PlantTriage Features Added in 2005
See Features Added After 2005
ExperTune Inc continues to revise and improve PlantTriage. We continually
strive to make PlantTriage the best it can be to help you in your plant. New
features in PlantTriage are largely the results of suggestions made by you,
our users. Please keep those suggestions coming!
(Dates approximate)
New in PlantTriage—June 2005
With a glance, the Visual Performance Map allows management,
engineering, and maintenance to determine how the plant is performing,
and where effort is needed for improvement. By drilling down into an
asset, engineering and maintenance can view complete diagnosis of
problems.
Compare loop performance using specialized, color mapping. The
Performance Treemap helps
you spot patterns and exceptions.
The Visual Performance Maps include several layers of drill-down.
Users can zoom-in on specific plants within the site, and specific
unit operations within a plant. Then you can further drill down into
specific loops for detailed diagnosis.
All of the assets on the map are spaced into one congruent area.
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, bright asset represents a large opportunity for improvement.
PlantTriage® continues to innovate and lead the industry.
TreeMap technology was widely known to the financial sector, and we
immediately recognized TreeMapping's ability to visualize process
plant performance. We led the way by being the first to market with
TreeMapping for plant performance. Now you can view biggest payback, historical
performance, and any combination of assessments at a glance.
The default settings on the treemap, provide an overview of the
entire health of the plant. It is a graphical way of viewing the
Biggest Payback Loop list for every loop in the plant.
More Features for Batch Control
PlantTriage can now track assessments, turning assessments on and off
by batch. This allows you to make comparisons between products
and to evaluate and improve performance across all products.
A powerful Equation Builder lets you create new OPC variables by
combining signals from the DCS or PLC system. In this way, you
can create new points, calculate complex parameters, and assess them in
PlantTriage.
Group and compare assessments based on the product made in your plant.
PlantTriage allows you to assign product codes on a Unit Operation
basis.
Product codes are tracked within PlantTriage and allow you to view
plant performance based
on the product being made.
PlantTriage engineering interface now allows you to set different levels of
users. This ensures the security of the PlantTriage database from accidental
errors. It also ensures one user's changes are not overwritten unintentionally
by another's.
The different classes of available users are:
- Administrator
- Analyst
- Engineer
Security levels are set up by the Administrative user(s). Analysts can
log into the
engineering interface and view all data, analysis, and trends and start
the Advanced PID
Optimizer. Analysts cannot make any setup changes. The Engineer level
is reserved for
Browser use only.
The PlantTriage system now allows you to increase the security of your Control
network. The PlantTriage web server can run on a completely separate network
as a Shadow Server. The Shadow Server accesses data from the PlantTriage
server through a secure gateway.
Using the Shadow Server, Web traffic does not have to be passed from the
Control LAN to any other network. (Port 80 does not have to be used). The
Shadow Server runs on your office LAN and communicates with the Control LAN
only through secured SQL and DCOM connections.
Control Network Management
Users can actively manage control network traffic by automatic scheduling of
data collection from a plant.
PlantTriage—January 2005
Be alerted of abnormal conditions before they become problems. Become
pro-active to better manage your time. You don't have to look at displays or
read reports, you just get notified if something changes.
ExperTune's new version of PlantTriage automatically sends technicians and
engineers an email if a controller or process area behaves abnormally. Alert
emails are sent before an abnormal condition becomes a problem. This can
reduce low quality product, reduce inefficient operation, and eliminate
shut-downs.
The emails are sent when an assessment of controller exceeds a user-set
threshold. Through a browser, engineers subscribe to alerts for any process
parameter or any assessment on any controller or unit operation. For example,
engineers may want to be alerted when a critical controller or an entire unit
operation is underperforming, or they may wish to be alerted if the
controllers in a certain area start to oscillate.
Personnel can subscribe to be alerted when the assessment of any
controller, unit operation, or MPC (Multivariable Predictive Controller), goes
above or below any value.
Engineers can request a email alert based on an assessment or the economically
weighted controller health. For example they may want to receive an email if a
critical controller starts oscillating or if the variability increases on a
critical process variable.
Personnel can also set to receive alerts based on groups of controllers or
unit operations. For example, users can set alerts if the percent of
controllers in an area have higher error than a threshold specified. Or
perhaps, alert if more that 30% percent of loops are oscillating. Alert can
also be set if the overall health of the unit reaches a certain preset
level.
