Feature
An Automatic Resp Businesses’ Financi
Klaus Allion
The UK business world is in crisis. It might sound like an over-dramatic statement however, from a financial perspective, the threat level posed by economic uncertainty has undoubtedly reached critical. Never has there been a more important time for British industry to tighten its belt and manage company costs across every area of every business. The impact of Brexit- related economic instability is being felt far and wide and in process-driven industries such as manufacturing, food and beverage, oil and gas, utilities and energy, the focus is on maximising efficiency and minimising any interruptions in productivity. For companies that rely on machinery, equipment and systems, one obvious area of scrutiny is ensuring they operate consistently and correctly. The financial fallout of malfunctions and unplanned downtime can have serious implications on the bottom line. Monitoring this mass of equipment around the clock is crucial. Collectively, the seamless performance of potentially hundreds of machines influences the overall commercial output of a business. Any failings, no matter how minor,
will
simply ramp up costs and halt productivity. In these environments, alarm management
24 fmuk
systems (AMS) play a key role in notifying employees of equipment malfunctions, abnormal conditions or emergency events. The individual alarms provide a visible or audible notification to highlight problems with any component in the production process or a safety issue with personnel. It is not unusual for hundreds of minor alarms to be presented daily and monitoring them effectively poses a significant challenge. In the current financial climate, companies clearly have to recognise the importance of efficient alarm management and its bearing on protecting both their profits and their people.
The Identification Process
Across these industries, there are three common ways that alarms are identified. The most basic being the human response, relying on an employee recognising there is a problem and raising the alert. With such a rudimentary process there is always going to be a degree of risk involved due to the potential for human error. Another way of identifying alarms is through a traffic light system on a machine panel that signals an issue. Again, this method relies on a team member noticing the light and subsequently
By Klaus Allion, MD at ANT Telecom reporting the problem. Alarms can also be monitored via a
control room, where faults are presented as alarms on screens. In some industries, like chemical companies and oil and gas, it is not unusual to see thousands of alerts daily, and these have to be deciphered and prioritised by the operator. This may seem like an appropriate
setup, however, the
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