Alarm Rationalization Facilitation Service

aeSolutions provides Alarm Rationalization Facilitation services to help organizations systematically evaluate and define their alarm set to ensure each alarm is necessary, prioritized correctly, and actionable by operators. Our structured approach aligns key stakeholders on alarm intent, response, and performance expectations using consistent, standards-based methodologies.

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Rationalization is where alarm management gets real, and where most programs stall. Reviewing thousands of alarms with cross-functional teams is time-intensive, politically complex, and technically demanding. Without experienced facilitation, workshops lose momentum, criteria drift between sessions, records become inconsistent, and the resulting alarm set doesn’t hold up during implementation or audits.

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aeSolutions facilitates rationalization workshops that keep teams productive, criteria consistent, and records audit-ready. We guide your operations, engineering, and process safety stakeholders through structured, standards-based review of every alarm’s necessity, priority, setpoints, deadbands, cause, consequence, and required operator response, aligned with ANSI/ISA-18.2, EEMUA 191, or IEC 62682.

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Proven Results from Large-Scale Alarm Rationalization

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Our rationalization methodology and aeAlarm platform were central to the results documented in our award-winning research presented at the 2025 Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Conference. Working with cross-functional teams at a midstream LNG facility, we rationalized over 55,000 alarm points across two process units on Honeywell Experion, achieving 84–92% reductions in urgent alarm activations. Unit A reduced urgent alarms from 45% of total alarm load to just 7%. Unit B reduced urgent alarms from 62% to 5%. Over 7,800 nuisance urgent alarms were eliminated, and 100% of remaining alarms now have documented operator response procedures.

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These results demonstrate what structured rationalization looks like when methodology, tooling, and facilitation expertise come together. Read the full paper here.

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What to Expect from a Typical Alarm Rationalization Engagement

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A typical rationalization engagement for a medium-sized process unit involves 2–4 weeks of facilitated workshop sessions, with preparation, data collection, and documentation extending the overall timeline to 8–12 weeks. We work with your team to define scope, establish session schedules that minimize production impact, and deliver implementation-ready rationalization records. For multi-unit or site-wide campaigns, we structure phased approaches that maintain consistency across the program.

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Our Alarm Rationalization Facilitation services include:

• Facilitation of structured alarm rationalization activities with cross-functional teams

• Review and validation of existing alarms for necessity and purpose

• Definition of alarm priorities based on consequence and required response time

• Documentation of alarm causes, consequences, and operator response actions

• Establishment of alarm setpoints, deadbands, and classification criteria

• Identification and elimination of duplicate, nuisance, or low-value alarms

• Development of rationalization records to support implementation and auditability

• Alignment with alarm philosophy and lifecycle requirements

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aeSolutions works closely with your operations, engineering, process safety, and control system teams to ensure rationalization outcomes are practical, consistent, and aligned with real-world operating conditions. Whether supporting a new alarm management initiative or improving an existing system, our facilitation expertise helps create a streamlined alarm set that enhances operator effectiveness and supports safer, more resilient operations.