JP7701370B2 - Display device, control device, control method, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a display device, a control device, a control method and a computer program that display information regarding alarms that occur in a plant.

During plant operation, many different types of alarms are generated. Patent Document 1 discloses that a large number of alarms are generated during plant monitoring.

JP 2008-46925 A

Some alarms are not urgent or important and do not require any action even when they occur. Therefore, when an alarm occurs, plant operators decide whether or not some action should be taken in response to the alarm. In order to determine whether or not action is required in response to an alarm, it can be effective to understand the past occurrence trends of alarms.

One exemplary objective of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a display device, a control device, and a control method that enable past trends in alarm occurrence to be easily understood.

In order to solve the above problems, a display device of one embodiment of the present invention is a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and displays statistical information on alarms that have occurred in the plant in correspondence with the type of alarm.

The statistical information may include information on trends of change within a specified period of time.

The change trend may include a change trend of the average number of occurrences of the alarm during the first period and the second period.

The trend of change may include a trend of change in the standard deviation of the number of occurrences of the alarm during the first period and the second period.

The change trend may include a change trend of the maximum number of occurrences of the alarm per day during the first period and the second period.

The statistical information may include information on the number of days that have elapsed since the first or last alarm occurred.

The statistical information may include information on the number of days since the day when the maximum number of alarms was issued per day.

The display device may also display the severity or urgency of measures to be taken in response to the alarm, determined based on the average number of alarms occurring in a specified period and the number of days on which alarms occurred in the specified period.

A control device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a control device that controls a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires information about alarms that have occurred in the plant, a calculation unit that calculates statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and a display control unit that associates the calculated statistical information with the type of alarm and displays it on the display device.

The control device may include a reception unit that receives a selection of a period, and the display control unit may cause the display device to display the statistical information for the selected period in association with the type of alarm.

A control method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a method for controlling a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and includes acquiring information about alarms that have occurred in the plant, calculating statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and displaying the calculated statistical information on the display device in association with the type of alarm.

The control method may include accepting a selection of a period, and the displaying may include displaying on the display device the statistical information for the selected period in association with the type of alarm.

A program according to one embodiment of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, the control method including acquiring information on alarms that have occurred in the plant, calculating statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarms for each type of alarm based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and displaying the calculated statistical information on the display device in association with the type of alarm.

In addition, any combination of the above components or the mutual substitution of the components or expressions of the present invention between methods, devices, systems, computer programs, data structures, recording media, etc. are also valid aspects of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a display device, a control device, and a control method that enable understanding of past trends in alarm occurrence.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a plant according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a physical configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of statistical information according to the embodiment; 3A to 3C are diagrams showing transitions of various display screens according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a statistical information display screen according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an alarm map display screen according to the embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation process according to the present embodiment.

The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. The same or equivalent components, parts, and processes shown in each drawing are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[Plant description]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a plant according to this embodiment. First, the configuration of a plant 1 to which this embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The plant 1 is, for example, a power plant (incineration plant) including a circulating fluidized bed boiler (circulating fluidized bed type), and is equipped with a boiler that burns fuel while circulating a circulating material such as silica sand that flows at high temperature to generate steam. As the fuel for the plant 1, in addition to fossil fuels such as coal, for example, non-fossil fuels (wood biomass, waste tires, waste plastics, sludge, etc.) can be used. The steam generated in the plant 1 is used to drive a turbine 100. Note that the plant to which this embodiment is applied is not limited to a power plant or incineration plant including a boiler, but may be any plant from which process data can be acquired, such as a chemical plant or a wastewater treatment plant.

The plant 1 is configured to burn fuel in the furnace 2, separate the circulating material from the exhaust gas by a cyclone 3 that functions as a solid-gas separator, and return the separated circulating material to the furnace 2 for circulation. The separated circulating material is returned to the bottom of the furnace 2 via a circulating material recovery pipe 4 connected below the cyclone 3. The bottom of the circulating material recovery pipe 4 is connected to the bottom of the furnace 2 via a loop seal section 4a with a narrowed flow path. This leaves a predetermined amount of circulating material stored in the bottom of the circulating material recovery pipe 4. The exhaust gas from which the circulating material has been removed by the cyclone 3 is supplied to the rear flue 5 via the exhaust gas flow path 3a.