Alerts are specified by first selecting a controller or unit operation
assessment. Then an alert condition is selected. PlantTriage includes a rich
set of analog operators for comparing assessments to specified
presets.
- For loops, you can use the assessment value itself, the percentage
towards threshold of the assessment, or the percentage towards threshold
value adjusted for economic significance.
- For unit operations you can select the Average % towards threshold, the
economic average % towards threshold or the % of loops over threshold. You
can also choose a loop assessment and monitor the average % towards
threshold for all loops in the unit operation or the % of loops over
threshold in the unit operation. For example:
- Set the Average % towards Threshold Avg Abs error >= 40.
PlantTriage calculates the % towards threshold value for the Avg abs
error assessment for all loops in the unit operation. If the
average of these values is 40% or above, an alert email is
sent.
- % Loops Oscillating over Threshold >= 50. An alert email is
sent if the % of loops in the unit operation that have an
Oscillating assessment over threshold is 50% or above.
- For MPCs and MPC variables (with the MPC option) you
can use the assessment value itself, or the % towards threshold of
the assessment
Having selected an assessment, select a condition. You can use the following
operators: =, <>(not equal), >, >=, < or <= followed by an
operand value.
View All Alerts From One Browser Window
The Alert Summary shows all of your alerts and their condition. You can view
the summary for the current time or any time period in the past. You also have
the choice of viewing the alerts owned by you, the alerts owned by another
user or all alerts owned by all users.
See When Alerts Were A Problem And When Repaired
The alert log lists a summary of past alert conditions. The Alert log shows
the time PlantTriage listed an alert, and a description of the alert. It also
shows when the alert returned to being OK.
For the log, you can select any window of time you would like. You also have
the choice of viewing either the alerts set by yourself, the alerts set by
another user or all alerts set by all users. List alerts in either
chronological or reverse chronological order.
Allows you to perform any calculations on any combination of OPC tags or other
calculations. Full Boolean and arithmetic operators available including logs, exponents,
trigonometric functions, with nested Boolean logic.
Combine multiple OPC inputs from a DCS to create a new variable to be assessed. For
example you may want to combine temperature with flow to assess energy usage. Or you may
want to assess the average of 2 or 3 temperatures. Or you may want to trigger the start
and stop of a batch assessment based on a mixture of analog and digital logic.
The Equation Builder includes a:
- Configurator for defining OPC input tags and editing and creating
equations.
- Service program that performs the calculations in the background.
- OPC server that makes the resulting calculations available via OPC to
any PlantTriage loop or DMC variable.
You can also use the equation builder to drive asset management. All PlantTriage
assessments are available via OPC so you may use the equation builder to trigger work
orders in the asset management software by providing a switch (or other) value based on an
assessment or group of assessments.
Diagnose and solve control problems in batch processes.
Assessment periods are synchronized with the batch. Comparing assessments of
batches allows you to diagnose control issues on a per product code basis.
PlantTriage can assess batches with variable length batch time, as short as 10
minutes.
When used in conjunction with the Equation Builder (see above), complex logic
can be developed to properly synchronize assessments.
Manage the process at a higher level.
Now, up to eight of your customized "% Loops Over Threshold" assessments are
available in PlantTriage historical reports. They are also available to 3rd
party applications via PlantTriage's OPC server. View any of these in a
performance trend and in the Unit Operations manager window.
This addition allows powerful historical KPI reports specific to your
organization possible.
Further Customization Of Reports
Now you can choose your own names for assessments so they are more easily
understandable by your corporation. For example when using the "%T time in
normal" assessment you might have the column heading "% Loops Not In Normal".
Set Loop Health Definition and
Categorize Loops Based on Very Detailed Loop Type
Now you can create any group out of any of the
process type information. For example, a grouping may distinguish between
single loop, or primary loops in a cascade, or secondary loops in a
cascade. Another grouping may contain all Chromatographic analyzer loops.
Another example is all loops containing ball valves.
Once you have created a group of loops,
the group can be used to categorize loops. Use
groups to:
- Set baselines and thresholds for any specific grouping.
- View assessments or process parameters in the engineering or browser
interface for any grouping.
- Target reports to use any grouping you want.
Model Identification Has Been Improved
During every assessment, PlantTriage scans
the data to find the best location to use for
process modeling. The expert system portion of this scanning code has
been improved:
- To hone in on the best SP or CO changes.
- To use just enough data to give the best identification.
