There are four types of hardware alarms: Advisory (ADVISE_ALM), Failed (FAILED_ALM), Maintenance (MAINT_ALM), and Not Communicating (COMM_ALM). When a hardware condition occurs that triggers a hardware alarm, a message appears in one or more of the following places:
The Message column of the Alarm Summary screen in DeltaV Live or DeltaV Operate
A Hardware Alarms or Logic Solver faceplate
The Condition Summary Viewer
The Event Chronicle
In the case of a hardware error that triggers a COMM_ALM alarm, the message Not Communicating appears in the alarm summary and faceplate. Because communications have been lost with that node, any previous hardware alarm messages for that node are replaced with the Not Communicating message and no hardware alarm messages appear in the Condition Summary Viewer.
Some hardware alarm messages identify an I/O card by its type, as card_type Card.
When the same alarm type (MAINT_ALM, for example) occurs for multiple condition, the condition listed is preceded with [MULT]. The condition listed is the last one that occurred; however, the date/time stamp listed is of the first condition. To see all currently active conditions for the [MULT] alarm, open the Condition Summary Viewer (from either the alarm faceplate or the right-click context menu of the alarm).