The boiler comprises a furnace 2 for burning fuel, and a heat exchanger for generating steam and the like using heat obtained by combustion. A fuel supply port 2a for supplying fuel is provided in the middle of the furnace 2, and a gas outlet 2b for discharging combustion gas is provided in the upper part of the furnace 2. Fuel supplied to the furnace 2 from a fuel supply device (not shown) is supplied to the inside of the furnace 2 via the fuel supply port 2a. In addition, a furnace wall tube 6 for heating boiler feed water is provided on the furnace wall of the furnace 2. The boiler feed water flowing through the furnace wall tube 6 is heated by combustion in the furnace 2.

In the furnace 2, the solids containing the fuel supplied from the fuel supply port 2a are fluidized by the combustion/fluidization air introduced from the lower air supply line 2c, and the fuel burns at about 800 to 900°C, for example, while flowing. The combustion gas generated in the furnace 2 is introduced into the cyclone 3, accompanied by the circulating material. The cyclone 3 separates the circulating material from the gas by centrifugal separation, and returns the separated circulating material to the furnace 2 via the circulating material recovery pipe 4, while sending the combustion gas from which the circulating material has been removed through the exhaust gas flow path 3a to the rear flue 5.

In the furnace 2, a portion of the circulating material, called the in-furnace bed material, remains at the bottom. This bed material may contain bed material with coarse particle size that is unsuitable for circulating flow and exhaust combustion impurities, and these bed materials that are unsuitable for circulating flow may cause poor flow. Therefore, in order to suppress poor flow, the in-furnace bed material is continuously or intermittently discharged to the outside from the outlet 2d at the bottom of the furnace 2. After removing unsuitable materials such as metals and coarse particle size from the discharged bed material on a circulation line not shown, the discharged bed material is either supplied again to the furnace 2 or discarded as is. The circulating material of the furnace 2 circulates in a circulation system consisting of the furnace 2, the cyclone 3, and the circulating material recovery pipe 4.

The rear flue 5 has a flow path for flowing the gas discharged from the cyclone 3 to the rear stage. The rear flue 5 has a superheater 10 that generates superheated steam and an economizer 12 that preheats the boiler feed water as an exhaust heat recovery section that recovers heat from the exhaust gas. The exhaust gas flowing through the rear flue 5 is cooled by heat exchange with the steam and boiler feed water flowing through the superheater 10 and the economizer 12. In addition, the rear flue 5 has a steam drum 8 in which the boiler feed water that has passed through the economizer 12 is stored, and the steam drum 8 is also connected to the furnace wall tube 6.

The economizer 12 transfers heat from the exhaust gas to the boiler feed water to preheat the boiler feed water. The economizer 12 is connected to the pump 7 by a pipe 21, and to the steam drum 8 by a pipe 22. The boiler feed water supplied from the pump 7 via the pipe 21 to the economizer 12 and preheated by the economizer 12 is supplied to the steam drum 8 via the pipe 22.

A downcomer pipe 8a and a furnace wall pipe 6 are connected to the steam drum 8. The boiler feed water in the steam drum 8 flows down the downcomer pipe 8a, is introduced into the furnace wall pipe 6 at the lower side of the furnace 2, and flows toward the steam drum 8. The boiler feed water in the furnace wall pipe 6 is heated by the combustion heat generated in the furnace 2, and evaporates in the steam drum 8 to become steam.

A saturated steam pipe 8b that discharges the steam inside is connected to the steam drum 8. The saturated steam pipe 8b connects the steam drum 8 to the superheater 10. The steam inside the steam drum 8 is supplied to the superheater 10 via the saturated steam pipe 8b. The superheater 10 uses the heat of the exhaust gas to superheat the steam to generate superheated steam. The superheated steam passes through pipe 10a and is supplied to a turbine 100 outside the plant 1 and used for power generation.

The pressure and temperature of the steam discharged from the turbine 100 are lower than the pressure and temperature of the steam discharged from the superheater 10. Although not particularly limited, the pressure of the steam supplied to the turbine 100 is approximately 10-17 MPa, and the temperature is approximately 530-570°C. The pressure of the steam discharged from the turbine 100 is approximately 3-5 MPa, and the temperature is approximately 350-400°C.

A condenser 102 is provided downstream of the turbine 100. The steam discharged from the turbine 100 is supplied to the condenser 102, where it is condensed and returned to saturated water, and then supplied to the pump 7. A generator is connected to the turbine 100, which converts the kinetic energy obtained by the rotation of the turbine 100 into electrical energy.

The pump 7a supplies makeup water to maintain a constant water level in the condenser 102. Figure 1 shows the makeup water flow rate u1 (an example of "process data") supplied by the pump 7a.

