Alarm Acknowledgement

When an alarm occurs, the run time operator (or system) must acknowledge the alarm. Acknowledgement merely indicates that someone is aware of the alarm. This is separate from taking corrective action, which might not happen right away. It is also separate from whether the alarm condition returns to normal—which it might do on its own, even without any external intervention.

A high or medium priority alarm usually requires immediate acknowledgment, while a very low-priority alarm might not. Although the condition that generated the alarm may go away (for example, a temperature rises too high and then becomes lower again), the alarm itself is not considered resolved until it is acknowledged.