Application Guide Volume VII AG2014-35

Alarm Acknowledgment in the RTAC HMI

Ben Jochen and Cailin Ventresco

INTRODUCTION
Modern supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems collect and display copious
amounts of data to human-machine interface (HMI) operators. For HMI operators to determine the
data points with the greatest significance to them, they classify certain SCADA data as alarms.
These alarms alert operators to immediate problems, but they can also obfuscate important new
alarms by causing unnecessary distraction. With alarm acknowledgment, operators can designate
an alarm as noticed and addressed. This makes new, unaddressed alarms immediately apparent.
Devices within the Real-Time Automation Controller (RTAC) family, when equipped with the
optional Integrated Web HMI, provide alarm annunciation and acknowledgment visualization.
This application guide uses an example project to show how an RTAC and its HMI can provide
alarm acknowledgment.

OVERVIEW
In this project, an RTAC polls a single intelligent electronic device (IED), the SEL-710 Motor Pro-
tection Relay, and displays collected data on the RTAC HMI. The RTAC polls for the states of the
front-panel LEDs on the IED and logs an alarm if the IED becomes disabled or enters a trip condi-
tion. The front-panel LEDs stay lit until an operator presses the Target Reset button on the
SEL-710. The state of these points, therefore, may not necessarily indicate that the relay is pres-
ently in a tripped state, only that there has been no clearing of the trip indication since the last trip.
To account for this, the HMI uses an output control that creates a target reset on the IED. Figure 1
illustrates the device connections this application guide references.

Serial Ethernet
HMI
SEL-3530
SEL-710

Figure 1 Project Communications Architecture

The RTAC HMI polls the RTAC for both regular data updates and alarm updates. When an alarm
becomes active, the HMI changes an acknowledgeable alarm object, called an Acknowledgeable
Annunciator Tile, to the “alarm, unacknowledged” state. The tile changes to “alarm, acknowl-
edged” if an operator acknowledges the alarm; “normal, unacknowledged” if the alarm clears; or
“normal, acknowledged” if the alarm clears and an operator acknowledges it. Figure 2 shows a
state diagram of the four alarm acknowledgment states.

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Normal,
Acknowledged

Alarm Alarm Alarm

Acknowledged Occurs Clears

Normal, Alarm, Alarm,

Unacknowledged Unacknowledged Acknowledged
Alarm Alarm
Clears Acknowledged

Figure 2 Alarm Acknowledgment Behavior of the HMI

CONFIGURE THE RTAC PROJECT

Perform the following steps to poll a device over SEL protocol and log certain points as alarms.
Multiple tag types can be configured as alarms in the RTAC, but HMI acknowledgment is limited
to the tag type Single Point Status (SPS). This project logs SEL-710 status values an RTAC col-
lects over SEL protocol, but you can configure alarm acknowledgment for any SPS tags in an
RTAC project. SPS tags can be system tags, virtual tags, or any other tags collected through the use
of any one of the many RTAC-supported protocols.

Configure an IED Connection to the RTAC

Step 1. Open ACSELERATOR® RTAC SEL-5033 Software and select New SEL RTAC Proj-
ect. In the Create Project window, change the project name to “Alarm Acknowledg-
ment” and select Create.
Step 2. From the Insert menu, select SEL > 700 Series > 710 > SEL Protocol. Choose Cli-
ent-Serial for the connection type and name the device “IED_Alarm” at the window
shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Choose SEL Protocol Over Serial and Rename the Device Name

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Step 3. Select the Settings tab on IED_Alarm and modify Baud Rate to match the port speed
of the IED and the Serial Communication Port to match the RTAC port number to
which the device is connected. For this application, because the IED is on Port 1 of the
RTAC and communicating at a data rate of 19200 bps, set Baud Rate to 19200 and the
Serial Communications Port to COM_01, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 Set the Baud Rate and Serial Communications Port

Step 4. Select the Meter tab and set the Enable column to True for the TRIP Device bit, as
shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Set the Enable Column to True to Enable Tags

Step 5. Within the Meter tab, set the Enable column to True for the following additional tag
names:
➣ ENABLED
➣ TLED_01
➣ TLED_02
➣ TLED_03
➣ TLED_04
➣ TLED_05
➣ TLED_06
Enabling these tags allows the RTAC to poll the IED for the states of its front-panel
LEDs. The HMI displays all of these tags.
Step 6. Select the Remote Bits tab and set the Enable column to True for FO_RB_RB1.operPulse.
Save the RTAC project.
Once you enable this remote bit, the RTAC can send a control command to the IED.
This step configures the IED to reset the front-panel LED targets when you pulse this
remote bit.
Step 7. Through the use of ACSELERATOR QuickSet® SEL-5030 Software, set the IED to
accept remote commands and perform a target reset when the IED receives the com-
mand from the RTAC. For the SEL-710, set RSTTRGT := RB01 in the Global settings
and FASTOP := Y in the Port n settings, where n is the serial port communicating with
the RTAC. Figure 6 shows the settings for RSTTRGT in QuickSet.

