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Control & Optimisation · ISA-18.2 · IEC 62682

Alarm Documentation & Rationalisation

An operator can act on six alarms an hour. Most control rooms see far more. Cerasus applies the ISA-18.2 lifecycle — philosophy, rationalisation, master alarm database and monitoring — so every alarm that remains is one the operator needs.

≤ 6 / haverage alarm rate target (EEMUA 191)
≤ 10 in 10 minflood threshold
MADBevery alarm documented
What it means

Alarm Documentation & Rationalisation, explained.

Alarm rationalisation is the systematic review of every configured alarm against the alarm philosophy: does it indicate an abnormal situation that needs operator action? What is the consequence, the response and the time available? Each retained alarm gets a documented priority, set-point and rationale in the Master Alarm Database (MADB).

Documentation & Rationalisation (D&R) is stage 3 of the ISA-18.2 lifecycle and is where alarm floods, standing alarms and nuisance alarms are actually removed.

What Cerasus provides

Scope of service

Alarm philosophy document

Site APD per ISA-18.2 Clause 6 with priority matrix and KPIs.

Benchmark & bad-actor analysis

Alarm rate, floods, standing and chattering alarms from event logs against EEMUA 191 targets.

Rationalisation workshops

Facilitated, tag-by-tag D&R with operations, engineering and control.

Master Alarm Database

MADB with cause, consequence, response, time-to-respond, priority and set-point.

Implementation & enforcement

DCS configuration changes, state-based alarming and MOC for alarms.

Monitoring & assessment

Ongoing KPI reporting and quarterly reviews.

How we do it

Our approach, step by step

Philosophy

Write or update the alarm philosophy and priority matrix.

Benchmark

Analyse alarm logs; find bad actors and floods.

Rationalise

Workshops to classify, prioritise and document every alarm.

Implement & monitor

Configure the DCS; track KPIs against targets.

Standards & references

Codes this service follows

ANSI/ISA-18.2Management of alarm systems for the process industries
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119(d)(2) & (f)PSM — safe upper/lower limits and consequences of deviation in operating procedures
IEC 62682International adoption of ISA-18.2
EEMUA 191Alarm systems — guide to design, management and procurement
ISA-TR18.2.2 – .7Technical reports: identification, rationalisation, enhanced alarming
NAMUR NA 102Alarm management
ISA-101HMI design for alarm presentation
Deliverables

What you receive

  • Alarm philosophy document
  • Benchmark report and bad-actor list
  • Master Alarm Database (MADB)
  • DCS change list and MOC records
  • KPI dashboard and assessment report
Why Cerasus

Practitioner-led, standards-based

200+ years of cumulative plant experienceA team that has operated major refineries and petrochemical plants, led by a chemical engineer with 35+ years in industry.
Certified leadershipTÜV-certified HAZOP Leader, CCPSC (AIChE/CCPS) and IEC 61508/61511 Functional Safety Engineer.
Global reach, Doha-basedCerasus Technologies QFZ LLC — registered in the Qatar Free Zones, with reach across geographical locations around the world.
Related services

Often scoped together

Request a consultation

Tell us about the unit and the problem.

Send a short brief — plant, service of interest and what you need to achieve — and a Cerasus engineer will respond with a proposed scope and next steps.

Prefer email or phone? sales@cerasus.ai · +974 5506 2743