Using the Alarm Displays
The Web Workspace Tools menu’s Alarm Displays sub‑menu provides options to view current alarms (Alarms... option), assets in abnormal states (Abnormal Assets... option), and alarm history (Alarm History... option).
Understanding the Alarms List
To display active alarms, select Alarms... from the Web Workspace Tools menu. The Alarms (Main) tab will open.
The Alarms tool lists active alarms in your system. The types of alarms will depend on what Oracle Utilities Network Management System applications and integrations are implemented. The Oracle Utilities Network Management System can be configured to handle how the Alarms tool behaves, such as whether the tool stays open or rises to the top of other windows when you get receive a new alarm. These options are set (by an Administrative User) using the Configuration Assistant's Event Management Rules tab (see “Using the Event Management Rules Tab”).
• To keep the Alarms tool open, it is possible to prevent the main alarm list from being closed by setting the NMSAlarmsAllowMainAlarmListClosure SRS rule to no.
• To add further visibility to new alarms, the main alarm list can be configured to automatically receive focus when a new unacknowledged alarm is raised. This can be achieved using the NMSAlarmsDisplayUponNewUnackAlarm SRS rule
The Alarms tool has three main components:
Alarms Tool Menus and Toolbar
File Menu
Menu Option | Description | Toolbar Icon |
|---|---|---|
Toggle Dockable Window | Changes a standalone window to a pane that may be moved or docked in another window or frame. See “Understanding Docked Panes and Standalone Window Tools” for more information on dockable and standalone windows. | -- |
Exit | Closes the window. | -- |
Sort Menu
The table below describes the options available on the Sort menu.
Menu Option | Description | Toolbar Icon |
|---|---|---|
Sort Dialog... | Opens the Sort Dialog, allowing you to create, modify, apply, and save user-defined sorts. See “Using the Sort Dialog Box”. | -- |
Default | Applies the default sort. | -- |
Priority | Sort by alarm priority. | -- |
Actions Menu
Menu Option | Description | Toolbar Icon |
|---|---|---|
View... | Focuses the Viewer on the asset associated with the alarm. | |
Acknowledge | Acknowledges the selected alarms. | |
Silence | Silences the selected alarms. | |
Clear | Clears the selected alarms. | |
Silence All Alarms... | Silences all alarms. | |
Disable Alarm Sounds | Silences the selected alarms. | |
Enable Alarm Sounds | Re-enables alarm sounds. | |
Disable Alarm Sounds for a Specific Duration | Opens a field next that allows you to select a duration for silencing alarms. |
Options Menu
Menu Option | Description | Toolbar Icon |
|---|---|---|
Show All Zones | Display alarms for all zones. | -- |
Show Milliseconds | Toggles the display of time down to milliseconds. | -- |
Help Menu
Menu Option | Description | Toolbar Icon |
|---|---|---|
Help | Opens the online help content. | -- |
Alarm Priority Pane
The Alarms priority pane shows the count of alarms by priority and allows you to filter the Alarms table by selecting or deselecting priorities.
Alarms Table
The Alarms table displays alarm data in rows.
Note: Like other data tables, the Alarms table shows certain columns by default, but you may select the columns to view using standard table functions. See “Working with Tables” for more information.
• The Child Count (+) column contains the count of the number of child alarms associated with the alarm, if applicable. See “Viewing Child Alarms” for information.
• The Unacknowledged column contains a bell icon () if the alarm is unacknowledged.
• The Priority column contains the priority associated with the alarm. The priority field's background is filled with the priority's associated color while the alarm is not acknowledged.
• The Alarm Time column contains the time the alarm was generated in the field. For a SCADA alarm, this is the timestamp supplied by the RTU.
• The Class column contains the alarm class associated with the alarm. The alarm classes group alarm types. For example, in the NMS product configuration, alarms generated by an NMS Advanced Distribution Management System application would be in the DMS class.
• The Category column contains the alarm category associated with the alarm. Categories are child groupings of Class. For example, an alarm generated by Fault Location Analysis, would be in the category FLA.
• The Attribute column contains the type of SCADA measurement or System alarm. An ellipsis in the Attribute cell indicates that there is more information available; if you hover over the cell, a tooltip will display all of the unique attributes.
• The Alarm Message column contains the alarm text, which are preconfigured for the alarm class/category. An ellipsis at the beginning of the alarm message indicates that there is more information available; if you hover over the cell, a tooltip will display all of the unique messages. The lines in the tooltip are the unique messages from the alarm and its child alarms. For example, if there are three child alarms and each have unique messages, the tooltip will contain four lines.
•
Note: Other columns are available. See “Understanding Column Display Options” for information on showing and hiding columns.
Alarms Filters Applied
The Filters Applied pane provides a tree view of the alarm classes and categories. You can deselect nodes in the tree to hide those types of alarms. If you deselect a class, all alarms associated with the class (and its child categories) will be filtered from the table.