Figure 6 Set the Reset Targets Bit to RB01 on the IED

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Configure Tag Logging and Alarming

Step 1. In ACSELERATOR RTAC, select the Tag Processor node in the tree view.
Step 2. Select the Options button in the top right corner and choose Logging Layout, as
shown in Figure 7. This changes the columns in the Tag Processor to include all rele-
vant logging columns.

Figure 7 Change to the Logging Layout View

Step 3. Select the + sign at the bottom of the Tag Processor to append a new row. For the
newly created row, enter the settings shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Cell Modifications Required to Enable Alarm Logging

Logging Logging
Logging Logging On Logging Off
Destination Tag Name Alarm Alarm
Enable Message Message
Enable State
IED_Alarm_SEl.FM_INST_ENABLED True True False Enabled Disabled
IED_Alarm_SEL.FM_INST_TRIP True True True Trip Target Reset

These settings are defined as follows:

➢ Destination Tag Name. The name of the tag you want to log in the RTAC
Sequence of Events Report.
➢ Logging Enable. The setting that, if set to True, causes the RTAC to log any state
changes by the destination tag in the Sequence of Events Report. Logging is a pre-
requisite for alarm logging, so set this to True for both tags.
➢ Logging Alarm Enable. The setting that, if set to True, causes the state designated
in Logging Alarm State to trigger an alarm log in the RTAC. You want both TRIP
and ENABLED tags to have alarm states, so set this to True for both.
➢ Logging Alarm State. The state of the destination tag that triggers an alarm. For
the ENABLED tag, an alarm should be only be logged when it deasserts. For the
TRIP tag, an alarm should only be logged when it asserts.
➢ Logging On Message. The message presented when the tag asserts.
➢ Logging Off Message. The message presented when the tag deasserts.

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Step 4. Save the project and select Home > Go Online. Follow the onscreen prompts to log in
to the RTAC and send the project.

CONFIGURE ACSELERATOR DIAGRAM BUILDER

The following steps show how to create an HMI project in ACSELERATOR® Diagram Builder™
SEL-5035 Software and then send the project to the RTAC. This project relies heavily on the
Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile object to acknowledge alarms. There are two diagrams in this
project: a one-line diagram and an SEL-710 detail diagram. The one-line diagram contains a sim-
plified electrical one-line with an Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile that links to the detail dia-
gram. The detail diagram shows the states of the LEDs on the SEL-710, with acknowledgeable
alarms representing two of those states.

Initialize the Project

Step 1. Open Diagram Builder and select File > New > Project. Name both the project and
the navigation link text “Acknowledgment,” as shown in Figure 8, and select Done.
The check box for Automatically create a new diagram was left checked, so this
step generates both a new project and a new diagram.

Figure 8 Create a New Project and Name It Acknowledgment

Step 2. Select File > New > Diagram to create a second diagram in addition to the automati-
cally created diagram.
Step 3. Rename one of the diagrams “Main one-line” and the other “SEL-710 detail.” To
rename a diagram, right-click on it and select Properties. Within this window, modify
the text contained in the Diagram Title section and select Update Diagram.
Step 4. Select File > Import Tags.
Step 5. Enter the login credentials for the RTAC and select Load Tags. When you receive the
import complete notification, as shown in Figure 9, select OK and then Done.

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Figure 9 Wait for the Import Complete Notification and Select OK

Configure Your HMI Diagrams

Step 1. Create a one-line diagram by dragging objects from the Controls window onto the
canvas of the “Main one-line” diagram. Figure 10 shows an example of a one-line dia-
gram.

Figure 10 Create a One-Line Diagram

Step 2. Drag and drop an Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile onto the canvas of Main one-
line diagram. For the newly created Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile, enter the
properties shown in Table 2.

