2008
Software Quickly Pinpoints Plant Interactions
December 2008
ExperTune's PlantTriage software includes a new tool that graphically
highlights plant interactions. Using the new "Interaction Hot Spots",
engineers can quickly pinpoint the root cause of process interactions.
Engineers can resolve these upsets to improve quality, energy, production
rate, and process uptime.
The browser-based "Interaction Hot Spots" tool is now included with
PlantTriage, control loop monitor. PlantTriage monitors all plant control
loops and instruments in real-time. Interactions between control loops appear
as colored blocks on the Interaction Hot Spots display. Stronger interactions
are indicated by stronger colors. Following PlantTriage's intuitive color
scheme, green indicates no interaction, yellow indicates some interaction, and
red indicates strong interaction. On a single web page, users can see all of
the significant interactions in the entire plant.
As impressive as it is to have a complete picture of interactions, pinpointing
the interactions is just the starting point. The Hot Spots display is
interactive. Using a slider, users can filter the display to show only the
most significant interactions. Simple drop-down menus allow the user to
narrow the scope of an effort, and focus, for example, on just a few unit
operations.
John Gerry, President of ExperTune says, "Many plants have huge real-time
databases, but they haven't been getting the value from them. Now we have the
software and computing power to extract meaningful information, and present it
in simple, graphical displays. Leveraging this information, engineers can
solve problems in minutes, rather than weeks."
Users can click on a graphical hot spot to start a detailed investigation.
This launches a context-sensitive drill-down into the relevant data from the
interacting loops. This includes display of real-time process variable trends
and a process interaction map. Using this information, users can establish
the root cause of interaction problems in a matter of minutes.
There are many uses for the Interaction Hot Spots. George Buckbee, Vice
President of Product Development at ExperTune says: "Advanced control projects
get a boost from the Interaction Hot Spots because it can quickly identify the
appropriate scope of the APC project. When coupled with PlantTriage's ability
to get the existing regulatory loops under control, this is a very powerful
combination."
PlantTriage users are already reporting successes from using interaction
tools. One plant in Alabama is now saving over $1 million per year, after
solving an interaction problem that started in the utilities area. Buckbee
adds, "These tools are showing us that many process problems start upstream.
By resolving interactions at the source, engineers are leveraging their
capabilities like never before."
The Interaction Hot Spots tool is available as a standard feature in
PlantTriage.
About PlantTriage and ExperTune
For 22 years, ExperTune has created award-winning optimization software that
runs in thousands of plants world-wide. ExperTune's
PlantTriage®, Control
Loop Monitor, oversees the optimization of an entire plant.
PlantTriage®
optimizes the entire process, including equipment, operations, and controls.
The PlantTriage suite of optimization tools are designed to increase the
efficiency of processes. The tools include swing or oscillation detection and
elimination, interaction analysis, modeling, robustness, linearization, valve
wear analysis, pH linearization, time series analysis, MPC performance
improvement, 6-sigma, frequency response, and PID tuning tools. ExperTune is a
member of the OPC Foundation. For more information, set your browser to
www.expertune.com.
The Six Most Common PID Configuration Errors
October 2008
A whitepaper from ExperTune, "The Six Most Common PID Configuration Errors:
How to Find and Fix Them", can be downloaded at no-charge from:
www.expertune.com/PIDconfig.html
The PID Control Loop is one of the fundamental workhorses of the process
industries. Day in and day out, millions of PID loops strive to keep processes
safe, stable, and profitable. But there is a "secret", known only to control
engineers and technicians.
Many of these control loops are not properly configured, and the consequences
could be devastating. A newly published white paper from ExperTune identifies
the most common PID configuration issues, and provides techniques to help
plant-based personnel find and fix these issues.
George Buckbee of ExperTune says: "I have worked on thousands of control loops
over the past 20 years. Most DCS systems require you to configure over 50
parameters for each PID Loop. It is very easy to make costly mistakes in the
configuration, unless you know how to avoid these errors.
Surprisingly, as many as 75% of control loops actually increase variability.
Many control loops simply do not do their job. Setpoints are not followed,
valves swing around, creating oscillations, and many loops are disabled by the
operator: placed in MANUAL mode.
