ISA alarm management standard packs a punch

摘要

The topic of alarm management has long held a high profile in quite a few industries. In keeping with this status, the ANSI/ISA-18.2-2009 standard, Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries, will impact all industries using modern control systems. ISA-18.2 is different from many standards for industry because it is not about hardware or component design. It is about the work processes of people. Poorly performing alarm systems do not create themselves. ISA-18.2 focuses on work processes for effective alarm management. The standard is designed for computerized control systems from which an operator responds to alarms. It applies whether your process is continuous, batch, or discrete. It does not matter if you are making (or moving) gasoline, plastics, megawatts, or aspirin. This is because alarm response is a human-machine interaction. The steps for detecting an alarm, analyzing the situation, and making a response are human steps that do not vary significantly based on the process you are controlling.