When you add or modify an alarm severity, you can make changes to the Alarm Analysis settings for that severity. The Alarm Analysis settings define the amount of time permitted for alarms in the severity range to be:
- Received
- Responded to
- Cleared.
To change the Alarm Analysis settings for a severity:
- Display the Add Severity window (see Add a Severity Range) or display the Modify Severity window (see Edit a Severity Range).
- Use the Alarm Analysis fields to define the amount of permitted time for alarms being received, responded to, and cleared. There are 3 settings:
- Maximum period between alarm occurring and being received—Enter the amount of time permitted between an alarm condition occurring and the alarm being received by the server. The amount of time has to be an OPC interval, for example, 10s for 10 seconds.
When an alarm situation occurs, an alarm is raised. The alarm is reported to the server. If the alarm is not reported to the server within the defined time, an event is logged in the event journal. This allows users to view those alarms that have not been reported to the server within the permitted time. Typically, these alarms are not reported due to slow dial in connections between clients and the server.
- Maximum period between alarm being received and acknowledged—Enter the amount of time permitted between an alarm being reported and the alarm being acknowledged by a user. The amount of time has to be an OPC interval, for example, 5M for 5 minutes.
When an alarm situation occurs, an alarm is raised. The alarm is reported to the server. If a user does not acknowledge the alarm within the defined time, an event is logged in the event journal. This allows users to view those alarms that have not been acknowledged within the permitted time. Typically, these alarms do not have an Acknowledge response due to the slow reaction of operators, or operators not being on site at the time of alarm.
- Maximum period between alarm occurring and being cleared—Enter the amount of time permitted between an alarm condition occurring and the alarm being cleared. The amount of time has to be an OPC interval, for example, 10s for 10 seconds.
When an alarm situation occurs, an alarm is raised. The alarm is reported to the server. If the conditions that caused the alarm to be raised are not cleared within the defined time, an event is logged in the event journal. This allows users to view those alarms that relate to conditions that have not been rectified within the permitted time. Typically, these alarms are due to the cause of the alarm not being dealt with, or the solution to the alarm condition taking longer than expected.
- Maximum period between alarm occurring and being received—Enter the amount of time permitted between an alarm condition occurring and the alarm being received by the server. The amount of time has to be an OPC interval, for example, 10s for 10 seconds.
When you have defined the Alarm Analysis settings, you can select the OK button to close the Add Severity window or the Modify Severity window. To apply the changes you have made, you will need to right-click on the system in the Server Status Tool, and then select the Apply Changes option from the context sensitive menu.
Alternatively, you can use the Add Severity window or the Modify Severity window to define or change more severity configuration settings (see Add a Severity Range or see Edit a Severity Range).