GE Mark VIe System Manual page 167

Plant operators need to prioritize alarms, filter data, lockout nuisance alarms, analyze data, and more effectively apply the
available data to plant operation. To meet this need, the Mark VIe control with ControlST Toolset is based on ANSI/ISA-18.2,
Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries to assist in improving the safety, quality, and productivity of the
facility. HMIs running WorkstationST and ToolboxST applications provide a user-friendly environment for visualization,
navigation, change management, and analysis of alarm and event conditions with a common, time-coherent data set for the
plant.
The comprehensive plant alarm system provided by the ControlST software suite allows operator stations to see alarms from
both GE controls and third-party components, using OPC to integrate alarm messages and time stamps from third-party
servers with native Mark VIe alarm data. The OPC Alarm and Events (AE) has typically been used for this purpose, but now
with ControlST V05.03 or later, the newer OPC Unified Architecture (UA) protocol can be used. OPC UA combines the
features of OPC DA, AE, and HDA with the flexibility to include some or all of these features.
An operator needs to be able to see and react to alarms and events from any of the equipment within his jurisdiction. The
WorkstationST Alarm Server gathers alarms from the controllers or other sources and makes them available to alarm clients
such as WorkstationST Alarm Viewer displays. Alarms are also recorded and made available to the WorkstationST Alarm
Viewer for historical viewing and statistical analysis. The WorkstationST Alarm Viewer may run on the same computer as the
WorkstationST Alarm Server or on a separate computer. Refer to GEI-100626, WorkstationST Alarm Server Instruction
Guide.
Alarm Overview GEH-6721_Vol_I_BP System Guide 167
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