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This guide

Alarms Module (How-to Guide) walks you through configuring the Alarms module to monitor process conditions and notify operators of abnormal situations.

You'll create alarm items, configure groups, set up notifications, and display alarms in runtime.

Prerequisites:

Tags created in

UNS

Unified Namespace
Understanding of process limits

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Alarms → Tutorial | Concept | How-to Guide | Reference

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Configuration Workflow

Action	Designer UI Path	Purpose
Configure shared alarm behaviors	Alarms → Groups	Configure

Display screens for alarm visualization

Configuration Workflow

Create or Edit AlarmGroups - Define

shared alarm behaviors

Create AlarmItems

-

Alarms → Items

Configure tag conditions to monitor

Configure Global Settings - Set up database and handling

Add Alarm Displays - Visualize alarms in runtime

Test Alarms - Verify triggering and acknowledgment

Set System-wide configuration	Alarms → Global Settings	Setup Log Database, startup options, Audit Trail
Organize by location/function	Alarms → Areas	Create hierarchical organization
Verify Alarms execution	Alarms → Monitor	Verify triggering and visualization

Step 1:

Configure AlarmGroups

AlarmGroups define shared behaviors for related alarms (acknowledgment, sounds, colors, logging).

Using Pre-defined Groups

The platform provides three default groups:

Group	Priority	Ack Required	Logging	Use Case
Critical	High	Yes	Yes	Urgent conditions requiring immediate action
Warning	Medium	No	Yes	Potential issues needing attention
AuditTrail	Low	No	Yes	System events for compliance tracking

Creating Custom Groups

Navigate to Alarms → Groups
Click Plus icon
Configure properties:
- Name: Group identifier
- AckRequired: Force acknowledgment
- Sound: Alert sound file
- LogEvents: Enable historian logging
- Colors: Visual identification
Click OK

Group Properties

Property	Description	Example
AckRequired	Alarm stays active until acknowledged	True for Critical
AckTimeout	Auto-acknowledge time	3600 seconds
Sound	Audio alert file	Critical.wav
Show	Display in alarm viewers	True
LogEvents	Record to historian	True
NotificationMethod	Script for email/SMS	SendEmail

Step 2: Create AlarmItems

AlarmItems monitor specific tag conditions.

Basic Configuration

Go to Alarms → Items
In Enter in the table first row, enter:
- TagName: Tag to monitor (or select from list)
- Condition: Trigger type
- Limit: Threshold value
- Group: Select AlarmGroup
- Message: Alarm description
Press Enter to save

Example Configurations

Tag	Condition	Limit	Group	Description
Tank.Level	HiHi	95	Critical	Tank overflow
Tank.Level	Hi	85	Warning	Tank high level
Pump.Current	GreaterThan	50	Warning	Motor overload
Reactor.Temp	RateOfChange	5	Critical	Rapid temperature rise

Condition Types

Condition	Triggers When	Use Case
Hi	Tag ≥ Limit	High level warning
HiHi	Tag ≥ Limit (

cascades

auto-acks Hi)	Critical high level
Lo	Tag ≤ Limit	Low level warning
LoLo	Tag ≤ Limit (

cascades

auto-acks Lo)	Critical low level
RateOfChange	Change rate ≥ Limit	Rapid changes
DeviationMinor	\|Tag - Setpoint\| > Limit	Process deviation
Equal	Tag = Limit	Specific state

detection


Changed	Any value change	Event logging

Advanced Properties

Deadband: Hysteresis to prevent chattering
Setpoint: Reference for deviation alarms
Priority: Sorting in alarm displays Display sorting (0-999)
Message: Custom alarm text
Area: Hierarchical grouping

Step 3:

Configure Global Settings

Database Configuration

Navigate to Alarms → Global Settings

Configure Alarm Logging

Database

:

Configuration

Database: SQLite (default) or external
Connection: Database connection string
LifeTime: Days to retain (

e.g., 90

0 = forever)

Alarm Handling

Configure system-wide behaviors:

Initial Disable Time: Startup suppression

(seconds)

Ignore During Deadband: Prevent

alarm

flooding
LogUserFullName: Record operator names

Enable Audit Trail

Check events to track:

