Alarm Prioritization & Rationalization
Not every alarm deserves the same urgency; a rationalized system reflects that.
Alarm rationalization assigns each alarm a priority level (critical, high, low) based on the actual consequence of not responding, rather than treating every alarm identically.
A system with hundreds of low-value alarms firing constantly trains operators to habitually dismiss or ignore alarms altogether, a well-documented industrial phenomenon called alarm fatigue.
Industry guidance (such as ISA-18.2) recommends a manageable steady-state alarm rate per operator per shift; a system dramatically exceeding that benchmark is a strong signal that rationalization is overdue.
Rationalization is a one-time project that requires ongoing maintenance discipline afterward, since new alarms added casually over time will eventually erode the benefit of an earlier rationalization effort.
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