The error checking has also been improved to eliminate models where the model
quality was high but the data is suspicious. For example, suspicious data
might be if the process variable (or measurement) change is very small or the
controller output is stuck at a limit.
Quickly Delete Unwanted Loops
The Bulk Loop Delete Wizard lets you quickly select and delete loops that you
no longer want to be monitored and analyzed.
The wizard first lets you select loops for deletion. Once selected, you
direct the wizard to perform the deletion. Optionally direct the wizard to
select:
- Loops that were deleted from the DCS.
- All loops in any group, like all flow loops. This can include
user-defined custom groups.
- All loops whose tag matches a certain pattern.
During every assessment interval, every assessment is automatically calculated
for every controller (assuming the controller is on-line). Every unit
operation assessment is automatically calculated for every unit operation that
is on-line. Any of these assessments can be used in a weighted average for
overall loop health.
Some of these assessments have direct applicability for reporting in the
pharmaceutical industry. These assessments make monthly, quarterly, annually,
or any time based reporting easy.
- Average PV: Average value of the process variable during the
assessment time.
- Minimum of PV: Minimum value of the process variable during the
assessment time.
- Maximum of PV: Maximum value of the process
variable during the assessment time.
- Minimum of CO : Minimum value of the controller output during the
assessment time.
- Maximum of CO: Maximum value of the controller output during the
assessment time.
- Average Error: Average error between setpoint and process
variable during the assessment time.
ExperTune Index More Available
The ExperTune Index is now available much more often than in previous
releases. If a process model had been calculated in the past the ExperTune
Index will be found.
Oscillation Periods and Strengths Refined
The longest periods are now automatically removed if they have the largest energy.
Support for Windows 2003 Server
PlantTriage has now been tested and
certified by ExperTune to support Microsoft Windows
2003 server.
Other Enhancements
- View the number of loops, units and MVs (MVs are for the MPC option) in
Plant Summary display in the Engineering Interface.
- Now you can have multiple OPC servers used on the same loop.
- You can now specify the "from" user name for PlantTriage emailed
reports.
- Manual mode can now be a "normal mode" selection.
- No limit on the number of modes.
- Zoom window times for setting of baselines and thresholds are now listed
in the executor log file whenever a template is evaluated.
- Comment lines now allowed in the import file.
PlantTriage—March 2004
(date approximate)
"Dashboard" View of Multiple Sites or Plants
Now you can compare the performance of one site or plant to others
across your
corporation. See a snapshot view of current performance or view
performance over time of
the entire corporation with individual sites or plants broken out in
detail. Drill down
into individual plants for more detail in that specific plant.
Available anywhere, anytime, through your browser (like Internet
Explorer). This
"dashboard" allows you to view plants being assessed and monitored
under different
PlantTriage servers.
Drill down from the dashboard into individual sites, plants, unit
operations, and finally loops.
PlantTriage Scope Expanded
Now the PlantTriage server hierarchy includes two additional levels of
granularity. A corporation is composed of individual PlantTriage
servers which represent entire sites that in turn are composed of
plants. These plants have unit operations which are composed of loops.
The
structure looks like this:
- Corporation
- Site (PlantTriage server)
You can filter your loops in the browser interface to look at
individual plants. Also, you can set baselines and thresholds based on
plants. So, for example you may want to apply the flow template for
all flow loops in your ethylene plant (excluding other plants). Drill
down is supported
at all levels. For example drill down into a problem site to see the
problem plant, then
unit operation.
Subscribe to printable reports via email
Get just the information you need, when you need it, in a printable
report. Sometimes
there is no substitute for a printed performance report. Now you can
easily configure
your own custom performance reports. Have a report sent to you
immediately (by pressing
the Email Me This Page button) or you can subscribe to receive it on
the schedule of
your choosing. Reports are prepared in .pdf format.
Simply direct the browser interface to have PlantTriage send you the
reports you want,
when you want them.
Control System Load Balancing
In some operations, balancing the communication load on the DCS network is a
concern. PlantTriage allows you to turn a plant off-scan while leaving the
other plants inside the PlantTriage system on-scan. This allows you to balance
the load on the DCS based on the running condition of individual plants at a
site.
Data Validation and Automatic Repair
PlantTriage expands its data validation for
poor or missing areas. If
possible, with small amounts of bad data, PlantTriage corrects the
data, intelligently inferring values. If too much data is missing in
one location or over the entire assessment period, PlantTriage flags
the condition and marks the assessment as bad.
