Alex-
Thanks for the info on the CAG - I definitely misunderstood its use.
Manufacturing installed a system that can broadcast voice messages through
the building and they want to use it to tell the operators exactly what is
in alarm. The system can take a large number of digital inputs (a DO from
the Foxboro) and it triggers a preset voice message. Currently all of our
emergency shutdown alarms are priority 1 which trips one horn tone. Since
they have no idea which process is in alarm, they want to separate this out,
so when process 1 has an emergency sd alarm one DO is tripped, and when
process 2 has an emergency sd a different DO is tripped, same goes for all
other types of alarms. I wasn't aware of what they were trying to do until
after they purchased the system so now I am trying to come up with a scheme
that will work. Currently the system is designed for 32 separate alarm
messages, but they are talking of increasing it. I was hoping that I could
do this by using the horn.cfg file since that is the standard way we handle
external horns but it sounds like it will not work this way. Any ideas?
Thanks-
Marci Sewell
Process Automation and Control
115 Bldg, Mail 032
ph: (517)496-5071 page: (517)926-1487
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message-----
From: Johnson,Alex [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 4:30 PM
To: Foxboro DCS Mail List
Subject: RE: External Horn For Process Alarms
The CAG is good for two things:
1) Silencing all horns on the WPs in the CAG when the horn is silenced
on any WP in the group.
2) Clearing an alarm from all WPs in the CAG when the alarm is cleared
from any other WP in the group.
When the horn silence button is pressed on an annunciator keyboard (it's
sometimes (mis)labeled ACK), all horns on that WP (internal and external)
are silenced regardless of priority.
So, to get to your questions:
1) what happens [to the horns -ed] when one of the WP's [in the CAG
-ed] is turned off?
Basically, the answer is nothing special. Internal horns are
silenced because they are now off too. External horns shared with another WP
continue to be driven by that WP. External horns driven uniquely by the WP
that is now off, remain in their last state - blaring away perhaps.
2) If they are all members of the same Common alarm group, will the
backup WP take over for the downed WP and sound its alarms for it?
The surviving WP will sound the horns that it is configured for when
it receives an alarm. If the WPs share external horns, the surviving WP will
of course drive them. If the WPs have a disjoint set of horns, the "dead"
WPs horns just hang there.
3) Or do I lose 5 of my alarm horns?
Well, not literally, but they will no longer be driven assuming that
on the "dead" WP works with them.
3) [I -ed] want to have 64 different external horns, is it possible to
do this through the horn.cfg file [? -ed]
No, the system supports only six external horns (5 for process
alarms and 1 for system alarms).
4) or do I have to come up with something else?
You need something else.
Can you explain what you want to accomplish? Maybe there is another route.
Regards,
Alex Johnson
The Foxboro Company
10707 Haddington
Houston, TX 77043
713.722.2859 (v)
713.722.2700 (sb)
713.932.0222 (f)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 2:55 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: External Horn For Process Alarms
I have a question about the horn.cfg file when used to sound an
external
horn. I am going to use an example to pose my question.
If I have 3 WPs, each specifying different external horns to sound
on
Priority 1 -5 alarms (so I have a total of 15 digital outputs), what
happens
when one of the WP's is turned off? If they are all members of the
same
Common alarm group, will the backup WP take over for the downed WP
and sound
its alarms for it? Or do I lose 5 of my alarm horns?
Another related question:
If I have 3 WPs, but want to have 64 different external horns, is it
possible to do this through the horn.cfg file or do I have to come
up with
something else?
BTW, I am not the nutjob who thinks having 60 different external
horns in
one building is a good idea. I unfortunately, was asked to try to
implement
it.
Thanks-
Marci Sewell
Process Automation and Control
115 Bldg, Mail 032
ph: (517)496-5071 page: (517)926-1487
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message-----
From: Duc M Do [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 3:06 PM
To: Foxboro DCS Mail List; Foxboro DCS Mail List
Subject: RE: Process Alarms
At 02:48 PM 5/2/00 -0400, Johnson,Alex wrote:
>2) Use a PC as your "alarm printer" and one of several 3rd
party
>packages to capture the alarms.
We do something similar. We feed all the process alarms (and system
alarms, too, for that matter) to a VAX. Our friendly VAX guru sets
up
automatic capturing and parsing of the alarms into process area
specific files (text files, one file per day) and put them on a web
server. The process people can grab them at their leisure and do
whatever with them. These files are kept on the web server for 3
months
and then archived to CD-ROM for who knows how long.
Duc M. Do
Dow Corning Corp.
Carrollton Plant
Carrollton, KY, US
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