Studies of control loops in the process industries give some insight into the
root cause of these issues. For example:
- 30% of DCS Control Loops Improperly Configured
- 85% of Control Loops Have Sub-Optimal Tuning
- 15% of Control Valves are Improperly Sized
The whitepaper identifies the most common errors, and gives solutions for
correcting or avoiding them.
About ExperTune
For 22 years, ExperTune has created award-winning optimization software that
runs in thousands of plants world-wide. ExperTune's
PlantTriage® Performance Supervision Software oversees the
optimization of an entire plant. PlantTriage optimizes the entire process,
including equipment, operations, and controls. The PlantTriage suite of
optimization tools are designed to increase the efficiency of processes. The
tools include swing or oscillation detection and elimination, interaction
analysis, modeling, robustness, linearization, valve wear analysis, pH
linearization, time series analysis, MPC performance improvement, 6-sigma,
frequency response, and PID tuning tools. ExperTune is a member of the OPC
Foundation. For more information, set your browser to www.planttriage.com.
Training Establishes the Benefits of Automation
August 2008
A new training course helps engineers to show the bottom-line results of their
efforts. The training shows engineers how to find improvement opportunities,
how to capture them, and how to clearly document the financial results. Plant
management, in turn, can make better business decisions regarding automation
when armed with this information.
Kevin Gibbs, CEO of ExperTune, says "Engineers often fail to meet management’s
expectation to document financial results. This training helps plant-level
engineers to succeed in delivering and documenting results in terms that their
managers will understand."
The training course is titled "Benefits of Automation". It covers both the
technical aspects and the real-world realities of the modern process plant
environment. Students will learn to:
- Measure performance in economic terms
- Establish the link between control systems performance and business
performance
- Use specific techniques to:
- Improve Quality
- Reduce Energy Usage
- Increase Production Rate
- Reduce Maintenance Costs
- Document and Communicate Results to Management.
John Gerry, President and Founder of ExperTune says, "Over the past 20 years,
our clients have saved hundreds of millions of dollars using these techniques.
Plant management is the ultimate customer of these results, and this training
will help to ensure that management gets a clear and accurate picture of the
value received from plant controls engineers."
Using real-world examples and hands-on exercises, students will practice using
these skills to demonstrate value. The course is recommended for process
plant controls engineers and managers who need to find and demonstrate
business improvements. The 2-day "Benefits of Automation" training will be
offered at several locations this year. For more information on this
training, including specific dates and venues, visit
www.expertune.com/ClassOptReg.html.
About ExperTune's PlantTriage®
For 20 years, ExperTune has created award-winning optimization software that
runs in thousands of plants world-wide. PlantTriage®
Performance Supervision Software oversees the optimization of an entire plant.
PlantTriage® optimizes the entire process, including equipment,
operations, and controls. Diagnostics and recommendations are based upon
economic value and sophisticated technical evaluation. For more information,
visit www.PlantTriage.com.
Oversee Production with a Glance
May 2008
A large treemap display in the control room shows the performance of thousands
of assets with one glance. Opportunities for improvement pop out as bright
red areas in the map. This display, which is updated with live information
from the plant control system, allows everyone in the plant to be focused on
the same goals.
PlantTriage treemaps show all control system assets spaced on one screen.
Each asset is represented by both size and color of a rectangle. The larger
the size, the more important the asset. The brighter the color, the more
opportunity there is to make improvements. For example, a large, bright red
block represents a major opportunity for improvement.
John Gerry, President of ExperTune says: "Treemaps clearly show the health of
the entire control system with a single glance. Treemaps in the control room
focus everyone on the same goals, making it clear to all, where the greatest
opportunities are."
PlantTriage treemaps come up in a browser window and are a standard part of
the performance monitoring tools available in PlantTriage. Using treemaps,
technicians can drill down by clicking on the bright spots. The drill-down
produces detailed diagnostics of specific problems with instruments, valves,
and controls.
Mr. Gerry adds, "In today's plants, everybody needs to be more efficient when
managing assets. Treemaps help to drive efficiency by focusing attention
quickly on the biggest opportunities."
About ExperTune's PlantTriage
For 22 years, ExperTune has created award-winning optimization software that
runs in thousands of plants world-wide. PlantTriage®
Performance Supervision Software oversees the optimization of an entire plant.
