We are trying to get the alarm- and Eventlist output (generated by an OS500 from ABB) to a textfile instead of a lineprinter. This is to make a inventory on the events and alarms on a daily basis

Furthermore we would like to autamitically name the files acc. to the date.

Thanks

 

If you would be interested to contact me off list I sure we could offer a solution to the problem you have.

regards,
[email protected]
www.MachineAutomation.Org

 

I too would be interested in seeing what is avaiable for this sort of functionality with the printing to files.

Please give some indication here so that the whole group may kearn something - even if it is not relevant to us all (it may be some day though)

Mick

 

In answer to your question: Alarms by definition are not "Normal Events" they are "Abnormal", and while DCS's and PLC's may generate alarms they are rarely archived. The lack of history negates the possibility of conducting any investigation after the fact, especially in the case where the alarm buffer may only hold 5,000 events in a circular or flat file.
Printing alarms to paper allows a hard copy to be retained or sent to the recycler.

In some facilities they can produce roughly 2,500 events in an hour of "Normal" operation. Logging alarm events to a file allows operators to 1) Archive or historize events. 2) Conduct searches and get the information out of the data.

Abnormal events cost facilities as much as 8% of total productivity per year, even with best practices in place.

If you would like to know more please contact me off the group at
www.MachineAutomation.Org
or [email protected]

 

We have a software package that does this - it puts the alarms and events to a MS Access database, plus it has several other features.

Of course, getting the alarms into a DB is the first step - you'll probably find there will quickly be thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of alarm events. We also have some software for datamining that lets you know where the problem alarms are.

There's more details at www.ControlArtsInc.com, or contact me.

 

And setting up a bare bones PC to look like a printer can keep a vast amount of history, particularly if you use compression and strip out any excess characters. Even a rudimentary COLD system ( Computer Output To Laser Disk (CDRW or CDR) ) can keep archival records for years with little fuss and bother. Inserting keys and link fields can make it very easy to find what you want. And all of this at extremely low cost. If you run a minimal install of Linux, it's more reliable than a printer as well. If you think you may need it, it's easy to do and fairly bulletproof if done correctly. I've done this for several types of transactions where an audit trail is required. Was very happy I did on several occasions and the customer was even happier. For some folks, one crash in five years is unacceptable and they _must_ know what happened and how to recover.

Regards

cww

 

Many of the high end SCADA programs (Woderware, iFix) have daily archived Alarm files, we kept Vail/Avon Water Districts alarm records on their SCADA box, 6 years worth and all of it was completely searchable by day, alarms can be sorted by area and priority and searched that way as well, printers are nice for the daily, immediate need to find out what happend, but having another box to mantain is a waste of money when you already have a (hopefully) bullet proof SCADA box and good well managed SCADA software that was setup properly. You can of course use a PC as a printer, but if that HD every crashes, you will lose everything.

Matt Hyatt
Technical Consultants
[email protected]

 

Look at ProcessGuard by Matrikon. http://www.matrikon.com/products/processguard/

It interfaces to your alarm printer port(s) and swallows all the events from any number of systems into one database. It then provides a thick client alarm viewer as well as a whole bunch of alarm analysis tools.

-Rob.

 

Where are you using it?
What does all that cost?

 

Please check out http://www.alarmmanagement.com

I can also send you a powerpoint on how we collect the alarms form any system and offer a web browser client to view, search, analysis, and even page or email based on alarms and events.

Stephen

 

Hi,

Extensive experience with the good old Advant Stations if you have these Operator Stations. Several possiblities on the market but important to define your needs short and long term before jumping in one direction or the other. Happy to chat offline... [email protected]

 

Hi,

Try the smartlogger at http://www.smartlogger.dk

It's compliant with most automation systems and optimized for ABB Advant systems.

 

You are in luck. Now there is a UNIX software extension to your AdvaControl software for exactly this purpose. It allows this data to be FTP'd to a PC and put into an Excel file. I would be happy to explain this to you off line by contacting [email protected]

 

Your solution is here at...
http://www.workstationsexpress.com/extension_2.htm