The process data (data related to the operation of the plant 1) handled in this embodiment may be any data related to the plant 1, but may be, for example, data obtained by measuring the state of the plant 1 with a sensor (an example of "process data"), and more specifically, may include measured values such as the temperature, pressure, and flow rate of the plant 1. FIG. 1 shows the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 (an example of "process data") supplied from the pump 7 to the economizer 12. Furthermore, FIG. 1 shows the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 (an example of "process data") supplied from the superheater 10 to the turbine 100, and the saturated steam flow rate u4 (an example of "process data") supplied from the steam drum 8 to the superheater 10. The makeup water flow rate u1 may be controlled to follow the saturated steam flow rate u4. In addition, the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 may be controlled to follow the adjustment while monitoring both the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 (or the superheated steam flow rate) and the liquid level of the steam drum 8.

If a hole occurs in the pipe system that constitutes the plant 1, the makeup water flow rate u1 increases, and the flow rate difference between the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 and the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 increases. The DCS (Distributed Control System, FIG. 2) 20 receives process data of the plant 1, such as the makeup water flow rate u1, the boiler feedwater flow rate u2, the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3, and the saturated steam flow rate u4, from the plant 1, monitors the operating status of the plant 1, and monitors whether any abnormality has occurred in the plant 1. As described below, the monitoring device 40 (FIG. 2) evaluates the process data based on alarm judgment logic set for each type of abnormality, and issues an alarm if an abnormality occurs.

Although the makeup water flow rate u1, the boiler feed water flow rate u2, the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3, and the saturated steam flow rate u4 are exemplified as process data, the process data related to the plant 1 may be other data. The process data related to the plant 1 may be other data such as temperature and pressure, or data calculated based on multiple process data, or may be uncalculated data obtained from a sensor or the like.

Next, the system 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the system 30 according to this embodiment. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the physical configuration of the system 30 according to this embodiment.

DCS 20 is a distributed control system for controlling plant 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, acquires process data from sensors etc. installed in plant 1, and supplies control signals to plant 1 for controlling plant 1 based on this data.

The system 30 includes a display device 32 and a monitoring device 40. The monitoring device 40 includes a control unit 31 and a memory unit 33. The control unit 31 includes, as functional components, an acquisition unit 311, a statistics calculation unit 312, a reception unit 313, a display control unit 314, and an alarm determination unit 315. The memory unit 33 stores various types of data, and stores, for example, an alarm information DB 33A and an alarm statistical information DB 33B.

The acquisition unit 311 acquires process data, for example, from DCS 20. The acquisition unit 311 sequentially acquires process data from DCS 20 while the plant 1 is in operation. Note that the plant 1 is "in operation" as long as at least a portion of the plant 1 is in operation. The operating period of the plant 1 is the period during which at least a portion of the plant 1 is in operation, excluding pre-planned shutdown periods for maintenance, etc.

The alarm determination unit 315 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the plant 1 based on the process data acquired by the acquisition unit 311, and determines that an abnormality has occurred. Specifically, the alarm determination unit 315 evaluates the process data according to a preset alarm determination logic. The alarm determination unit 315 determines that an abnormality has occurred based on the alarm determination logic, for example, when a value included in the process data exceeds a predetermined threshold value or when a predetermined change occurs in the trend. For example, the alarm determination unit 315 may evaluate predetermined process data based on the alarm determination logic and determine whether an abnormality that may occur in the plant 1, such as a blowout (such as a boiler tube leak, in which metal materials such as tubes and pipes that constitute a boiler are damaged and ruptured, causing internal steam to leak to the outside. Includes a state in which a blowout is likely to occur in the future. The same applies below) has occurred.

If the alarm determination unit 315 determines that an abnormality has occurred, it outputs alarm information (hereinafter also referred to as "alarm information") about the process data to the statistical calculation unit 312 and the display control unit 314. The alarm information is information about an alarm (warning) about the abnormality that has occurred, and includes, for example, the alarm item (type of alarm), the date and time of the alarm occurrence, and the value of the process data related to the alarm (for example, the value of the make-up water flow rate u1 and the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 that have been determined to be abnormal, etc.).

The statistical calculation unit 312 calculates statistical information on the occurrence of alarms for each type of alarm based on the alarm information stored in the alarm information DB 33A (and the alarm information acquired from the alarm determination unit 315). The statistical information calculated by the statistical calculation unit 312 includes any statistical information on abnormalities that have occurred in the plant 1. The statistical information on the occurrence of alarms may be, for example, information on the tendency of alarm occurrence that is collected based on the alarm occurrence history. The statistical information may include, for example, at least one of the average number of alarm occurrences per day, the standard deviation of the number of alarm occurrences per day, or the maximum number of alarm occurrences per day. The above statistical values are not limited to values per day, and may be values per other period (for example, one week, one month, or one year). The statistical information may also include, for example, information on the tendency of change in the above statistical information over different periods.