The user has total control and flexibility for the conditions of data
repair.
Enhanced Performance Tracking Over
Time
Ever needed to know what your biggest payback loops were last month,
or last week or perhaps the average biggest payback loop during July?
Biggest payback loop, my loop list, plant summary, and unit operation
summary now have adjustable dates and times based on averages.
For example, you may want to see what
were the biggest payback loops 6
weeks ago. Or you may want to see what was the average biggest
payback loops from the past 2 months. Examine past problems in terms
of control loop assessments and payback.
Each historical table now includes the minimum, average, median and maximum
value for that specific time period for every assessment chosen for that
report.
Management Key Plant Performance Overview
A brief performance summary based on simple overall metrics is now available
via your web browser. The report can be customized for any metric. View the
key performance report on a corporate level, plant level or unit operation.
The report to the right shows the percent of loops over a threshold in each
area.
Root-Cause Oscillation Analysis
First three oscillation harmonics are sorted for fast root-cause determination
of oscillation source. Makes finding root cause of oscillation problems
easier. Pinpoint the source of a unit or multi-unit oscillation faster. First,
second, and third harmonics shown together in period order allow fast
analysis. For example, perhaps the secondary oscillation of one loop is
causing a primary oscillation in another loop. This sorting makes finding
these problems easy.
The three major components (harmonics) of oscillation for each loop are
together in one column. Lists both oscillation periods and strengths in the
browser interface. A secondary or tertiary oscillation in one loop may be the
cause of other loops oscillating.
Improved oscillation assessments
Oscillations towards the extreme of long periods are now better identified and
diagnosed.
New Assessments
During every assessment interval, every assessment is automatically calculated
for every controller (assuming the controller is on-line).
- Assessment Performed This is an assessment that monitors and
diagnosis the actual assessments calculation. It is a diagnostic that
indicates whether a loop was assessed and if not assessed, why that
assessment was not performed. For example if the loop was offline, then this
"Assessment Performed" would report "loop offline".
- PV Availability This is the percent of time that PV data was
available for assessment.
- Settling Time The settling time is the closed loop response time
to an impulse. It is based off the impulse response of a auto-regressive
(AR) closed loop model.
- Number of Setpoint changes During the assessment interval the
setpoint is scanned for the number of changes made. In loops that are not
the inner part of a cascade, a change in this value may indicate operations
is having problems with this loop.
- Number of Mode Changes The number of times the mode was changed
is recorded for each assessment interval. A large number of mode changes may
indicate operations is having a problem with the loop.
Output limit addresses
Sometimes output limits are a moving target. Assessments of time at a limit
are only accurate when using the actual limit. PlantTriage can scan output
limits and use them for analysis.
Export and Import the PlantTriage Setup Database
Export databases to CSV files. You can modify the CSV file and import it back
into the same server. This way you can easily make wholesale changes to setup
data if desired. You can also import this database into another PlantTriage
server.
Standard Templates Included
For flow, level, pressure, and temperature loops. Makes setting baselines and
thresholds more precise and even faster than before. Includes "initial"
templates you can use immediately. Includes suggested key assessments.
Configure an entire plant in less than an hour. Included templates:
- Averaging Level
- Flow
- Pressure Gas
- Pressure Liquid
- Temperature
- Averaging Level, Initial
- Flow, Initial
- Pressure Gas, Initial
- Pressure Liquid, Initial
- Temperature, Initial
Export Assessment Data to Excel Spreadsheets
The "Super Filter" button passes your data to Microsoft Excel for further
processing. Allows you to use the data analysis power in Microsoft Excel.
The Super Filter option requires Microsoft Excel be installed on your machine
where you are running Internet Explorer.
Plant-wide performance history now available
via HDA OPC server.
All of the performance assessment history is now available via OPC HDA. HDA
stands for
Historical Data Access, a standard from the
OPC Foundation. Many plants have existing trending packages that can
view HDA data. PlantTriage keeps the performance history on the
PlantTriage server for 2 years so you can view the performance of your
plant for up to 2 years ago. Additional history can be kept in
backups. ExperTune is a member of the OPC Foundation.
The assessments are also available in real-time, just after they
are calculated via standard OPC data access.
A Sampling of Other Enhancements
- Biggest Payback Loop List enhancements:
- Can now snooze any loop
- Can view all loops
- Payback rank available on any loop list
- Enhanced flexibility in setting up baselines: Option in templates for
baseline to be a minimum value or be the average with a divisor.
