New PHMSA-CRM White Papers Now Available
Industry experts Dr. Doug Rothenberg, John Bogdan and Kelly Doran (Telvent) lend a hand in dispelling a few PHMSA-CRM myths in a series of three white papers.
Part One:
Deadlines and Controller Distraction
By: Kelly Doran, Telvent; Julie Graham and Jennifer Anderson, TiPS, Inc.
Part Two: Written Alarm Management Plans
By: Dr. Doug Rothenberg, D-Roth, Inc.; Julie Graham, TiPS, Inc.
Part Three: Rationalization
By: John E. Bogdan and Susan Booth, J Bogdan Consulting LLC; Julie Graham, TiPS, Inc.
TIPS, Inc. joins PACIV for INTERPHEX Puerto Rico
AUSTIN – TiPS, Inc., developer of LogMate™, the industry’s best user-oriented alarm management software, today announces a partnership with PACIV, Inc. at the world’s largest and most trusted pharmaceutical industry trade show, INTERPHEX. TiPS will join PACIV at booth 518 October 20-21, 2011 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan.
TiPS offers the pharmaceutical industry more than 20 years of alarm management experience in a variety of industries, understanding of industry regulations such as 21 CFR Part 11, and best practices such as ISA 18.2 and EEMUA 191. PACIV’s expertise in control system engineering and the pharmaceutical industry strengthens the combined offering of alarm management services and software.
Read the full release here.
Alarm Limit Calculation Patent Awarded to TiPS, Inc.
Innovative tool provides consistent method of calculating alarm response time
AUSTIN – TiPS, Inc., developer of LogMate™, the industry’s favorite user-oriented alarm management software, today announces patent approval of their industry-leading alarm activation point calculation. Together with Dr. Doug Rothenberg, the premiere expert in alarm management, TiPS developed this exclusive method to provide a time to manage calculation for a user to respond to an abnormal device and prevent or reduce the unwanted consequences of the situation.
ANSI/ISA 18.2, the industry standard in alarm management, requires documentation, prioritization and alarm limit calculations. However, LogMate is the only alarm management software that features an alarm limit calculation. LogMate houses this information in the Alarm Knowledge Base, fulfilling visibility and accountability best practices.
“The alarm limit calculation takes the guesswork out of rationalization,” TiPS President and CEO Bob Weibel said. “It is the foundation you truly need to make a calculated, non-biased decision about how much time is required to respond to and resolve an alarm before unwanted consequences occur. This tool will prevent equipment damage and even save lives.”
“The tool streamlines the Documentation and Rationalization process by recommending the setting for the alarm activation point, which is a foundational requirement of a properly configured alarm,” said Rothenberg. “All current standards and guidelines call for the value to allow enough time for proper handling of the abnormal condition. While this is straightforward in concept, the actual setting is more involved. LogMate includes a tool that will calculate a recommended alarm activation point value directly, saving time and removing bias from the process.”
The alarm limit calculation tool is included in the latest releases of LogMate, versions 7.20 and higher. It is recommended that LogMate customers install the latest version to ensure optimum performance.
About TiPS, Inc.
Since introducing the first full-featured alarm management software, LogMate, in 1990, TiPS has continued to deliver best-in-class process alarm management products and services worldwide. TiPS was founded in 1988 as an automation consulting firm specializing in wet chemical manufacturing facilities. Over the years, customer needs prompted the creation of software, which received such acclaim and demand that TiPS began to adjust its focus to the development and distribution of software tools for the entire process industry. TiPS’ product quality and longevity enable us to connect you with the leaders in alarm management knowledge and services, including formative members of the ASM Consortium®, participants in the EEMUA® 191 effort, and contributors to the ISA® 18.2 alarm management standards committee.
About Dr. Doug Rothenberg
Dr. Doug Rothenberg is founder and President of D-RoTH, Inc., a leading world-class consulting firm in all areas of alarm management systems for industrial manufacturing and technology providers, and author of Alarm Management for Process Control. He holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, a MSEE from Case Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. He is past president of the Cleveland Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society and remains active in both regional and national engineering and professional societies, including ISA and Sigma Xi. He serves on ISA 18 and API 1167 alarm management standards committees.
