Alarms Groups Reference

Organize alarms into groups.

Reference → Modules → Alarms → UI → Items | Groups | Areas | Global | Monitor

Alarm Groups (Reference) define shared characteristics and behaviors for collections of related alarm items in your FrameworX solution. Alarm Groups enable:

Collective configuration of alarm behaviors
Shared acknowledgment requirements
Common notification methods
Unified visual and audio alerts
Centralized logging preferences
Consistent timeout settings

The platform provides pre-defined groups (Critical, Warning, AuditTrail) for common use cases, plus support for custom groups.

Configuration Properties

Property	Description	Required
Name	Group identifier	Yes
AckRequired	Requires operator acknowledgment	Yes
ActiveTimeDeadband	Time period to ignore active alarms	No
AckTimeout	Timeout period for acknowledgment	No
AutoAckTime	Auto-acknowledge after this time	No
Sound	Audio file for alarm notification	No
Show	Display alarms from this group	Yes
LogEvents	Log events to historian	Yes
Colors	Visual identification colors	No
NotificationMethod	Script method for notifications	No
Category	Category designation	No
Description	Group purpose and details	No

Pre-Defined Groups

Group	Purpose	Default Settings
Critical	High-priority alarms requiring immediate action	AckRequired=True, LogEvents=True, High Priority
Warning	Medium/low-priority informational alarms	AckRequired=False, LogEvents=True, Medium Priority
AuditTrail	Hidden alarms for audit logging only	Show=False, LogEvents=True, No Display

Creating Alarm Groups

Navigate to Alarms → Groups
Click Plus icon
Enter Name and Description
Click OK
Edit properties by double-clicking
Press Enter to save changes

Before deleting: Ensure no AlarmItems are linked to the group. Check via Alarms → Items and use Track Changes → Cross Reference.

Acknowledgment Settings

Property	Behavior
AckRequired	Alarm stays active until acknowledged, even if condition clears
AckTimeout	Maximum time allowed for acknowledgment
AutoAckTime	Automatically acknowledge after specified time

Example flow:

Alarm Triggered → Wait for Ack → AutoAckTime expires → Auto-acknowledged
                ↓
         Manual Ack → Acknowledged

Notification Configuration

Sound Alerts

Configure via Sound property
Plays continuously until acknowledged
Different sounds for different severities
See [Alarm Groups Sounds] for audio file setup

Visual Indicators

Colors property defines alarm states
Applied in alarm displays
Consistent across all items in group

Custom Notifications

NotificationMethod calls Script Class methods:

// In Script Class

public void SendCriticalAlert(AlarmEventArgs args)
{
    // Send email
    EmailService.Send(args.Message, args.Priority);
    
    // Send SMS
    SMSService.Alert(args.TagName, args.Value);
    
    // Log to external system
    ExternalLogger.LogAlarm(args);
}

Configure: NotificationMethod = "Script.Class.ServerMain.SendCriticalAlert"

Deadband and Timing

ActiveTimeDeadband

Prevents alarm flooding during startup or known conditions:

Ignores alarms for specified seconds
Useful during system initialization
Prevents nuisance alarms

Time-Based Acknowledgment

AckTimeout = 300  // Must acknowledge within 5 minutes
AutoAckTime = 600 // Auto-acknowledge after 10 minutes if not handled

Runtime Access

Access group properties at runtime:

// Check if acknowledgment required
bool needsAck = @Alarm.Group.Critical.AckRequired;

// Get active alarm count for group
int criticalCount = @Alarm.Group.Critical.ActiveCount;

// Enable/disable group
@Alarm.Group.Warning.Enabled = false;

Common Configurations

Critical Process Alarms

Name: ProcessCritical
AckRequired: True
Sound: Critical.wav
LogEvents: True
AutoAckTime: 0 (never)
Colors: Red
NotificationMethod: Script.Class.Notifications.SendCritical

Informational Logging

Name: InfoLog
AckRequired: False
Show: False
LogEvents: True
Category: Audit

Maintenance Alarms

Name: Maintenance
AckRequired: True
AutoAckTime: 3600 (1 hour)
LogEvents: True
NotificationMethod: Script.Class.Maintenance.ScheduleWork

Best Practices Checklist

Group by severity - Critical, Warning, Information
Consistent sounds - Same severity = same sound
Clear naming - Group name indicates purpose
Document settings - Use Description field
Test notifications - Verify all alert methods work
Set appropriate timeouts - Balance responsiveness vs alarm fatigue
Use categories - Organize groups logically

Troubleshooting

Alarms not showing:

Check Show property is True
Verify display filter includes group
Confirm AlarmItems assigned to group

No sound playing:

Verify sound file path correct
Check audio system enabled
Confirm AckRequired if sound should repeat

Notifications not sent:

Verify NotificationMethod syntax
Check Script Class method exists
Review method error logs

Auto-acknowledge not working:

Confirm AutoAckTime > 0
Check AckRequired is True
Verify no manual ack occurred

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