The statistical calculation unit 312 calculates statistical information regarding alarms that have occurred in the plant 1 for each type of alarm, for example, at any preset timing (for example, when the alarm occurs, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). The types of alarms used to calculate the statistical information can be classified in any manner. The types of alarms may be classified, for example, by sensor for measuring the state of the plant 1. In this case, the types of alarms may include, for example, alarms related to makeup water flow rate, alarms related to boiler feedwater flow rate, alarms related to boiler outlet steam flow rate, alarms related to saturated steam flow rate, etc.

A specific example of statistical information will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows a specific example of statistical information that can be calculated by the statistical calculation unit 312. Each statistical information can be calculated for each type of alarm. In detail, FIG. 4 shows statistical information calculated for each of a plurality of different periods. As the plurality of different periods, for example, short term (last week), medium term (last 1.5 months), and long term (last year) are shown. In addition, multiple types of statistical information calculated for each period are shown. As the multiple types of statistical information, the average [times/day], standard deviation [times/day], maximum [times/day], and alarm day rate [%] are shown. The meanings indicated by each piece of statistical information are as described in FIG. 4.

Figure 4 also shows, as statistical information, information on the trend of change over a specified period (e.g., short-term and medium-term). A trend of change is a trend of change in statistical information between a certain period (first period) and another period (second period). The trend of change includes, for example, the trend of change in the average number of alarms occurring in the first period and the second period. Figure 4 shows, for example, that the short-term trend of change is the value obtained by subtracting the average [times/day] over the past year from the average [times/day] over the past week. It also shows that the medium-term trend of change is the value obtained by subtracting the average [times/day] over the past year from the average [times/day] over the past 1.5 months.

Note that, although FIG. 4 shows the trend of change in the average number of alarms, this is not limiting. The statistical information that can be calculated by the statistical calculation unit 312 may include the trend of change in the standard deviation of the number of alarms in the first period and the second period. The trend of change in the standard deviation can be calculated by replacing the average number of alarms in the calculation of the trend of change in the average number of alarms in the first period and the second period described above with the standard deviation of the number of alarms.

Furthermore, the statistical information that can be calculated by the statistical calculation unit 312 may include a change trend of the maximum number of alarms occurring per day in the first period and the second period. The change trend of the standard deviation can be calculated by replacing the average number of alarms occurring in the calculation of the change trend of the average number of alarms occurring per day in the first period and the second period described above with the maximum number of alarms occurring per day.

Figure 4 further shows statistical information regarding the number of days since the occurrence of an alarm, including the latest report [days], the oldest report [days], and the longest report [days]. The latest report [days] is the number of days since the last time an alarm of the same type occurred (the most recent date of alarm occurrence). For example, if the current date is January 20, 2020, and the most recent date of occurrence of an alarm of the target type is January 15, 2020, the latest report [days] will be 5.

The oldest report [days] is the number of days since the first occurrence of the same type of alarm (oldest date). For example, if the current date is January 20, 2020, and the oldest date of occurrence of an alarm of the target type is January 14, 2020, the oldest report [days] will be 6.

The maximum number of days since an alarm was generated is the number of days since the day on which the number of occurrences of the same type of alarm was the highest. For example, if the current date is January 20, 2020, and the day on which the number of occurrences of the target type of alarm was the highest was January 17, 2020, the maximum number of days since an alarm was generated is 3.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 2, the reception unit 313 receives various information inputs, instructions, selections, etc. in response to operations by the operator. The reception unit 313 receives, for example, instructions for display screen transitions, designation of planned downtime periods, inputs, selections, and selections of periods during which alarms have occurred for calculating statistical information.

The display control unit 314 generates display data based on the acquired process data, alarm information, and various statistical information calculated based on the alarm information, and causes the display device 32 to display a display screen based on the display data. That is, the display control unit 314 controls the display of information relating to the operating state of the plant 1, such as displaying the process data and alarm statistical information and issuing an alarm, on the display device 32. Examples of screens displayed on the display device 32 will be described later.

The alarm information DB 33A stores alarm information acquired from the alarm determination unit 315. That is, the alarm information DB 33A stores alarm information (alarm history information) related to alarms that have occurred so far. The alarm information includes, for example, the alarm item (alarm type), the alarm occurrence date and time, and the value of the process data related to the alarm (for example, the value of the make-up water flow rate u1 and the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 that are determined to be abnormal, etc.).

