Patent Application
20250078644
The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for monitoring alarms within a building control system and more particularly to methods and systems for dynamically prioritizing alarms within a building control system.
Building control systems may include video monitoring systems, security systems including access control systems, building management systems and others. Each of these building control systems may generate alarms. It will be appreciated that a large number of alarms, ranging from critical alarms to low priority alarms, may be generated by the systems within the building control system, and that this may lead to a substantial number of alarms. It can be difficult for an operator to monitor all of these alarms. It can be difficult to keep on time of all of the alarms. What would be desirable are methods and systems for dynamically prioritizing alarms so that an operator monitoring the building control system will be more effective at managing the alarms.
The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for monitoring alarms within a building control system and more particularly to methods and systems for dynamically prioritizing alarms within a building control system. An example may be found in a method for dynamically prioritizing alarms of a building control system. The method includes over time, receiving a plurality of alarms generated by the building control system. Each of the plurality of alarms is associated with one or more alarm parameters that each provide a priority factor associated with the corresponding alarm, and a time that corresponds to the time that the corresponding alarm was reported. Each of the plurality of alarms are associated with an open state until the corresponding alarm is acted upon in a predetermined manner by an operator (e.g. acknowledged the alarm, completed a Standard Operating Procedure associated with the alarm, and/or closed the alarm). For each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state, a static priority level is determined that is based at least in part on the priority factors provided by the one or more alarm parameters associated with the corresponding alarm. Also, a dynamic priority level is determined that is based at least in part on the static priority level of the corresponding alarm and an amount of time that has elapsed since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported. Each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state are ranked according to their dynamic priority level and a notification of a highest ranked alarm is displayed to the operator, sometimes in a prominent location such as along a banner on a display.
Another example may be found in a building control system for dynamically prioritizing alarms. The building control system includes a memory, a user interface including a display, and a controller operatively coupled to the memory and the user interface. The controller is configured to over time, receive a plurality of alarms generated by the building control system. Each of the plurality of alarms are associated with one or more alarm parameters that each provide a priority factor associated with the corresponding alarm. The controller is configured to record in the memory a time for each of the plurality of alarms that corresponds to the time that the corresponding alarm was reported. The controller is configured to associate each of the plurality of alarms with an open state until the building control system receives a user input via the user interface that acts upon the corresponding alarm in a predetermined manner (e.g. acknowledged the alarm, completed a Standard Operating Procedure associated with the alarm, and/or closed the alarm). For each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state, the controller is configured to determine a static priority level that is based at least in part on the priority factors provided by the one or more alarm parameters associated with the corresponding alarm. Also, the controller is configured to determine a dynamic priority level that is based at least in part on the static priority level of the corresponding alarm and an amount of time that has elapsed since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported. In some cases, the controller is configured to rank each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state according to the dynamic priority level, and to display on the display a notification of one or more of the highest ranked alarms.
Another example may be found in a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that when executed by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to over time, receiving a plurality of alarms generated by a building control system. Each of the plurality of alarms is associated with one or more alarm parameters that each provide a priority factor associated with the corresponding alarm. The one or more processors are caused to recording a time for each of the plurality of alarms that corresponds to the time that the corresponding alarm was reported. The one or more processors are caused to associate each of the plurality of alarms with an open state until the corresponding alarm is acted upon in a predetermined manner by an operator (e.g. acknowledged the alarm, completed a Standard Operating Procedure associated with the alarm, and/or closed the alarm). For each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state, the one or more processors are caused to determine a dynamic priority level that is based at least in part on an amount of time that has elapsed since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported. In some cases, the one or more processors are caused to rank each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state according to the dynamic priority level and to display a notification of one or more highest ranked alarms.
The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present disclosure and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosure can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, figures, and abstract as a whole.
The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following description of various examples in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the disclosure to the particular examples described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
The following description should be read with reference to the drawings, in which like elements in different drawings are numbered in like fashion. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict examples that are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Although examples are illustrated for the various elements, those skilled in the art will recognize that many of the examples provided have suitable alternatives that may be utilized.
All numbers are herein assumed to be modified by the term “about”, unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, and 5).
As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include the plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.
It is noted that references in the specification to “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “other embodiments”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is contemplated that the feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is contemplated that the feature, structure, or characteristic may be applied to other embodiments whether or not explicitly described unless clearly stated to the contrary.
The building system 10 may include a fire system 14 that includes multiple sensors for detecting signs of fire, such as smoke detectors. The fire system 14 may include a fire system panel that is operably coupled with all of the smoke detectors and may be configured to receive alarms from the detectors. The fire system 14 may also include a fire suppression system, such as a sprinkler system.
The building system 10 may include an access control system 16 that monitors and controls access within the building or other facility. In some instances, the access control system 16 may include card readers or other ways of limiting access to spaces within the building or other facility. In some instances, the access control system 16 may rely upon cameras for granting or denying access. The access control system 16 may include a number of doors having remotely operated locks secured to the doors.