The PlantTriage suite of optimization tools are designed to increase the
efficiency of processes. The tools include swing or oscillation detection and
elimination, interaction analysis, modeling, robustness, linearization, valve
wear analysis, pH linearization, time series analysis, MPC performance
improvement, 6-sigma, frequency response, and PID tuning tools. ExperTune is a
member of the OPC Foundation. For more information, set your browser to www.planttriage.com.
Benchmarking Process Operations in Real Time
April 2008
ProcessApex software now benchmarks and tracks the business results of fired
heaters, heat exchangers, and dryers. Use the results to make decisions that
directly impact efficiency, throughput, operating targets, and bottom line of
operations.
For fired heaters, ProcessApex benchmarks and tracks efficiency, excess
oxygen, and potential fuel savings. ProcessApex can help to manage excess
oxygen, reducing the excess air flow, and delivering higher thermal
efficiencies.
For heat exchangers, ProcessApex identifies bottlenecks and pinpoints
opportunities by tracking heat duty, heat transfer coefficients and approach
temperatures. ProcessApex benchmarks operation between similar heat
exchangers, and identifies excess capacity, so users can optimize the big
picture, not just a single heat exchanger.
On dryers, ProcessApex tracks dryer efficiency, percent excess capacity, and energy
usage/ton. Diagnostics include recommendations of targets, identification of
limitations, and methods for improvement. The benchmarking tools help to
drive each dryer toward the best proven performance levels.
George Buckbee, VP of Product Development at ExperTune, says: "ProcessApex
is the next-generation interface to true process understanding. Unlike
older-generation tools, ProcessApex does not require an engineer to spend a
lot of time developing specific equations. The equations, models, and tools
are built-in to ProcessApex." Every unit operation in ProcessApex was
designed with the expert assistance and knowledge of Greg Shinskey.
ProcessApex runs on a server so all the results are available to employees on
the corporate office LAN via a browser interface. No special client software
is required. Through tight integration with PlantTriage, detailed drill-down
analysis can be accomplished directly from the web browser.
About ProcessApex
ProcessApex benchmarks and tracks the
business results of process unit operations. ProcessApex automatically
determines high-level measures, like efficiencies, yields, and quality
information. The KPIs generated allow decisions to be made that will impact
efficiency, yields, operational targets, and bottom line operations.
ProcessApex gathers real-time data directly from control system. It then
develops performance metrics and provides real-time advice for unit
operations.
PlantTriage Incorporates Newly-Patented Wizard Builder Technology
April 2008
ExperTune has received a patent for its novel wizard builder technology. The
patent was issued April 8, 2008. The wizard builder creates connection wizards
for communication between process controllers (DCSs and PLCs) and PC based
software. In a way, it is a "wizard that builds wizards." PlantTriage
performance supervision software uses this wizard technology.
To analyze an entire plant, you must first connect to hundreds of data sources
in the plant control system. John Gerry, President of ExperTune says,
"PlantTriage makes this easy by using a smart wizard-based bulk import. After
you configure just a single control loop, the patented wizard builder uses its
intelligence about specific control systems to automatically poll the control
system for the data it needs. The wizard builder reduces configuration time
by up to 90%, and practically eliminates address configuration errors."
The result is that PlantTriage automatically imports exactly the right
information from the control system database. It then reads as much
information as possible directly from the process control computer, DCS or
PLC. For complete flexibility, the user can direct PlantTriage to use
addresses from an Excel spreadsheet. Once setup, PlantTriage monitors and
assesses every control loop in the plant, assuring optimal plant operation.
The Wizard Builder technology is available now, in the PlantTriage Performance
Supervision System.
About ExperTune's PlantTriage
For 22 years, ExperTune has created award-winning optimization software that
runs in thousands of plants world-wide. PlantTriage® Performance Supervision
Software oversees the optimization of an entire plant. PlantTriage® optimizes
the entire process, including equipment, operations, and controls. The
PlantTriage suite of optimization tools are designed to increase the
efficiency of processes. The tools include swing or oscillation detection and
elimination, interaction analysis, modeling, robustness, linearization, valve
wear analysis, pH linearization, time series analysis, MPC performance
improvement, 6-sigma, frequency response, and PID tuning tools. ExperTune is a
member of the OPC Foundation. For more information, set your browser to www.planttriage.com.
