Optimising Alarm Systems for Safety, Compliance, and Performance
Modern industrial operations rely heavily on alarm management to ensure that operators receive timely, relevant, and actionable information. However, without a structured approach, alarm systems can quickly become cluttered, overwhelming, and ineffective.
At Safety Solutions, we help organisations across New Zealand and Australia design, rationalise, and maintain high-performing alarm systems that comply with industry standards Our services combine alarm rationalisation, benchmarking, and alarm management training to enhance safety and operator effectiveness.
The Problem – Alarm Overload and Operator Fatigue
As SCADA and control systems have evolved from hard-wired panels to fully configurable interfaces, the number of alarms has grown exponentially. Without proper governance, this often leads to:
- Alarm Overload – Too many alarms can desensitise operators, causing them to miss critical warnings.
- Poor Alarm Relevance – Redundant or outdated alarms clutter the system and add no value.
- Operator Fatigue – Constant low-priority alarms increase the risk of human error.
- Non-Compliance – Failure to manage alarms in line with standards,exposes organisations to regulatory and safety risks.
The Risks of Ignoring Alarm Management
Without effective alarm management and regular alarm rationalisation:
- Reduced Response Effectiveness – Operators may miss or delay responses to critical alarms.
- Increased Safety Hazards – Important warnings can be buried in non-critical alarm noise.
- Regulatory Penalties – Non-compliance with alarm management standards can lead to fines or operational restrictions.
- Higher Maintenance Costs – Inefficient alarm systems require more frequent interventions and adjustments.
Our Structured Approach to Alarm Management
We follow a proven, standards-based methodology to optimise your alarm system, focusing on safety, compliance, and operator performance.
- Alarm System Benchmarking Audit We assess your current system against industry best practice, identifying excessive alarms, performance issues, and compliance gaps.
- Alarm Philosophy Development We work with your team to create a tailored alarm philosophy document that defines principles for design, configuration, and ongoing management.
- Alarm Design We ensure alarms are relevant, prioritised, and configured to provide clear, actionable information.
- Greenfield & Brownfield Implementation Whether you are commissioning a new system or improving an existing one, we provide expert support from design to deployment.
- Prioritisation Techniques We apply proven methods to rank alarms by criticality, so operators focus on what matters most.
- Alarm Rationalisation Through facilitated workshops and alarm rationalisation training, we review every alarm in your system, removing redundancies and refining configurations.
Benefits of a Structured Alarm Management Programme
- Improved Operator Efficiency – Reduced alarm overload means faster, more accurate responses.
- Enhanced Safety – Relevant, prioritised alarms reduce the risk of incidents and downtime.
- Regulatory Compliance – Ongoing alignment with IEC 62682 and ISA-18.2.
- Cost Savings – Fewer unnecessary alarms mean lower maintenance demands and operating costs.
Alarm Management Training
We also deliver focused Alarm Management Training to help engineers, operators, and control room staff take back control of alarm systems. This our 1-day course equips participants with the skills to develop and implement a site standard for alarm configuration, assess the performance of existing alarm systems, and review alarms for relevance and effectiveness.
By the end of the course, you’ll understand how to streamline alarm, so operators receive only the information they truly need reducing alarm floods, improving decision-making, and enhancing operational safety.
Partnership with Dimension Software
To deliver the most effective alarm and asset management solutions, Safety Solutions partners with Dimension Software, a leading provider of operational intelligence for large industrial sites. Their real-time data, analytics, visualisation, and decision-support tools complement our process safety expertise, enabling us to optimise alarm systems from both a technical and human-performance perspective. This collaboration allows us to provide clients with fully integrated alarm management solutions, combining industry-leading software capability with our proven, standards-based approach to design, rationalisation, and compliance.
For those looking to deepen their skills, the course includes an optional 3-hour one-on-one session Support pack with a senior Safety Solutions consultant offering practical guidance tailored to your site and operational needs.
Why Choose Safety Solutions ?
- Deep Industry Experience – Our consultants have worked across oil and gas, manufacturing, and chemical processing sectors.
- Standards Expertise – We ensure alignment with IEC 62682, ANS/ISA-18.2, and your internal safety requirements.
- Tailored Solutions – No two operations are the same, we design your alarm management strategy around your needs.
- Comprehensive Capability – From audits to alarm management training, we deliver both technical improvements and skills development.
CONTACT US TODAY to discuss your alarm management needs and discover how we can strengthen safety, compliance, and performance across your operations.
Other useful links
- Find a training course here
- Process Safety Audits read more
- Safety Management Systems read more
- Check out our E-Learning options here
Register for our Introduction to Alarm Management online course