Scientist Alarm Intelligence System

Real-time alarm evaluation and structured reporting via Ignition Gateway scripting and Perspective UI integration

Project Overview

This project delivers a production-grade alarm intelligence system built on the Ignition SCADA platform, leveraging Gateway Timer Scripts and the Perspective module to provide real-time process monitoring and automated operator reporting. The system was designed to address the challenge of context-aware alarm evaluation — ensuring that alarm conditions are assessed dynamically against live process state rather than relying on static thresholds alone.

The core objective was to reduce operator cognitive load during high-activity periods by surfacing pre-evaluated, structured alarm reports directly within the Perspective UI, eliminating the need for manual log review or dashboard cross-referencing.

Solution

  • Gateway Timer Script with configurable execution interval for continuous process polling
  • Tag read/write operations targeting both OPC-UA process variables and internal memory tags
  • Multi-condition alarm logic with priority-based evaluation and debounce handling
  • State change detection using previous-value comparison to suppress redundant alarm triggers
  • Structured message composition written to a dedicated string tag consumed by the Perspective UI

The Gateway Timer Script executes at a fixed polling interval, reading live values for tank level, process temperature, and pump run status from the tag provider. Alarm logic is conditionally gated behind a system-active flag, preventing false evaluations during startup, shutdown, or maintenance windows — a critical requirement for reliable industrial alarm management.

Each alarm condition is evaluated against defined engineering-unit thresholds. When a condition is met and confirmed as a genuine state transition (not a transient fluctuation), a structured alarm message is composed server-side and written to a Perspective-bound tag. The UI reflects the update within the next scan cycle, providing operators with actionable, timestamped alarm intelligence without requiring a page refresh or manual intervention.

Project Screenshots

Live Perspective UI displaying structured alarm report output bound to a Gateway-written tag
Gateway Timer Script implementing multi-condition alarm logic with state change detection

Key Learning