LogMate 7.20 and TiPSView 4.10 Updates Now Available
Newest versions 64-bit compatible
LogMate, the industry's most compatible alarm management software, releases updates to several components and announces 64-bit platform compatibility.
Beginning with LogMate 7.20 and TiPSView 4.10, all versions will operate on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. The end date for support of the 32-bit platform has not been scheduled.
Current ESS subscribers may install the 32-bit updates at no charge. If the 64-bit version is desired, please contact the TiPS sales team at 512-863-3653 or sales@tipsweb.com for more information. A pre-migration checklist to 64-bit operating systems may be downloaded here.
Benefits of migrating your LogMate and TiPSView software to a 64-bit platform include:
- Reduction of memory constraints. 64-bit SQL Server is now supported at up to 64 GB of memory.
- More users can be added because of higher availability of memory.
- Analyses return data faster by caching more data in short term memory, allowing reports to run more efficiently.
TiPSView
ACE Activity Overview Analysis: Enhanced to include steady state and flood analysis by alarm count, providing the user with more detailed information, aiding and expediting decision making.
Capture: The Capture link now turns red when new Capture messages are received, such as port errors.
Duration Analysis: A correct error message is now displayed if a stale alarm’s time duration is an extremely large number.
LogMate
Capture: OLEDB ports now feature a Sybase option.
TiPS Senior Engineer Rob Wooten provides guidance on improving LogMate database performance. To download, please click here: LogMate Database Performance Guide.
Why Should I Install This Update?
TiPS highly recommends installing LogMate 7.11 and TiPSView 4.02 as a minimum. The newest versions enhance processing time through advanced database autogrowth and fill factor settings. LogMate users are now able to accelerate performance with the ability to rebuild database writes and queries within Capture.
Who Qualifies for This Update?
All current TiPS ESS subscribers have the opportunity to update to the most recent version of both LogMate 7.20 and TiPSView 4.10.
Click here to submit your update request
Philosophy, Rationalization and Implementation, oh my!
Are you on the hook for your company's alarm management program? We can help.
A comprehensive alarm management program helps your facility run closer to ideal operating limits and improves safety. Not to mention ISA 18.2 is already a recognized standard by OSHA and is expected to be a standard in developing industry-specific regulations. PHMSA has already issued a Control Room Management Rule for the pipeline industry, and BOEMRE is currently planning a major rule revision for offshore.
How will this workshop help me?
Please join TiPS, Inc., developer of LogMate and Dr. Doug Rothenberg, a leading authority on alarm management and written alarm management plans, for a two-day workshop in Austin. Learn from the expert for a thorough presentation of everything you need to know, including abnormal situation management, performance review, philosophy development, alarm rationalization, alarm management life cycle, and much more.
Counts toward 16 hours of Professional Development.
Workshop topics:
Getting started in alarm management
Abnormal situation management
Strategy for alarm improvement
Alarm performance review
Permission to operate
Written alarm management plan / philosophy development
Alarm rationalization
Enhanced techniques
Implementation and life cycle
Situation assessment
Next workshop date TBD. Please contact Julie Graham for more information.
Engineer: Deepwater Horizon Alarm 'Inhibited'
The chief engineer on the Deepwater Horizon tells a government panel that warning systems on the drilling rig were inhibited because the crew did not want to be disturbed in the middle of the night (July 23).
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White Paper: Application of PHMSA Rule, Control Room Management/Human Factors
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) made effective the final rule: 49 CFR Parts 192 and 195 Pipeline Safety: Control Room Management/Human Factors as of February 1, 2010. The White Paper: Application of PHMSA Rule, Control Room Management/Human Factors provides a summary of the ruling with an emphasis on the regulatory requirements that Control Room Management (CRM) plans must address. Alarm Management is a key component of the rule, and this White Paper discusses best practices based on the AGA’s Alarm Management for Control Room Operations in the Natural Gas Industry and the soon to be released API Recommended Practice 1167 Pipeline Alarm Management.
New Book
Alarm Management for Process Control
Doug Rothenberg of DRoth Incorporated introduces and discusses his new book Alarm Management for Process Control: A Best-Practice Guide for Design, Implementation, and Use of Industrial Alarm Systems
Alarm Management for Process Control