The alarm statistical information DB33B stores statistical information regarding the occurrence of alarms in the plant calculated by the statistical calculation unit 312. Examples of the statistical information are as described above.

The display device 32 displays various display screens including information related to the operation of the plant 1 based on the display data supplied by the display control unit 314. The various display screens displayed by the display device 32 will be described later.

As shown in Fig. 3, the system 30 physically has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 30a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 30b, a ROM (Read only Memory) 30c, a communication unit 30d, an input unit 30e, and a display unit 30f, and each of these components is connected to each other via a bus so that data can be transmitted and received. Each functional block of the system 30 shown in Fig. 2 is realized by the physical configuration shown in Fig. 3.

In this embodiment, the system 30 is configured by one computer, but the system 30 may be realized by combining multiple computers. For example, in addition to the display unit 30f, a display constituting a different display unit for displaying other information may be provided. The system 30 may also be configured by a tablet terminal. By configuring the system 30 by a tablet terminal, the system 30 can be carried around, and the system 30 can be used while touring the plant 1, for example. The configuration shown in FIG. 3 is an example, and the system 30 may have other configurations or may not have some of these configurations. Also, some of the configurations may be provided in a remote location. For example, a control unit 31 having a CPU 30a or the like may be provided in a remote location. In this case, the display device 32 having the display unit 30f or the like may be configured to acquire a control signal generated in the control unit 31 provided in a remote location via a network.

The CPU 30a is a calculation unit that controls the execution of programs stored in the RAM 30b or the ROM 30c and calculates and processes data. The CPU 30a is a calculation unit that executes a program (monitoring program) that displays graphs and descriptions of process data of the plant 1. The CPU 30a receives various data from the input unit 30e and the communication unit 30d, and displays the calculation results of the data on the display unit 30f or stores them in the RAM 30b.

RAM 30b is a memory unit in which data can be rewritten, and may be composed of semiconductor memory elements such as DRAM or SRAM. RAM 30b may store data such as programs executed by CPU 30a and process data of plant 1. Note that these are merely examples, and RAM 30b may store data other than these, or some of these data may not be stored.

ROM 30c is a memory unit capable of reading data, and may be configured with a semiconductor memory element such as a flash memory. ROM 30c may store, for example, computer programs for executing the various processes shown in this embodiment and data that is not rewritten. Data that is not rewritten includes, for example, information about plant 1 and the specifications of components of plant 1. ROM 30c may also store, for example, process data of plant 1, information about generated alarms, and data such as planned shutdown periods.

The communication unit 30d is an interface that connects the system 30 to other devices. The communication unit 30d may be connected to a communication network such as the Internet.

The input unit 30e accepts data input in response to operations by an operator and may include, for example, a keyboard and a touch panel.

The display unit 30f has a screen that visually displays the results of calculations performed by the CPU 30a, and may be configured, for example, with an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display unit 30f may display graphs and explanatory text of the process data. The display unit 30f may also be configured so that a single screen is formed by connecting multiple displays.

A computer program for executing the various processes shown in this embodiment may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as ROM 30c, or may be provided via a communication network connected by communication unit 30d. In system 30, various operations included in this embodiment are realized by CPU 30a executing the monitoring program. Note that these physical configurations are examples and do not necessarily have to be independent configurations. For example, system 30 may include an LSI (Large-Scale Integration) in which CPU 30a and RAM 30b or ROM 30c are integrated.

In addition, the system 30 may include a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 3. The data stored in the storage device is processed by the CPU 30a. The data resulting from the processing by the CPU 30a is stored in the storage device.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an overview of the transition of various display screens displayed on the display device 32 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, the display device 32 displays a login display screen DP0, a statistical information display screen DP1, and an alarm map display screen DP2. The arrows between the display screens shown in Figure 5 indicate that each display screen transitions based on instructions from the operator. That is, in the system 30, based on instructions from the operator, it is possible to transition from the login display screen DP0 to the statistical information display screen DP1 and the alarm map display screen DP2. Note that when each display screen transitions in the system 30, the previous display screen may be replaced with the next display screen, or the previous display screen may remain and the next display screen may be displayed together. Also, the above-mentioned display screens are only examples, and the display device 32 may display display screens other than these display screens. For example, before transitioning to a screen shown in FIG. 5, a transition to a screen not shown in FIG. 5 (e.g., a menu screen) may be made, the statistical information display screen DP1 may have multiple types of screens, and the alarm map display screen DP2 may have multiple types of screens.