- Browser reports easier to read. Headings on reports are now duplicated
with a spacing to make the headings available on multiple pages.
- Browser interface pages appear quicker.
- Filter address for each loop is now configurable.
- Set baselines and thresholds based on choosing 2 groups. For example you
may want to apply the temperature template for only temperature loops in a
specific unit or plant.
- Template baselines can now be a minimum value or the average value times
a constant you specify.
- Auto mode can now be made to be not a normal mode. (Useful in cascade
loops)
- Templates are date-stamped to when they were last changed so that it's
easier to keep track of when template changes were made.
- Engineering notes can now appear on the browser interface.
- Import program has option to continue importing upon encountering an
error.
- For each loop you can specify the minimum on-line time to assess
performance.
- Status input no longer required for unit operations.
- Engineering interface automatically protects from multiple persons even
when they are using Microsoft terminal services.
PlantTriage — April 2003
PlantTriage Now Connects Directly to Your Historian
ExperTune's PlantTriage now will monitor the performance of your plant
directly from your Historian. By using the historian's data directly,
PlantTriage doesn't need to extract real time data directly from the
control system. This eliminates potential stress on the control
system.
PlantTriage's new OPC HDA makes this possible.
Interfaces to these historians:
- OSI PI Historian
- Honeywell PHD
- AspenTech InfoPlus.21
- Invensys AIM*Historian
- Any historian supporting OPC HDA
HDA stands for
Historical
Data Access, a new standard from the OPC Foundation. Many plants
have a historian, like OSI's PI system. With OPC HDA access,
PlantTriage performs all of its assessments from data mined directly
from that historian.
New Assessments
During every assessment interval, every assessment is automatically calculated
for every controller (assuming the controller is on-line). Every unit
operation assessment is automatically calculated for every unit
operation that is on-line.
- RRT or Relative Response
Time. Gives the relative time of this controller and process
compared to others. Use the RRT to help decouple interacting areas.
- CO Noise Band is the statistical analysis of the percent
noise on the controller output. This is the six sigma value of the
noise during the period of quietest operation during the assessment
time. Sorting by this parameter may very quickly show areas where
filtering
can increase the life and service time of valves.
Change Management — Automatic
Logging of PID Changes, Plant-Wide
PlantTriage now automatically logs PID Changes across your entire plant. At
the end of the assessment time, for every controller, if a PID parameter has
changed, PlantTriage records this as an event in the log. Users can edit the
event and add notes about the change. Spurious events (quick experiments) are
automatically ignored.
- Tuning changes automatically logged and recorded for every controller in
the plant.
- Provides a consistent plant-wide method viewing PID tuning change
logs.
- Includes notes section for explaining purpose of change.
- Easily accessible to anyone in the plant through their browser.
- Correlate performance changes with tuning changes.
- Powerful log sorting by date, controller tag, author of the change,
parameter values etc.
- View the log for individual unit operations, specific controller types
(like only flow loops) or the entire plant.
Change Management — Log Your Own Events
Use your browser to log other maintenance activities or process changes
occurring in the plant.
- Provides a consistent plant-wide method viewing logs.
- Includes notes section for detailed explanation.
- Easily accessible to anyone in the plant through their browser.
- Powerful log sorting by date, controller tag, author of the change,
parameter values
etc.
- View the log for individual unit operations, specific controller types
(like only flow loops) or the entire plant.
Other Engineering Interface Enhancements
- Tooltips & helps modified in the Template Executor.
- Inverse response option added. If your system has
shrink-swell characteristics,
PlantTriage will find the best model.
- Pre-defined groups introduced for all loop types. For example all flow
loops are automatically placed in the same group. You can easily select all
flow loops or all temperature loops for example. Set baselines and
thresholds for only flow loops or only level loops.
- Loop parameters: Comm Type, sample interval, Harris delay, inverse
response, average economic assessment, last assessment. These added to list
of possible loop parameters.
- Loop notes field added to Loop Properties window, misc tab.
- Button on toolbar to shift assessment trends left by the assessment
period.
- Tuner/Analyzer now callable from Prioritized lists.
- Unit Operations manager now displays Last assessment time.
Other Browser Enhancements
- Drill down now supported from Performance Summary page. If a unit
operation is performing poorly, drill down to it for more detail. Drill
again into individual controller, then individual controller histories.
