July 2007

In this issue

	Matrikon Solutions
	Training, New Classes
	Conferences
	Trick of the month: Alarm management: Are there too many alarms configured in your systems?
	To contact us

Matrikon Solutions

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We offer training, service, and consulting for many Matrikon solutions:

• Web visualization
• Alarm management
• Control performance monitoring
• Advanced control
• Optimization and tuning using Tai-Ji (multi-loops, cascade, feedforward…)
• Etc.

Click here to learn more

Upcoming Classes

See our class schedule for fall 2007. We offer new classes and workshops on alarm management, control strategies, and performance supervision.

Conferences

"Asset Management And Performance Supervision at Quebec Cartier Mining",

Claude Gosselin, Compagnie Minière Québec Cartier and Michel Ruel, Top Control,
12^th IFAC Symposium on Automation in Mining, Mineral and Metal Processing,
August 21 2007, Quebec, QC

To learn more...

"Managing Assets Using Performance Supervision",

Michel Ruel, Cu2007, 6^th Copper Conference,
August 27 2007, Toronto, ON

To learn more...

Also, other conferences by Michel Ruel:

Tappi 2007 Engineering Pulping and Environmental Conference,
October 21-24 2007, Jacksonville, FL, USA

To learn more...

ISA 2007,
October 2-4, 2007, Houston, TX, USA

To learn more...

This Month's Tip : Alarm Management: Are There Too Many Alarms Configured in Your Systems?

ISA (International Society of Automation) announced the ISA-SP18.02 standard at the Matrikon User Group Summit on May 10, 2007, Chicago, IL. This standard addresses the development, installation, and management of alarm systems for process industries. It is intended to provide a methodology that will improve the safety of industrial and manufacturing facilities.
Click here to learn more

Another standard (UK) from EEMUA (Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association) is also used to determine best practices.
Click here to learn more

These standards not only define alarm performance, but they also suggest ratios for configuration.

	Low	Medium	High
Alarms/loop	1	4	6
Alarms/ analog IO	0.5	1	2
Alarmes/digital IO	0.2	0.4	0.6

Priorities

Alarm event priority distribution (based on at least one week of data)

~80% Low, ~15% Medium, <=5% High

Values for dead bands and delays are also suggested.

Alarm management software will allow you to benchmark your system with these standards.

To Contact Us

	Lévis' office	+1 (418)834-4321
	Pointe-Claire's office	+1 (514)695-3492
	Green Bay's office	+1 (877)867-6473
	Toll free (Canada, USA)	+1 (877)867-6473
	Email	info@topcontrol.com