How FIN Intelligence Solves Alarm Overload

One of the most powerful but ignored applications in a typical building automation system is the ability to display and acknowledge alarms. As a watchdog function that continuously monitors sensor data and compares it to desired normal states, the Alarm app can help a facility manager know when components are faulty or equipment has failed.

The problem comes when multiple devices report false alarms, which accumulate rapidly and contribute to unnecessary noise for the operator. The alarm algorithms programmed at the device level do not take into account global perimeters, such as schedules affecting occupancy time, or outdoor air conditions affecting the system mode of operation.

Additionally, information overload happens (and alarms are ignored) when the same system failure is detected by multiple alarms, each reporting back a unique event, yet in reality are tied back to the same root cause, such as AHU fan failure. To make matters worse, alarms can go in and out of alarm state if the perimeters are set too close, thus creating multiple records for the same alarm. 

Imagine these common alarm issues can be mitigated either manually or more effectively by using an AI agent to take care of reducing the number of alarms intelligently. When FIN Intelligence is activated, the AI scans active alarms/filters, expired alerts, detects and eliminates duplicates, checks schedules to eliminate alarms outside of occupied times, correlates related events, and identifies root causes. The agent can take action as well by resolving low-risk alarms, adjusting set points, acknowledging non-critical events, and verifying system stability.

By transforming alarm handling from a reactive, manual chore into an intelligent, automated workflow, FIN Intelligence helps you restore trust in your alarms and focus your team where it matters most. With cleaner alarm streams, accurate root-cause identification, and automatic handling of low‑risk events, operators gain a clearer picture of what is actually happening in their buildings without wading through thousands of noisy notifications. This results in faster troubleshooting, fewer site visits, and better use of limited engineering resources.

Learn more about FIN Intelligence here.