User

Login

Logon/

Logout

Logoff
Tag

Value

Changes

Alarm Acknowledgments

System Configuration Changes

Operator Actions
Custom Messages

Step 4:

Add Alarm Displays

Using AlarmViewer Control

Go to Displays → Draw
From

component panel

toolbox, navigate to Modules
Drag AlarmViewer to display

Configure properties:

Double-click to open configuration dialog:
- List: OnlineAlarms or AlarmHistory
- Group

: Filter by AlarmGroup

- Filter: Select specific groups
- Area

: Filter by AlarmAreaShowAckButton: Enable acknowledgment

- Filter: Select specific areas
- Show Acknowledged: Display options
Click OK to apply

Pre-built Alarm Page

In Displays → Pages
Select New Page → AlarmPage template
Page includes

:

configured AlarmViewer with

filtersAcknowledgment

controls

Historical query

Step 5:

Test Alarms

Testing Procedure

Start Runtime:

Press F5

or click Run Test

Open display with AlarmViewer

Trigger Alarm:

Modify tag value to exceed limit
Verify Display: Check alarm appears in viewer

Check sound plays (if configured)

Test Acknowledgment:

Click alarm row
Press Acknowledge button
Verify alarm state changes

Select alarm and acknowledge
Monitor Status:

Go to

Check Alarms → Monitor

Check group counters

Verify logging to database

Runtime Properties

Runtime Access

Access alarm

status

properties in scripts

/displays

:

csharp

@Alarm.Group.Critical.UnAckCount     // Unacknowledged count
@Alarm.Group.Warning.PriorityItemTotalCount          // Highest priority alarm
@Alarm.TotalCount       // Total active alarms
@Alarm.Item.TagName.Active          // TotalSpecific active alarmsalarm state

Create Alarm Areas

Organize alarms hierarchically:

Navigate to Alarms → Areas
Create structure:
- Plant
  - Production
  - Utilities
  - Storage
Assign areas to AlarmItems

Common Issues

Alarm Not Triggering

Verify tag name

is

correct
Check condition logic
Ensure

alarm is

not disabled
Confirm tag

value

updates

Alarm Flooding

Increase deadband

value

Add time

delay (ActiveTimeDeadband)

delays
Group related alarms

Use rate-of-change limits

No Sound

Check

sound

file exists
Verify audio

settings

enabled
Test

with different

file format

Check group Show property

Acknowledgment Not Working

Acknowledgment Issues

Verify AckRequired

is

enabled
Check user permissions
Confirm runtime

is

connected

Test AckTimeout setting

Best Practices

?

Use appropriate groups -

Critical for safety, Warning for information ?

Match severity to response
Set deadbands - Prevent analog chattering

on analog alarms ?

Configure priorities -

Help operators focus on important alarms ?

Focus operator attention
Write clear messages - Include equipment

ID

and condition

?

Test

all

conditions - Verify

both

activation and

normalization ?

clearing
Document

alarm

philosophy - Define response procedures

?

Regular maintenance - Review and tune

alarm

limits

Advanced Features

Next Steps

[Alarm Notifications

→

] - Email and SMS

alerts

[Limits by Shift →] Different thresholds per shift

[Custom Sounds →] Unique alerts per group

setup
[Alarm Areas] -

[Alarm Areas →]

Hierarchical organization
[Audit Trail

→

]

Compliance tracking

Next Steps

[Historian Module →] Log alarm events long-term

[Scripts Module →] Custom notification methods

[Reports Module →] Alarm performance metrics

- Compliance configuration

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Configuration Workflow

Configure AlarmGroups

Using Pre-defined Groups

Creating Custom Groups

Group Properties

Step 2: Create AlarmItems

Basic Configuration

Example Configurations

Condition Types

Advanced Properties

Configure Global Settings

Database Configuration

Database

Configuration

Alarm Handling

Enable Audit Trail

Add Alarm Displays

Using AlarmViewer Control

Pre-built Alarm Page

Test Alarms

Testing Procedure

Runtime Access

Create Alarm Areas

Common Issues

Best Practices

Next Steps

Next Steps

In this section...