PlantTriage Adds Graphical Modeling
February 2008
PlantTriage's new visual modeling tools result in better dynamic process
models. Better models give better all-around analysis resulting in optimal
PID Tuning, accurate simulated response to upsets, accurate response to
process noise, and better robustness analysis.
The new drag-and-drop modeling puts the engineer in control of the model fit.
Using any bump test data, drag the model curve to match the actual response
curve. Instantly, PlantTriage finds a dynamic process model that reflects the
visually designed response. PlantTriage uses this model to give optimal PID
values, simulate responses to upsets and noise.
Drag-and-drop modeling is fully compatible with PlantTriage's Active Model
Capture Technology. With Active Model Capture, operator setpoint moves are
automatically captured and modeled. The resulting model can then be
fine-tuned using the drag-and-drop features.
John Gerry, President of ExperTune says, "The end results of these visual
modeling tools are optimal plant operations. This ultimately boosts
efficiency and production while reducing waste and energy usage."
Download Graphical Modeling
image.
About ExperTune's PlantTriage
For 22 years, ExperTune has created award-winning optimization software that
runs in thousands of plants world-wide. PlantTriage®
Performance Supervision Software oversees the optimization of an entire plant.
PlantTriage® optimizes the entire process, including equipment,
operations, and controls. The PlantTriage suite of optimization tools are
designed to increase the efficiency of processes. The tools include swing or
oscillation detection and elimination, interaction analysis, modeling,
robustness, linearization, valve wear analysis, pH linearization, time series
analysis, MPC performance improvement, 6-sigma, frequency response, and PID
tuning tools. ExperTune is a member of the OPC Foundation. For more
information, set your browser to www.planttriage.com.
ExperTune and TiPS Announce User's Conference
January 2008
ExperTune and TiPS have announced their 2008 User's Conference, themed "Common
Sense Automation". The conference will be held April 23–25, in Houston,
Texas, and offers training, case studies, and roundtables, including a host of
notable speakers. The conference will focus on delivering actionable
strategies to corporate and plant-based process control engineers,
technicians, and managers.
George Buckbee, Director of Product Development at ExperTune, says "Most
plants can achieve significant improvements without replacing their control
system equipment. One of the best ways to get better performance is to make
sure that existing equipment and controls perform up to their design
expectations. The people at this conference are experts in simple, practical
techniques used to improve control system performance."
ExperTune and TiPS share a common philosophy: "The best operations run on a
foundation of excellent basic automation". The conference theme, "Common
Sense Automation" emphasizes improvements that can come from a combination of
practical knowledge and theory.
Bob Weibel, President of TiPS, Inc, says "Time and again, clients are
surprised by the process, quality, and safety improvements that can come from
simple, practical, common-sense techniques. We are excited to host this
conference, bringing together world-class experts and clients from around the
world."
The 3-day conference will be held at the Houston Intercontinental Hotel.
Conference attendees will have a chance to try out these techniques in a
hands-on classroom at the conference. Process control and alarm management
experts will be on hand to discuss specific user applications.
For more information on the conference, visit
www.expertune.com/UG2008.html
About ExperTune®
For 20 years, ExperTune has created award-winning optimization software that
runs in thousands of plants world-wide. PlantTriage®
Performance Supervision Software oversees the optimization of an entire plant.
PlantTriage® optimizes the entire process, including equipment,
operations, and controls. ExperTune's full suite of optimization tools is
designed to increase the efficiency of processes. The company's analysis
tools include interaction analysis, modeling, robustness, linearization, valve
wear analysis, pH linearization, time series analysis, MPC performance
improvement, 6-sigma, frequency analysis, and process modeling.
About TiPS Incorporated
TiPS Incorporated is celebrating 20 years of delivering cutting edge tools for
maximizing the capabilities of operators and operations management. Our
clients recognize the critical role of the operator in reaching business
objectives. We help them improve operational performance through targeted
enhancement of the operator environment. Until human intuition and processing
power can be replicated, operators will remain the last line of defense
against unplanned outages. TiPS will be there to provide the tools and
expertise necessary to empower your operating team.
