EEMUA Guidelines (Alarm systems)

Texaco Pembroke Enquiry Recommendation quote

Following the HSE investigation into the explosion and fires at Texaco Refinery, Milford Haven, 24 July 1994 their report had the following recommendation (3)... Display systems should be configured to provide an overview of the conditions of the process including, where appropriate, mass and volumetric balance summaries.

It also had recommendation (6) ? The use and configuration of alarms should be such that : safety critical alarms are distinguishable from other operational alarms; alarms are limited to the number that an operator can effectively monitor; and ultimate plant safety should not rely on operator response to a control system alarm.

Alarm Systems.

The EEMUA Alarm Systems( publication No. 191:199) has developed this requirement with these basic objectives for alarms -

Usability: This objective has the following sub-objectives:

• be relevant to the user's role at the time;
• indicate clearly what response is required;
• be presented at a rate that the user can deal with:

Safety: .. the contribution of the alarm system to protecting the safety of people, the environment and plant equipment should be clearly identified.

Performance monitoring: ... the performance of the alarm system should be assessed during design and commissioning to ensure that it is usable and effective under all operating conditions.

Investment in engineering: Alarm systems should be engineered to suitably high standards.

A core requirement of achieving these objectives is a hazard and risk assessment which also provides compliance to parts of various EU directives which form UK regulations - Management of Health and Safety, PUWE, DSEAR, etc.

HMI

EEMUA Process plant computer desks utilising Human-computer interfaces (publication No. 210:2002) have since developed this recommendation.