Energy Development : EDC will use Honeywell Forge Alarm Management to improve safety and performance

Honeywell AIC | www.automation.com

Honeywell announced that Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the leading renewable energy producer in the Philippines, will improve safety and performance at its sites by implementing Honeywell Forge Alarm Management to optimize the performance of industrial alarm systems.

Companies use alarms in control systems to help ensure that industrial processes perform in a manner that protects people, equipment, and the environment. Honeywell Forge Alarm Management brings robust management to industrial alarm systems to better ensure that control room operators receive alerts about abnormal situations that may require intervention to avoid potential incidents.

EDC will implement the Honeywell Forge Alarm Management suite, including the new Alarm Performance Optimizer module, at seven of its sites in the Philippines. The solution will enable EDC to improve operational efficiency and safety, monitor compliance with corporate alarm guidelines, and enhance alarm management across its sites.

"Ensuring safer and dependable operations is essential for EDC to provide an uninterrupted supply of clean renewable energy to the Philippines. We are utilizing Alarm Management as a key element in our Process Safety framework to achieve this," said Engr. Liberato S. Virata, senior vice president and head of EDC's Facilities Operations & Maintenance Group. "Honeywell Forge Alarm Management suite and Alarm Performance Optimizer will provide a robust solution that helps us identify and resolve issues such as overloaded alarm systems or those lacking appropriate operator guidance. They will deliver centralized capabilities that improve the efficiency of our alarm management processes across our seven sites."

Alarm system performance may degrade over time due to inadequate maintenance. This can result in recurring false alarms and operator overload. According to testing by Honeywell, average results from Alarm Performance Optimizer can deliver up to a 25% reduction in alarm rationalization cycle time, up to a 15% improvement in operator response times, and up to 10% reduction in console alarm loads, in addition to the benefits already obtained from other Honeywell Forge Alarm Management modules.

"Companies can face a significant challenge managing tens of thousands of alarms, often across multiple sites," said Anand Vishnubhotla, chief product officer, Honeywell Connected Industrial. "As more organizations centralize their alarm management processes, the capabilities of Alarm Performance Optimizer enable organizations to centrally assess the health of each site's alarm systems to identify underperformance and improve configuration to help ensure efficiency and safer operations."

The Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is a pioneer in generating 100% clean, renewable, and reliable power as an electricity supplier in the Philippines for over 40 years. With power plants all over Visayas and Mindanao, the company is one of the biggest producers of geothermal energy in Asia and is expanding its reach in the international market, allowing it to offer customers affordable energy rates. EDC also strives to provide the best customer service it can to all its clients by having helpful salespeople and easy to understand contracts. Because of all of this, it is poised to become the premier supplier of electricity for the Philippines' Green Energy Option Program. EDC takes its mission as a renewable energy provider seriously and goes beyond sustainability by investing in programs that enhance the environment and empower its partner communities, thereby fostering regenerative development. The company has also been working toward being carbon-neutral by improving its energy efficiency, as well as implementing various greening projects to ensure that its mission to provide future generations with a better life remains intact.