The login display screen DP0 displays information necessary for the operator to log in to the system 30. Information necessary for logging in is, for example, the operator's user ID and password. The login display screen DP0 accepts input of a user ID and password from the operator. From the login display screen DP0, it is possible to transition to a statistical information display screen DP1, an alarm map display screen DP2, etc.

The statistical information display screen DP1 is a screen that displays statistical information of alarms that have occurred in plant 1 as the operating status of the plant. The statistical information displayed on the statistical information display screen DP1 is statistical information calculated by the statistical calculation unit 312. The statistical information of the alarms displayed on the statistical information display screen DP1 may be displayed in a manner associated with the type of alarm that has occurred. Displaying statistical information in a manner associated with the type of alarm that has occurred means that the statistical information and the type of alarm are displayed so that the statistical information for a certain type of alarm can be easily grasped. For example, displaying statistical information in a manner associated with the type of alarm that has occurred includes displaying the type of alarm and the statistical information corresponding to that type of alarm side by side.

The alarm map display screen DP2 is a screen displayed to assist the operators of the plant 1 in determining whether any action needs to be taken in response to an alarm that has occurred. The alarm map display screen DP2 displays, for example, the importance or urgency of the action to be taken in response to an alarm that has occurred. The importance or urgency of the action may be determined, for example, based on the average number of alarms occurring in a specified period and the number of days on which an alarm occurred in the specified period. Specific examples of the alarm map display screen DP2 will be described later.

Next, an example of a statistical information display screen DP1 displayed on the display device 32 will be described with reference to Figure 6. The statistical information display screen DP1 shown in Figure 6 includes an area R61 and an area R62.

Area R61 shows alarm information that has occurred in plant 1. The alarm information displayed in area R61 includes the date and time of the alarm that occurred in plant 1 (occurrence date and time) and the item of the alarm that occurred (alarm item). The alarm item indicates the type of alarm that has occurred. In the example shown in FIG. 6, for example, "Alarm A", "Alarm B", etc. are displayed as alarm items. In addition, for the alarm that has occurred, the occurrence date and time and the alarm item are displayed in correspondence with each other.

Area R62 shows various statistical information about alarms that have occurred in plant 1. The statistical information about the alarm includes statistical information for the past week, the past 1.5 months, and the past year. The statistical information about the alarm further includes statistical information about the trend of change and the number of days elapsed. The meaning of each piece of statistical information has been explained with reference to Figure 4, so explanation of the meaning of each piece of statistical information will be omitted here.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the display device 32 displays statistical information on alarms that have occurred in the plant 1 in association with the type of alarm. As a result, the operators of the plant 1 can grasp statistical information on the occurrence of each type of alarm thus far. Furthermore, based on the statistical information, the operators can grasp the occurrence trend of the currently occurring alarm (for example, whether it is a frequent alarm), and as a result, can judge the urgency or importance of dealing with the alarm.

The statistical information displayed on the display device 32 also includes information on trends of change within a specified period (e.g., short or medium term). As a result, the operators of the plant 1 can grasp the trends of alarm occurrences to date, and in comparison therewith, can determine whether the alarm that has occurred this time differs from the previous trends and can determine the urgency or importance of dealing with the alarm.

Next, an example of an alarm map display screen DP2 displayed on the display device 32 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 shows, as the alarm map display screen DP2, an alarm map that indicates the relationship between the average number of alarm occurrences (average [times/day]) in a predetermined period (e.g., one year) and the percentage of days on which an alarm occurred in the predetermined period (e.g., one year) (alarm day rate [%]). For example, the alarm day rate [%] for one year (365 days) is calculated by the following formula:
Alarm occurrence rate [%] = {(Number of days in a year when an alarm occurred) / 365} x 100

Point a1 is a point that is plotted (mapped) at the corresponding position on the alarm map based on the average [times/day] and daily alarm rate [%] of alarms of the same type as the alarm that has occurred.

The alarm map shown in Figure 7 is divided into four areas, R61 to R64. R61 is an area where the average [times/day] and the alarm day rate [%] are both low. R62 is an area where the average [times/day] is low and the alarm day rate [%] is high. R63 is an area where the average [times/day] and the alarm day rate [%] are high. R64 is an area where the average [times/day] is high and the alarm day rate [%] is low.

When an alarm that has occurred is plotted in area R61, the alarm may be considered to be an unusual alarm rather than one that has occurred frequently statistically, and therefore the urgency or importance of treatment may be high.

