Alarm suppression and shelving in SCADA systems - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is alarm suppression in SCADA systems?

Alarm suppression temporarily stops alarms from being triggered or displayed to avoid unnecessary alerts during planned activities or known issues.

beginner

Define alarm shelving in SCADA systems.

Alarm shelving is the action of temporarily hiding or postponing an alarm so operators can focus on more critical issues without being distracted by less urgent alarms.

intermediate

Why is alarm suppression important during maintenance?

It prevents alarms caused by expected changes during maintenance, reducing false alarms and operator distraction.

intermediate

How does shelving differ from suppression?

Suppression stops alarms from triggering at all, while shelving hides active alarms temporarily but still records them.

advanced

What is a common risk if alarm suppression is misused?

Critical alarms might be missed, leading to delayed responses and potential safety or operational issues.

What does alarm suppression do in a SCADA system?

A Permanently deletes alarms

B Temporarily stops alarms from triggering

C Increases alarm volume

D Sends alarms to external devices

Alarm suppression temporarily stops alarms from triggering to avoid unnecessary alerts.

When is alarm shelving typically used?

A To reset alarm history

B To permanently ignore alarms

C To escalate alarms immediately

D To temporarily hide alarms during operator focus

Shelving temporarily hides alarms so operators can focus on more urgent issues.

What is a key difference between alarm suppression and shelving?

A Suppression stops alarms; shelving hides alarms temporarily

B Suppression hides alarms; shelving stops alarms

C Both do the same thing

D Shelving deletes alarms permanently

Suppression stops alarms from triggering; shelving hides active alarms temporarily.

Why should alarm suppression be used carefully?

A It can cause system crashes

B It slows down the SCADA system

C It may cause critical alarms to be missed

D It increases alarm noise

Misuse of suppression can cause critical alarms to be missed, risking safety.

Which scenario is a good use case for alarm suppression?

A During planned maintenance

B When alarms are ignored permanently

C During normal operation

D When alarms need to be escalated

Suppression is useful during planned maintenance to avoid false alarms.

Explain the concepts of alarm suppression and shelving and how they help operators in SCADA systems.

Think about how operators manage many alarms during maintenance or busy times.

Describe the risks of improper use of alarm suppression in SCADA systems and how to avoid them.

Consider what happens if important alarms are hidden or stopped.