Engineering and TechnicalAlarm Management and Operator Interface Design
Alarm systems are configured a point at a time over years until an operator receives more alarms in an upset than any person could read, which is how a system meant to direct attention becomes the thing preventing it. This course covers fixing that. Delegates work through alarm philosophy and what actually qualifies as an alarm, rationalisation of an existing system and the discipline of removing alarms that require no action, and prioritisation that means something. Performance measurement follows, including alarm rate in steady state and during upset, standing alarms and the worst actor list. Advanced techniques including shelving, suppression and state based alarming are covered. Operator interface design is addressed: hierarchy, greyscale convention and the displays that show a process condition at a glance.
Course objectives
- Write an alarm philosophy defining what qualifies as an alarm
- Rationalise an existing system and remove alarms requiring no action
- Prioritise alarms so priority carries meaning
- Measure alarm rate in steady state and during upset
- Address standing alarms and worst actors
- Apply shelving, suppression and state based alarming
- Design operator displays that show condition at a glance
Who should attend
- Control and instrumentation engineers
- Process and operations engineers
- Panel operators and shift supervisors
- Process safety practitioners
- Systems integrators configuring control systems
Course outline
- 01A system that prevents attention
- 02Alarm philosophy and what qualifies
- 03Rationalising an existing system
- 04Prioritisation that carries meaning
- 05Performance measurement
- 06Standing alarms and worst actors
- 07Shelving, suppression and state based alarming
- 08Operator display design and hierarchy
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 to 23 October 2026 | Windhoek, Namibia | Classroom | R14,950 per delegate | Register Now |
| 23 to 25 November 2026 | Online | Online | R6,500 per delegate | Register Now |
| 14 to 16 December 2026 | Pretoria, South Africa | Classroom | R14,950 per delegate | Register Now |
| 21 to 23 December 2026 | Durban, South Africa | Classroom | R14,950 per delegate | Register Now |
| 27 to 29 January 2027 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Classroom | R14,950 per delegate | Register Now |