Method and device for identification of correlations between alarm messages or between alarm messages and operator actions

1. Method for identification of correlations between alarm messages in an alarm system of a technical installation or a technical process and/or correlations between such alarm messages and operator actions, which has access to alarm messages and recorded historical data which relates to operator actions, using a data processing device, comprising:

analyzing via a market basket analysis method, historical data relating to alarm messages and operator action, which occurs at defined intervals, as a market basket;

forming a quality characteristic from a relationship between respective operator actions before and after an occurrence of a respective alarm message, and/or from a correlation between alarm messages and operator actions, using a data processing device which has access to the historical data;

defining alarm suppression rules based on results of the analyzing; and

performing a program-controlled check of effects of the rules by having the data processing device check what effects the rules would have had in reducing a number of the alarm messages included in the historical data.

2. Method according to claim 1 , comprising:

displaying results of the analyzing.

3. Method according to claim 1 , comprising:

forming the intervals by subdividing the historical data into periods of a fixed duration which each start with a recorded alarm.

4. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the analyzing is performed via an APRIORI-algorithm or an ECLAT-algorithm.

5. Method according to claim 1 , comprising:

determining the characteristics based on results from determined correlations between operator actions and alarm a messages, the quality characteristics being a measure of an extent to which an alarm message initiates a operator action.

6. Method according to claim 1 , comprising:

forming a quality characteristic by:

filtering of the historical data, wherein alarm messages which occur in a defined interval are counted as one alarm message and operator actions which occur in a defined interval are counted as one operator action; and

calculating a quality characteristic which depends on whether an alarm message initiates an operator action.

7. Device for identification of correlations between alarm messages in an alarm system of a technical installation or a technical process and/or correlations between such alarm messages and operator actions, which has access to alarm messages and recorded historical data which relates to operator actions, comprising:

a data processing device which contains hardware and software means for carrying out analyses and calculations to determine correlations between alarm messages received via a data processing device input from an alarm system of a technical installation or a technical process and/or correlations between such alarm messages and operator actions, wherein the data processing device performs functions of:

accessing recorded historical data which relates to alarm messages and operator actions;

performing market basket analysis of the historical data, at defined intervals, as a market basket;

determining a quality characteristic based on characteristic calculated correlations between operator actions and alarm messages as a measure of an extent to which an alarm message initiates an operator action;

defining alarm suppression rules based on results of the analyses and calculations; and

performing a program-controlled check of effects of the rules by having the data processing device check what effects the rules would have had in reducing a number of the alarm messages included in the historical data.

8. Method according to claim 1 , comprising:

forming the intervals by subdividing the historical data into periods of a variable duration which each include a fixed number of alarm messages.

9. Device according to claim 7 , wherein the analyzing is performed via an APRIORI-algorithm or an ECLAT-algorithm.

10. Device according to claim 7 wherein the data processing device performs functions of:

displaying results of the analyzing.

11. Device according to claim 7 wherein the data processing device performs functions of:

forming the intervals by subdividing the historical data into periods of a fixed duration which each start with a recorded alarm.

12. Device according to claim 7 wherein the data processing device performs functions of:

determing the characteristics based on results from determined correlations between operator actions and alarm a messages, the quality characteristics being a measure of an extent to which an alarm message initiates a operator.

13. Device according to claim 7 wherein the data processing device performs functions of:

forming a quality characteristic by:

filtering of the historical data, wherein alarm messages which occur in a defined interval are counted as one alarm message and operator actions which occur in a defined interval are counted as one operator action; and

calculating a quality characteristic which depends on whether an alarm message initiates an operator action.

14. Device according to claim 7 wherein the data processing device performs functions of:

forming the intervals by subdividing the historical data into periods of a variable duration which each include a fixed number of alarm messages.