Redirect Alarms to Users that are in the Same Region as the Alarm
Although the examples in this topic apply to systems that use Geo SCADA Expert's Geographical Location features, some of the principles and configuration properties described also apply to systems that do not use Geographical Location features.
This example demonstrates how you might configure Geo SCADA Expert to redirect alarms only to users that are in the same geographical region as the database items with which the alarms are associated.
You can use this type of alarm redirection setup in a variety of situations, including those in which:
- The plant is static (at a fixed location) but is assigned Location settings (so that, for example, the assets can be viewed on maps)
- The plant is mobile, so could get be moved from one region to another
- The users work at either a fixed location, or are mobile and likely to move around from one region to another.
By only redirecting the alarms to those users that are in the same region as the alarm, only those users that are likely to be in closest proximity to the affected plant are notified of the alarms.
With this particular example, an 'On-Call Engineers' User Group is configured for use should none of the intended recipients happen to be in the same region as the alarms when the alarm redirection is triggered. This enables Geo SCADA Expert to redirect the alarms to a 'default' collection of users should no users be in close proximity to the plant to which the alarms relate.
On a particular system, both the users and plant are mobile. Appropriate database items are used to represent the users and plant in the Geo SCADA Expert database. The individual database items that represent each sensor or controllable device within the plant are placed in a single Group in the database.
The individual database items are configured to inherit their Location Source from the Group (this requirement is specified on each item's Location tab).
The Group's Location Source is set to 'Dynamic' so that the Group's coordinates update and therefore show when the plant has moved from one region to another. (If the plant was at a fixed location, rather than mobile, the Group's Location Source would be set to 'Static' and the relevant coordinates specified in the Position field.)
Each User's Location Source is also set to 'Dynamic' on each User Form so that the users' coordinates update and Geo SCADA Expert is able to ascertain the regions within which those users are located.
The Group in which the plant database items are placed is configured to redirect the plant's alarms in an e-mail. This requirement is configured on the Redirection tab of the Group's configuration Form. The tab references the E-Mail Action database item that is used to specify the e-mail criteria.
On the E-Mail Action tab of the E-Mail Action's configuration Form, the Redirection Scheme is specified as 'By Matching User Location against Alarm Region'. With this redirection scheme, when the redirection is triggered, Geo SCADA Expert checks the geographical region within which the alarm is located (it does this by checking the coordinates of the database item with which the alarm is associated, and then uses those coordinates to determine the geographical region within which the database item is located). It also checks the users' coordinates to determine the region(s) within which each user is located. Providing that the other alarm criteria are met, Geo SCADA Expert then redirects the alarm to those users that are in the same region as the database item with which the alarm is associated.
With this Redirection Scheme, Geo SCADA Expert compares the region(s) in which the alarm is located to the region(s) in which users are located (providing that those users are configured with valid Location settings other than 'None'). As regions can be within, or overlap, other regions, be aware that if your system has multiple overlapping regions, or a large region that extends over most of the operational area, this will make a match more likely. Likewise, if your system includes a large region that extends over the whole operational area, Geo SCADA Expert will always find a match when comparing the region(s) in which the alarm and users are located.
In case no users happen to be in the same region as the alarm, the properties in the Find In Region section of the tab are used to redirect alarms to a 'default' User Group named 'On-Call Engineers'. Geo SCADA Expert only redirects the alarms to the users in this User Group if no users happen to be in the same geographical region at the database item with which the alarm is associated, when the alarm redirection is triggered.
You should only set a User's Location Source to 'Inherited' if that user is expected to be static (based at a particular site, rather than move from one site to another). This is because Geo SCADA Expert's Geographic Location features will then use the coordinates of the Group in which that User is placed in the database to determine the User's geographical location.
Do not confuse the properties of User Groups with 'object' Groups (which appear as 'folders' in the Database Bar). When a User's Location Source is set to 'Inherited', those Users inherit their Location Source from the 'object' Group (or a higher-level such Group) in which they are placed in the database.
The Location settings of any User Groups (or User Rosters) with which the User accounts are associated have no impact on the Location Source of the individual User accounts. However, User accounts do inherit Regions of responsibility from the User Groups and User Rosters with which they are associated (see Assign Regions of Responsibility).
Further Information
Use the Location Tab to Specify an Item's Geographic Coordinates.
Configure the Requirements on a Group or Item's Redirection tab: see Configure Alarm Redirections for an Item or Group.
Specify the Redirection Scheme and 'Find in Region' settings: see Specify Whether to Redirect Alarms to Users According to Geographical Criteria.
Summary of Configuration Settings Relating to Location-Based Redirection Criteria.