The building system 10 may include a communication system 18. The communication system 18 may include an intercom system within the building or facility. The communication system 18 may include mobile radios. The communication system 18 may include a PA (Public Announcement) system, for example.
The building system 10 may include an intrusion detection system 20. The intrusion detection system 20 may include a number of sensors such as door sensors, window sensors, motion sensors such as PIR (Passive InfraRed) sensors, vibration sensors, glass break detectors and other sensors that can detect indications of intrusion, and visual annunciators, for example.
Each of the VMS 12, the fire system 14, the access control system 16, the communication system 18 and the intrusion detection system 20, as well as any other building systems not shown in
A building control system 24 is operably coupled with the building network 22 and thus is able to receive alarms that are raised by any of the VMS 12, the fire system 14, the access control system 16, the communication system 18 and/or the intrusion detection system 20, as well as any other building systems not pictured, and to prioritize these alarms. In some instances, a server 26 may also be operably coupled with the building network 22. In some instances, the building control system 24 may be disposed within the building or other facility. In some instances, the building control system 24 may be remote from the building or other facility, and may for example be implemented within the server 26. In some instances, the building control system 24 may encompass or include one or more of the VMS 12, the fire system 14, the access control system 16, the communication system 18 and the intrusion detection system 20, as well as any other building systems not pictured.
The controller 34 is configured to receive over time a plurality of alarms generated by the building control system 24. This may include alarms from one or more of the VMS 12, the fire system 14, the access control system 16, the communication system 18 and the intrusion detection system 20, as well as any other building systems not pictured. Each of the plurality of alarms is associated with one or more alarm parameters that each provide a priority factor associated with the corresponding alarm. Also, a time for each of the plurality of alarms that corresponds to the time that the corresponding alarm was reported is record in the memory 28. The controller 34 is configured to associate each of the plurality of alarms with an open state (e.g. open alarm state) until the building control system 24 receives a user input via the user interface 30 that acts upon the corresponding alarm in a predetermined manner (e.g. acknowledged the alarm, completed a Standard Operating Procedure associated with the alarm, and/or closed the alarm). For each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state, the controller 34 may be configured to determine a static priority level that is based at least in part on the priority factors provided by the one or more alarm parameters associated with the corresponding alarm, and to determine a dynamic priority level that is based at least in part on the static priority level of the corresponding alarm and an amount of time that has elapsed since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported. The controller 34 may then rank each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state according to the dynamic priority level and to display on the display 32 a notification of one or more of the highest ranked alarms.
In some instances, the plurality of alarms generated by the building control system 24 may include alarms of different alarm factors such as an Alarm Priority Factor, a Zone Priority Factor and a Threshold Time Cut Off Factor. For the Alarm Priority Factor, one of the one or more alarm parameters may provide an alarm priority classification (e.g. Critical alarm, Urgent Alarm, Medium Alarm and Low Alarm), and an alarm priority value (e.g. numeric value) that is based at least in part on the alarm priority classification of the corresponding alarm. In some instances, the plurality of alarms generated by the building control system 24 may include alarms from different zones of the building control system 24. In such cases, and for the Zone Priority Factor, one of the one or more alarm parameters may provide a zone priority classification (e.g. Critical Zone or Non-Critical Zone), and a zone priority value (e.g. numeric value) that is based at least in part on the zone priority classification of the corresponding alarm.
In some instances, another alarm factor corresponds to the time of day that a particular alarm was raised. As an example, a particular alarm raised during daylight hours may have a relatively lower priority, while the same alarm raised during overnight hours may have a relatively higher priority. As another example, a particular alarm raised during fully staffed periods of time may have a relatively lower priority, while the same alarm raised during times of partial staffing may have a relatively higher priority because it may be more difficult to respond if a situation escalates, for example.
In some instances, the particular building system that triggered an alarm may impact the relative priority of that alarm. As an example, an alarm triggered by a security system such as a video management system (VMS) may have a relatively higher priority when compared to an alarm triggered by a building management system (BMS). In particular, an alarm raised by the VMS may have more security implications than an alarm raised by the BMS.
In some instances, the amount of time that has elapsed since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported and remains in an open state is expressed as a number of consecutive pre-defined time periods that have transpired since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported. For the Threshold Time Cut Off Factor, one of the one or more alarm parameters may provide different pre-defined time periods for different alarm priority classifications (e.g. Critical alarm, Urgent Alarm, Medium Alarm and Low Alarm). For example, an alarm that has an alarm priority classification of Critical may be associated with a pre-defined time period of ten (10) minutes, an alarm that has an alarm priority classification of Urgent may be associated with a pre-defined time period of thirty (30) minutes, an alarm that has an alarm priority classification of Medium may be associated with a pre-defined time period of forty-five (45) minutes, and an alarm that has an alarm priority classification of Low may have a pre-defined time period of sixty (60) minutes. A number of different other factors may be considered including, for example, a zone-specific priority parameter, an alarm time of day priority parameter (whether the alarm is during day or at night, for example), a sub-system priority parameter (e.g. the sub-system that reported the alarm may have a higher priority than another sub-system), an alarm default priority and/or any other suitable factor. These are just examples.