When an alarm that has occurred is plotted in area R62, the alarm is likely to occur periodically due to a high daily alarm rate [%], and therefore the urgency or importance of treatment may be judged to be low.

When an alarm that has occurred is plotted in region R63, the alarm has a high average [times/day] but also a high daily alarm occurrence rate [%], and is therefore likely to occur periodically, so it may be determined that the urgency or importance of treatment is low.

When an alarm that has occurred is plotted in region R64, the alarm has a low daily occurrence rate [%] and a high average [times/day], so it is possible that the alarm occurs disproportionately at a particular time (e.g., when plant 1 is started up). In this case, the alarm may be determined to have low urgency or importance of requiring action.

Point a1 is shown in region R61. Therefore, according to the above, the alarm map display screen DP2 shows that the alarm related to point a1 is an alarm with high urgency or importance of treatment. Similarly, according to the above, if a point corresponding to an alarm is displayed in region R62, R63, or R64, the alarm map display screen DP2 shows that the alarm is an alarm with low urgency or importance of treatment.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the display device 32 displays the importance or urgency of measures to be taken against an alarm, which is determined based on the average number of alarms occurring in a predetermined period and the number of days on which an alarm occurred in the predetermined period. As a result, the operators of the plant 1 can easily determine whether or not to take measures against an abnormality related to an alarm that has occurred.
It is also possible to grasp the trend of improvement or deterioration of the operating state from the change over time in the trend of alarm occurrence by using the alarm map display screen DP2 as shown in FIG. 7. For example, by comparing the alarm map display screen DP2 in which alarms occurring in the last year are mapped with the alarm map display screen DP2 in which alarms occurring in the last week are mapped, it is possible to grasp which area (which area among the areas R61 to R64) of the alarm map display screen DP2 has increased or decreased in the last week compared to the last year. By performing such an analysis, it is possible to perform macro- and long-term plant operation management or create guidelines. In addition, it is possible to easily grasp the impact of the generated alarm by changing the method of highlighting (e.g., size) of the mark to be mapped according to the impact of the generated alarm.

[Display method]
Next, a process flow of the system 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 8. This flowchart particularly shows a process flow for displaying information related to an alarm that has occurred in the plant 1. This process is executed under the control of the control unit 31. Note that the contents and order of the steps shown below are merely examples, and the operation process is not limited to these.

First, while the plant 1 is in operation, the acquisition unit 311 acquires process data of the plant 1 from the DCS 20 (S11). The acquisition unit 311 may store the process data sequentially supplied from the DCS 20 in the memory unit 33 or the like. Thereafter, the alarm determination unit 315 evaluates the process data acquired in step S11 based on the alarm determination logic, and determines whether an alarm has been issued due to an abnormality occurring in the plant 1. If the alarm determination unit 315 determines that a predetermined abnormality has occurred in the plant 1 and that an alarm needs to be issued (Yes in step S13), the process proceeds to step S14. In other cases (No in step S13), the process shown in FIG. 8 ends.

In step S14, the statistical calculation unit 312 calculates statistical information about the alarm that has occurred. The statistical information is calculated, for example, based on alarm information that has occurred in the past and alarm information about the abnormality that is determined to have occurred in step S13. Note that the alarm information about the abnormality that is determined to have occurred in step S13 does not need to be used to calculate the statistical information in step S14. Examples of the calculated statistical information and the method of calculating the statistical information have already been described with reference to FIG. 4, etc.

Next, the display control unit 314 controls the display device 32 to display the alarm information about the abnormality determined to have occurred in step S13 and the statistical information calculated in step S14 (S15). For example, the display control unit 314 controls the display device 32 to display the statistical information of the alarm that has occurred in the plant 1 in association with the type of alarm. Examples of the statistical information displayed by the display device 32 are as described with reference to FIG. 6 etc.

Next, the display control unit 314 classifies the alarms for the abnormalities determined to have occurred in step S13 (S16), and controls the display device 32 to display the alarm classification results (S17). For example, the importance or urgency of measures to be taken against the alarm is determined based on the average number of alarms occurring in a specified period and the number of days on which alarms occurred in the specified period, and the alarm is classified based on the result of the determination. The alarm classification results according to the importance or urgency of measures are displayed on the display device 32, for example, as shown in the screen of FIG. 7.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the display device 32 displays, for example, statistical information on alarms that have occurred in the plant 1 in association with the type of alarm. As a result, it is possible to easily grasp the past occurrence trends of alarms.

As a variation of the processing shown in FIG. 8, the system 30 may not perform the processing of steps S16 and S17, and an operator or the like may classify the alarm (determine the seriousness or urgency of the measures).

