontrolroom.com

The Right Tool for the Job

Many products are available to facilitate analysis of alarm data and to manage the process of alarm management. Better
products automate the process of generating and comparing the EEMUA benchmarks and continuously improve to
embrace the latest trends in alarm management methodology.

The LogMate® AMS Alarm Management System from TiPS™ fulfills all of those requirements. Because the success of an
alarm management effort largely depends on the tools used, a thorough evaluation of available products is recommended.
We invite you to ask us for a guided tour of LogMate. We are confident you will be impressed with what you learn.

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