The Main Alarm Window
The first alarm window invoked in the Web Workspace is deemed to be the main alarm window. The main alarm window is distinguished from other alarm windows in its title with the text '(Main)'.
Several rules define the behavior of the main alarm window:
• NMS Alarm Allow Main Alarm List Closure: This rule defines whether or not the main alarm window can be closed by the operator.
• NMS Alarms Display Upon New Unack Alarm: This rule defines the behavior of the main alarm window when a new unacknowledged alarm appears in the alarm display. If set to yes then the main alarm window will be raised to the front of your display if it is hidden behind another window when a new unacknowledged alarm appears in the alarm list.
Working with Alarms
Viewing Child Alarms
When the Child Count (+ column) cell contains a number, the alarm has associated child alarms. To view child alarms, click the cell and the child alarms will be displayed in the Child Alarms table. To close the Child Alarms table view, click the close button ().
Note: While viewing child alarms, a new unacknowledged alarm will be indicated with banner text above the Child Alarms for Alarm heading to attract your attention. The banner text will be something like the following.
****** New Unacknowledged Alarms ******
Acknowledging Alarms
To acknowledge an alarm, complete these steps:
1. Select the row of the alarm you want to acknowledge.
2. Click the Acknowledge button ().
Silencing Alarms
To silence an alarm, complete these steps:
1. Select the row of the alarm you want to silence.
2. Click the Silence button ().
• The audio notification for the alarm becomes silent.
• The alarm is still not acknowledged.
Note: To turn audio notifications on or off, select or deselect Audio Enabled, respectively, from the User menu's User Interface Settings submenu. The audio for the entire system (all alarms) will toggle on or off. See “Understanding the Web Workspace User Menu” for more information.
Disabling Audible Alerts for a Specified Duration
To temporarily disable alarm audible alerts, complete these steps:
1. Click the Disable Alarm Sounds for a Specified Duration button (). Alarm audible alerts will be disabled and a duration text field will be displayed to the right of the button.
2. Enter a silencing duration in the text field.
3. To accept your entered duration, click the Accept button ().
• Alarm audible alerts will be disabled for the specified duration.
• A text notification will appear on the toolbar stating that alarm audible alerts are disabled and provide the time when that the duration will end.
4. To cancel the duration, click the cancel button () to revert.
• Alarm audible alerts are re-enabled.
Canceling Disabled Audible Alerts
To cancel an active disabled alarm audible alerts duration, complete these steps:
1. Click the cancel duration button ().
• The disabled comment on the toolbar disappears.
• Alarm audible alerts are re-enabled.
Clearing Alarms from the List
To remove an alarm, complete these steps:
1. Select the row of the alarm you want to clear.
2. Click the Clear button (). The alarm disappears from the list.
Note: You can remove multiple alarms by selecting multiple rows before you click the Clear button ().
Understanding the Abnormal Assets List
Abnormal Assets displays all assets that are not in their nominal state. For example, if a valve that is nominally closed is currently open, it will display in the Abnormal Asset Summary. If a SCADA system is integrated with Oracle Utilities Network Management System, any assets that are reported by a SCADA point as being in an off-nominal state will also display. This will also display any main breaks.
To access the Abnormal Asset Summary, select Alarms and Assets Lists and then Abnormal Asset Summary… from the Web Workspace Tools menu.
The Abnormal Assets List displays the following fields:
• The Alarm Time column contains the date and time when the abnormal condition occurred.
• The Lift Station column contains the name of the lift station that serves the abnormal asset.
• The Pressure Zone column contains the name of the pressure zone that serves the abnormal asset.
• The Asset column contains the name of the abnormal asset.
• The Attribute column contains information about the abnormal condition. For example,
• The Alarm Message column contains a description of the operation that caused the abnormal state.
Understanding the Alarm History List
The Alarm History list shows all alarms that have been generated over a selected period of time. The Alarm History list does not condense related alarms so every alarm will be displayed as a row in the table. In addition, operator initiated actions in response to an alarm will be displayed in the Alarm History, but will not be displayed in the Alarms list since an operator does not need to be notified of their own actions.
• The Unacknowledged column contains a bell icon () if the alarm is unacknowledged.
• The Priority column contains the priority associated with the alarm. The priority field's background is filled with the priority's associated color while the alarm is not acknowledged.
• The Alarm Time column contains the time the alarm was generated in the field.
• The Class column contains the alarm class associated with the alarm.
• The Category column contains the alarm category associated with the alarm.
• The Attribute column contains the type of SCADA measurement or System alarm.
• The Alarm Message column contains the alarm text, which are preconfigured for the alarm class/category.
•
Note: Other columns are available. See “Understanding Column Display Options” for information on showing and hiding columns.