The following example illustrates some of the functionality that may be implemented by the controller 34. The first table provides several alarm factors including an Alarm Priority Factor, a Zone Priority Factor and a Threshold Time Cut Off Factor. Associated with each alarm factor are alarm priority classifications (e.g. Critical alarm, Urgent Alarm, Medium Alarm and Low Alarm) and an alarm priority value (e.g. numeric value) that is based at least in part on the alarm priority classification of the corresponding alarm. Also shown are customer defined weightage assigned to each of the alarm factors. In this example, the customer has assigned equal weights (e.g. 25) to each of the alarm factors:
In this example, the following equation may be used by the controller 34 to calculate a numerical score for the alarm factor for each of the pending alarms:
The next table provides example numerical results for a building control system with four open alarms. In the first cycle (e.g. a first cycle may correspond to an 8 hour shift), there is a critical alarm A1 with a Calculated Alarm Priority Factor of 150, an urgent alarm A2 with a Calculated Alarm Priority Factor of 125, and a low-priority alarm A3 with a Calculated Alarm Priority Factor of 50. In the second cycle (e.g. the next 8 hour shift), the alarm A3 remains open, but now has a Calculated Alarm Priority Factor of 200 because the alarm A3 remains open for a total of three pre-defined time periods of sixty (60) minutes, or a total of three hours as the pre-defined time period for a low priority alarm is 60 minutes.
A time is recorded for each of the plurality of alarms that corresponds to the time that the corresponding alarm was reported, as indicated at block 40. In some instances, the amount of time that has elapsed since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported may be expressed as a number of consecutive pre-defined time periods that have transpired since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported while remaining open. One of the one or more alarm parameters may provide the pre-defined time period for the corresponding alarm. The pre-defined time period may be different for different alarms.
Each of the plurality of alarms are associated with an open state until the corresponding alarm is acted upon in a predetermined manner by an operator (e.g. acknowledged the alarm, completed a Standard Operating Procedure associated with the alarm, and/or closed the alarm), as indicated at block 42. For each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state, several priority levels are determined, as indicated at block 44. A static priority level is determined based at least in part on the priority factors provided by the one or more alarm parameters associated with the corresponding alarm, as indicated at block 44a. In one example, the static priority level may correspond to the (alarm Priority*W1)+(Zone Priority*W2) in the above equation for the Calculated Alarm Priority Factor. A dynamic priority level is determined based at least in part on the static priority level of the corresponding alarm and an amount of time that has elapsed since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported, as indicated at block 44b. In one example, the dynamic priority level may correspond to the static priority level+(Threshold Time Cutoff*W3*Slipped Time Periods) in the above equation for the Calculated Alarm Priority Factor.
Each of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state may be ranked according to the dynamic priority level (e.g. the Calculated Alarm Priority Factor), as indicated at block 46. In some instances, each of the plurality of alarms may be associated with two or more alarm parameters that each provide a corresponding priority factor for the corresponding alarm, and wherein determining the static priority level is based at least in part on a weighted sum of at least two of the priority factors provided by two or more alarm parameters associated with the corresponding alarm. In some instances, determining the dynamic priority level may be based at least in part on a weighted sum of the static priority level of the corresponding alarm and the amount of time that has elapsed since the time that the corresponding alarm was reported.
A notification of a highest ranked alarm may be displayed on the display 32 of the building control system, as indicated at block 48. In some instances, displaying the notification of the highest ranked alarm may include displaying the notification of the highest ranked alarm in a ribbon that extends across a top portion of a dashboard that is displayed on the display 32 and monitored by the operator. In some instances, displaying the notification of the highest ranked alarm may include displaying the notification in a blinking fashion on a dashboard that is monitored by the operator.
In some instances, the method 36 may include displaying a notification of at least some of the plurality of alarms that remain in the open state and that are not the highest ranked alarm in an alarm display region of a dashboard that is monitored by the operator, as indicated at block 50. In some instances, the method 36 may further include displaying one or more alarm configuration screens on a display, wherein the one or more alarm configuration screens are configured to receiving user input to configure one or more of the alarm parameters for each of one or more of the plurality of alarms.
It will be appreciated that the graphical representation 45 may take any of a variety of forms. In some instances, a user may be able to zoom in to a particular area of the prison, for example, and may be able to see greater detail. In some instances, the user may be able to click on one of the alarm notifications 60 in order to gain more details regarding a possible alarm. In some instances, a user may be able to click on one of the alarm notifications 60 in order to acknowledge the alarm, for example, or to silence the alarm.
Having thus described several illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that yet other embodiments may be made and used within the scope of the claims hereto attached. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure is, in many respects, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, arrangement of parts, and exclusion and order of steps, without exceeding the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure's scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.