The implementation modes described in the above embodiments can be combined or modified or improved as appropriate depending on the application, and the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such combinations or modified or improved forms are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1...plant, 2...furnace, 2a...fuel supply port, 2b...gas outlet, 2c...air supply line, 2d...exhaust port, 3...cyclone, 3a...exhaust gas flow path, 4...circulating material recovery pipe, 4a...loop seal section, 5...rear flue, 6...furnace wall pipe, 7...pump, 7a...pump, 8...steam drum, 8a...downcomer, 8b...saturated steam pipe, 10...superheater, 10a...pipe, 12...economist, 13...area, 21...pipe, 22...pipe, 30...system, 30a...CPU, 30d...communication section, 30e...input section, 30f...display section, 31...control section, 32...display device, 100...turbine, 102...condenser, 311...acquisition section, 312...statistics calculation section, 313...reception section, 314...display control section, 315...alarm determination section

Claims (13)

A display device that displays an operating state of a plant,
displaying statistical information for each type of alarm occurring in the plant in a manner associated with the type of alarm;
The statistical information includes information regarding the number of occurrences of past alarms of the same type as the alarm that has occurred in the plant, and information regarding the change trend of the past alarms in different periods;
an alarm that has occurred in the plant is mapped and displayed on an alarm map based on a plurality of types of statistical information regarding the number of occurrences of the past alarms of the same type as the alarm that has occurred in the plant;
Display device. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the change trend includes a change trend of the average number of occurrences of the past alarms in a first period and a second period. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the change trend includes a change trend of the standard deviation of the number of occurrences of the past alarms in the first period and the second period. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the change trend includes a change trend of the maximum number of occurrences of the past alarms per day in the first period and the second period. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the statistical information includes information on the number of days that have elapsed since the first or last occurrence of the past alarm. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the statistical information includes information on the number of days that have elapsed since the day on which the number of past alarms per day was the highest. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which displays the importance or urgency of measures to be taken against the alarm, determined based on the average number of occurrences of the past alarms in a specified period and the number of days on which the past alarms occurred in the specified period. A control device that controls a display device that displays an operating state of a plant,
An acquisition unit that acquires alarm information regarding an alarm that has occurred in the plant;
a calculation unit that calculates statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarm for each type of alarm based on the alarm information acquired by the acquisition unit, the statistical information including information regarding the number of occurrences of past alarms of the same type as the alarm that has occurred in the plant, and information regarding a change trend of the past alarms in different periods;
a display control unit that causes the display device to display the calculated statistical information in association with the type of the alarm, and that causes the display device to map and display the alarm that has occurred in the plant on an alarm map based on a plurality of types of statistical information regarding the number of occurrences of the same type of past alarm as the alarm that has occurred in the plant; and
A control device comprising: A reception unit is provided for receiving a selection of a period,
The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the display control unit causes the display device to display the statistical information for the selected period in association with the type of the alarm. A control method for controlling a display device that displays an operating state of a plant, comprising:
Obtaining alarm information regarding an alarm that has occurred in the plant;
Calculating statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarm for each type of alarm based on the acquired alarm information, the statistical information including information regarding the number of occurrences of past alarms of the same type as the alarm that has occurred in the plant and information regarding the change trend of the past alarms in different periods;
displaying the calculated statistical information and the type of the alarm in association with each other on the display device, and mapping and displaying the alarm that has occurred in the plant on an alarm map based on a plurality of types of statistical information regarding the number of occurrences of the same type of past alarm as the alarm that has occurred in the plant;
A control method comprising: Including accepting a selection of a time period;
The control method according to claim 10 , wherein the displaying includes displaying, on the display device, the statistical information for the selected period and the type of the alarm in association with each other. A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling a display device that displays an operating state of a plant, the control method comprising the steps of:
Obtaining alarm information regarding an alarm that has occurred in the plant;
Calculating statistical information regarding the occurrence of the alarm for each type of alarm based on the acquired alarm information, the statistical information including information regarding the number of occurrences of past alarms of the same type as the alarm that has occurred in the plant and information regarding the change trend of the past alarms in different periods;
displaying the calculated statistical information and the type of the alarm in association with each other on the display device, and mapping and displaying the alarm that has occurred in the plant on an alarm map based on a plurality of types of statistical information regarding the number of occurrences of the same type of past alarm as the alarm that has occurred in the plant;
Including, the program. Including accepting a selection of a time period;
The program according to claim 12 , wherein the displaying includes displaying, on the display device, the statistical information for the selected period and the type of the alarm in association with each other.

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