Product category:
Process Monitoring and Optimisation
News Release from: ExperTune | Subject: Control Loop Performance
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 24 March 2006
ExperTune receives patent for loop
health metrics
ExperTune has invented methods and programmes to calculate overall Control Loop Performance based on process, control, and economic measures, used with the PlantTriage Performance Supervision System
ExperTune has invented methods and programmes to calculate overall Control Loop Performance based on process, control, and economic measures This patented technology is a core component of the ExperTune PlantTriage Performance Supervision System
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 2 Feb 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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US Patent #6,993,396 was awarded to John Gerry, President and founder of ExperTune.
PlantTriage gathers data from the control system, performs a series of numerical assessments, then combines them with economic data to provide a dimensionless measure of control loop performance, or "Control Loop Health".
Using this single number, process plant personnel can prioritise process improvement efforts and maintenance activities.
Further reading
PlantTriage incorporates Wizard builder technology
ExperTune has received a patent (April 8, 2008) for its novel Wizard builder technology, and incorporates it in the latest versions of PlantTriage
PlantTriage adds graphical modeling
The new PlantTriage visual modeling tools result in better dynamic process models to give better all-around analysis
Control Loop Health can be customised at each plant site to emphasise those measures of performance that relate to the business strategy.
For example, one site may emphasize a reduction in oscillation and variability, while another may focus on alarm rates, maintaining loops in normal mode, and speed of control response to upsets.
These measures become customised Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs.
John Gerry, President of ExperTune says "With PlantTriage, it is our goal to streamline the performance improvement process.
The patented Control Loop Performance metrics give our clients great insight into the performance of the process.
Using these KPI's to maintain focus, our clients have been able to reduce energy costs, improve production rates, and stabilise process operations".
Within PlantTriage, Control Loop Health is tracked, trended, and historised at the loop, unit, plant, and site levels.
Web-based visualisation tools display the information in a colourful, graphical, and intuitive manner.
Drill-down capabilities are used to drive analysis to root cause.
Integrated control loop optimisation and tuning tools ensure that problems can be solved quickly.
Control Loop Performance metrics and KPIs are receiving a great deal of attention in the process industry.
Without performance supervision in place, the vast warehouse of data that is available from a modern distributed control system can be overwhelming.
Focused, customized KPIs, such as the Control Loop Health metric, help to make sense out of this data, and drive out specific actions to improve process performance.
The patented methods to determine Control Loop Performance provide a way to streamline the data, and provide focus to improvement efforts.
According to Mr.Gerry, "With so many different pressures facing the process industries, a customised metric for Control Loop Performance is crucial to achieving process performance results.
Our clients have been very successful in applying this technology to their specific business environment, whether it is oil refining, pulp and paper production, mining, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, or other process industries.".
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