EEMUA, the Engineering Equipment & Materials Users Association, has launched the Third Edition of EEMUA 191 ‘Alarm systems: a guide to design, management and procurement’ at a special EEMUA seminar held near Manchester Airport in the UK.

The new 2013 Edition, issued with the endorsement of the GB Health and Safety Executive, provides comprehensively revised guidance on designing, managing and procuring an effective alarm system. New for this Edition are Chapters on HCI management techniques and alarm configuration, and Appendices covering: alarm suppression; geographically distributed processes; intelligent fault detection; requirements for alarms; and supporting checklists. Following the guidance given in EEMUA 191 Edition 3 should result in better alarm systems that are more usable and that result in safer and more cost-effective industrial operations.

Since it was first published in 1999, EEMUA 191 has become the globally accepted and leading guide to good practice for alarm management. The Publication is aimed at all those who are about to embark on, or are currently undertaking, an alarm rationalisation process or any other alarm management project. This includes personnel with responsibility for safety and quality improvement through efficient and effective use of alarm handling systems, or who work directly or indirectly with alarm systems in chemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical and other process industries, the energy exploration and generation sector, and related industry sectors.

At the launch event, speakers from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the EEMUA 191 authoring committee gave presentations covering implementing the alarm management philosophy in practice; applications in geographically distributed plant; and performance metrics and KPIs, together with a summary of the main changes from the Second Edition.

Clive Tayler, EEMUA's Chief Executive said: "A particular strength of EEMUA 191 is that it was developed by the users of alarm systems in industry. The first and second editions of EEMUA 191 have sold thousands of copies worldwide, formed the basis of training courses internationally and have led to the production of related publications, such as EEMUA 201, dealing with human-machine interfaces."

Copies of EEMUA 191 Edition 3 can be ordered direct from EEMUA at sales@eemua.org or via the EEMUA Shop.