A controller with just the right tuning is a rare bird but knowing when tuning is important is the real game. While it is nice to say that all loops should be tuned better, what are the benefits and issues? New software can identify the process dynamics but the user is still left with the …
Monthly Archive: November 2007
Nov
21
Biggest Opportunities for Process Control Improvement – Controller Output Analytics
In analyzing loops in the control room, the story for me was more in the controller output. Yet data analytics tend to focus mostly on primary process variables. The clues to the significance of the controller output as a source of information are in its job and its action. The job of a feedback controller …
Nov
08
Biggest Opportunities for Process Control Improvement – Basic Control
One of the best kept secrets is that a good portion of the benefits from the application of advanced process control (APC) originates from the improvements made to the basic control system as part of the APC project. While Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Neural Networks (NN), and Real Time Optimization (RTO) are glamorous and …
Nov
01
Biggest Opportunities for Process Control Improvement – Concentrations
The process variable of greatest interest in a process stream is generally concentration. If the final concentration is not right, not much else matters. Yet online analyzers are few and far between. Plant analyzer groups have been cut back or allowed to disappear through attrition. While I think the staffing of these groups would be …