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Table 2 Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile Property Modifications

Show Bad
Text (Alarm Silence on
Tag Name Child Diagram Quality For
and Normal) Acknowledge
Children
IED_Alarm_SEL.FM_INST_TRIP SEL-710 detail SEL-710 True True

These properties are defined as follows:

➢ Tag Name. The tag the HMI will use to determine the state of the Acknowledge-
able Annunciator Tile.
➢ Child Diagram. The diagram to which the Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile
provides a link and for which it provides annunciation (if Show Alarm For Chil-
dren or Show Bad Quality For Children is set to True).
➢ Text (Alarm and Normal). The text that forms the main label of the Acknowl-
edgeable Annunciator Tile.
➢ Show Bad Quality For. The setting that, if set to True, causes the Acknowledge-
able Annunciator Tile to show invalid quality if any objects in its child diagram
have invalid quality.
➢ Silence on Acknowledge. The setting that, if set to true, causes the Acknowledge-
able Annunciator Tile, when in an “alarm, acknowledged” state, to not appear as an
alarm to the audible alarm system or to a parent basic Annunciator Tile.
Step 3. Adjust the text, color, and formatting of the Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile to
customize the object’s appearance, as with the Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile
shown in Figure 10. You can view a preview of the control in its four different states
(acknowledged normal, acknowledged alarm, unacknowledged normal, unacknowl-
edged alarm) by right-clicking on the object and selecting the preview you want.
Figure 11 shows the four preview options in the right-click menu.

Figure 11 Right-Click the Annunciator Tile to Select a State Preview

Step 4. Create a device detail diagram by dragging objects from the Controls window onto
the canvas of the SEL-710 detail diagram. For the purpose of this application guide,
drag six LED Inputs, one Remote Bit Output, and two Acknowledgeable Annunciator
Tiles onto the diagram canvas.
Step 5. Rename the Remote Bit Output to Target Reset.

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Step 6. Add Label objects to indicate the function of both the Acknowledgeable Annunciator
Tiles and the Input LEDs. Figure 12 shows an example of an SEL-710 detail diagram
that shows all of the specified objects and their labels.

Figure 12 Create a Device Detail Diagram

Step 7. Set the tag names for the six LED Inputs to TLED_1, TLED_2, TLED_3, TLED_4,
TLED_5, and TLED_6; the Remote Bit Output to RB1; and the Acknowledgeable
Annunciator Tiles to ENABLED and TRIP.
Step 8. Save the project and select the upload icon.
Step 9. Follow the onscreen prompts to log in to the RTAC and send the project.

USE THE RTAC HMI TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND VIEW ALARMS

This section shows how to open the configured HMI and then view and acknowledge alarms as
they occur.

Initialize the HMI

Open a web browser and enter the IP address of the RTAC in the browser’s address bar. Log into
the RTAC and select Acknowledgment under the HMI category of the navigation pane. When the
HMI has loaded, open the Main one-line and SEL-710 detail diagrams. Figure 13 shows the detail
and one-line diagrams on a live HMI.

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Figure 13 Open the Main One-Line and SEL-710 Detail Diagrams

Functionality
The Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile for the Main one-line diagram indicates both the alarm
state and the acknowledgment state of the tags in the SEL-710 detail diagram. The LEDs only have
alarm states (alarm or normal); the acknowledgeable Annunciator Tiles have alarm states (alarm or
normal) and acknowledgment states (acknowledged or unacknowledged) as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14 Unacknowledged Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile

If either the SEL-710 diagram LEDs or tiles are in an alarm state, the tile for the Main one-line dia-
gram will show alarm. Figure 15 shows a tile in alarm state.

Figure 15 Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile in Alarm Conditions

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If the first two conditions are unmet, the tile for the Main one-line diagram will show normal and
acknowledged conditions. Figure 16 shows a tile in the normal and acknowledged state.

Figure 16 Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile in Normal Conditions

Figure 17 shows the state diagram of the Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile, with the four differ-
ent visual states.

Alarm Alarm Alarm

Acknowledged Occurs Clears

Alarm Alarm
Clears Acknowledged

Figure 17 Functionality of the Four Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile States

In addition to alarm acknowledgment, the HMI in this application guide has been designed to pro-
vide the operator with a remote bit control that resets target LEDs. Use this control to determine
whether the conditions that caused the front-panel LEDs to light are still active.

CONCLUSION
This application guide provides instructions on how to configure the RTAC HMI to provide alarm
acknowledgment functionality. This guide demonstrates how to design an HMI that uses an
Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile to show the states of front-panel LEDs on an IED. The
Acknowledgeable Annunciator Tile lets the HMI operator acknowledge alarms set for disablement
and trip conditions. Alternatively, the operator can send an output control that performs a target
reset to clear any inactive LEDs.

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TECHNICAL SUPPORT
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please contact us at:
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
2350 NE Hopkins Court
Pullman, WA 99163-5603 U.S.A.
Tel: +1.509.338.3838
Fax: +1.509.332.7990
Internet: selinc.com/support
Email: [email protected]

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SEL Application Guide 2014-35 Date Code 20200807