Pre-engineered solutions drive down advanced control costs

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08.01.2011 | Sharpe, P., Emerson Process Management, Houston, Texas; Hawkins, G. , Emerson Process Management, Austin, Texas

Process control can improve quality and operating efficiency

Keywords: [Process control] [advanced process control systems (APC)] [distillation columns] [boilers] [model predictive control (MPC)] [energy conservation] [efficiency] [combustion]

Most companies today have honed their process control staff down to the minimum required to maintain a control system that can safely operate the process units. This leaves little time for the internal development of strategic applications that can improve process and safety performance. While some refineries and major petrochemical sites are able to justify dedicated teams of engineers to take care of advanced process control (APC) systems, many processing sites are still dependent on outside help for implementation, revamps and ongoing maintenance of APC systems. As a result, traditional APC initiatives have been stalled by the organization’s lack of capacity to identify, fund, staff and maintain advanced automation investments, even though the cost can almost always be justified.

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