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TiPS Newsletter - February 2007
Rationalized Excuses
What exactly is rationalization anyway? Well, let's look up
the definition...
From the
Random
House Unabridged Dictionary:
ra·tion·al·ize
- to ascribe (one's acts, opinions, etc.) to causes that superficially seem reasonable and valid but that actually are unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious and often less creditable or agreeable causes.
- to invent plausible explanations for acts, opinions, etc., that are actually based on other causes.
"So rationalization is making up excuses?"
That's not really the intent, but those definitions do have
a resounding theme: Look for the real cause, not the superficial
one, not the easy one. Don't waste time creating excuses for
the way the alarms are. Address them from an end-to-end design
perspective. Once the design is right, the alarms will be
fixed. Once there's a system in place to manage that design,
the alarms will never get out of control again.
"But you said the alarm system is never fixed!"
So to speak. We prefer to say
alarm management is never
finished.
Good designs will incorporate periodic reviews as well as
mechanisms for controlling change. Those are the ongoing activities
of alarm management. It could be called alarm
design
management. Just like any other designed system, alarms should
be subject to review and verification. With the right systems
in place, alarms are simply absorbed into the standard process
of design review.
Read more alarm design commentary on the TiPS Blog
Talk back on AlarmManagement.com
TiPS User Conference
Build a Stronger Automation Foundation
April 17-19, 2007
Marriott Convention Center
Austin, TX
What started as a basic user meeting has ballooned into a content-rich technical conference on alarm management, loop tuning, and loop performance management. Squeezed into two and a half days are:
- Insightful keynotes and presentations covering best practices and practical applications
- Numerous case studies outline real-world challenges and successes
- Invaluable product training sessions including a hands-on tutorial lab
Attendees will leave the conference energized and capable of accomplishing more than ever. This will be a unique opportunity to capture a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience gathered under one roof.
Don't miss it!
View a more detailed agenda
Visit
the conference website
LogMate TiP of the Month
Some control systems omit valuable information from alarm
messages that could be useful in analysis and performance
assessment. LogMate can use a background process to add or
replace these important missing pieces of data.
The background process is universal and can be applied to
any control system. A recent tech doc details the mechanism
for the Foxboro I/A system.
For more information
read
this tech doc or
contact our sales team.
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