The troubleshooter filters and processes the information received from the control gates, scenario analyze, situation analyzer and activity analyzer and activates the Alarm Unit in a way that enables the operators to understand the source for the exceptional situation.
Following a fault, the system operation might become unstable, and several operational rules might be violated, result in a sequence of alarms. Typically, the alarms are about various system parameters, and do not indicate the fault responsible for the exceptional situation. It is challenging to avoid multiple alarms, and to provide the a single alarm about the source for the exceptional situation.
The troubleshooter should backtrack the sequence of rule violations, and identify the source for the exceptional situation. The troubleshooter should send a single message to the alarm unit, indicating the fault and the risk level.
The rules for the troubleshooter may be defined by hazard analysis methods, such as HAZOP or FMEA.
The problem is often that the same set of indicators might correspond to different faults.
The low temperature LED display of a boiler might result from any of the following faults:
The challenge is to have sufficient indicators, such that they can identify the fault uniquely.
A method enabling better understanding of the situation is by comparing complex parameters, such as trends, to forecasted values, obtained by simulation.
During operation, the system may learn from faults, by recording the values and trends of relevant parameters (obtained by hazard analysis) and the typical values may be obtained by statistical analysis.
Updated on 12 Jan 2017.