- Loop parameters: Comm Type, sample interval, Harris delay, inverse
response, Average economic assessment, last assessment. These added to list
of possible loop parameters.
- On most pages the trend graphs are now at the top of the page.
- See performance data the way you want: select latest data on left or
right with a radio button.
- Prioritized lists can now include "avg economic assessment".
- Loop History and Key Performance browser pages now update faster for
recently created loops.
PlantTriage — November 2002
Loop Health History Refreshed
With PlantTriage you use either our best practice templates or create your own
to define the key assessments, baselines and thresholds determining loop
health. If you change the setup of loop health for one or more loops, the
past history of loop health becomes less meaningful. The latest release of
PlantTriage overcomes this problem by re-calculating the entire loop health
history. Re-calculation occurs in the background, so you can still perform
work using the engineering and browser interfaces.
New Assessments
During every assessment interval, every loop assessment is automatically
calculated for every loop (assuming the loop is on-line). Every unit operation
assessment is automatically calculated for every unit operation that is
on-line.
- Output Standard Deviation is the standard deviation of the
controller output. Use it to compare controller output movements over
different assessments. A change in this number may indicate trouble
with the valve, a changing process or load or a different control
strategy.
- Unit Operation Average Percent Towards Threshold is the
average of all the Average Percent Towards Threshold for all the loops
in a unit operation.
- Unit Operation Economic Average Percent Towards Threshold
is the average of all the Economic Average Percent Towards Threshold
for all the loops in a unit operation.
- Unit Operation Percentage of loops Over Threshold is the
percentage of loops that are over any threshold for any assessment.
Each loop with any assessment over a threshold will count as a loop
over threshold. These are averaged on a unit operation basis.
Browser Interface Enhancements
Loop History Report Page
View the history of any loop, over any time period, for any assessments,
process variable or any other loop attribute. Lets you drill down in detail to
analyze and troubleshoot the loop.
Drill down to this Loop History Report to help diagnose loop problems or to
show improvements after changes. Select the time span from the pull-down
boxes. Each row can represent an hour, an assessment time, a day, a week or a
month. If you choose rows to represent an hour or an assessment time, snapshot
values at the specified time are shown. If you choose rows to represent days,
weeks or months, average values are shown.
In the Loop History Report page you can zoom in on any time period
to see how the
plant was behaving during that specific duration for intervals you
specify.
Plant Summary History Allows Zoom Window
Now in the Plant Summary history you can zoom
in on any time period to see how the
plant was behaving during that specific duration for intervals you
specify.
Edit, Create, and Manage Your Own Column Sets
Lets you very quickly select assessments, process variables, or any other
attribute that is important to you. Group these in customized column sets so
you can quickly choose them.
Like most other selectable items in the browser interface, each user of the
PlantTriage browser interface gets their own customizable set of columns.
Preset column sets include:
- Key assessments
- Oscillation detection and analysis
- Model parameters, quality and ExperTune index
- Customize your own (no limit)
Use your custom columns on the "My Loop List" page or "Loop History" page.
Just select the columns you would like to see.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The Key Performance Indicators page shows a history of assessments or process
values that you consider to be the most important. For example, on a paper
machine, you may want to look at the variability of a variable over time as a
general indicator of business success. In a refinery or chemical plant, where
the closer you can operate to a limit, the higher the throughput is, you might
add the average error or IAE of a temperature loop.
The Key Performance Indicator page is specific for each user. Once you set it
up, it stays that way for your logon the next time.
Snooze Loops on the Biggest Payback Loop List
The Biggest Payback Loop List pinpoints the top 10 loops in your plant that
need the most attention. By fixing these loops you will make the greatest
economic impact in your plant. However, what if you already know that there is
a problem with the loop and it will be repaired during the next shut-down?
Clicking the snooze button lets you remove the loop from the list until a date
you specify on the pop up calendar. You can also view the list of snoozed
loops, which includes the date the loop comes out of snooze and the user who
snoozed it.
Hot-linked Pop-up Help for All Assessments
Every assessment column heading is hot-linked to a pop-up help window giving
an explanation of that assessment. Appropriate assessments are linked to
subjects in white papers explaining in detail how to make the most of an
assessment for your plant.
Other Additions to Browser Interface
- View only the trends you want to see. Each trendable item has a checkbox
allowing you to trend the assessments you choose. Available on the Loop
History and Key Performance Indicator pages.
- Create a custom link on the first page. For example, link to your plant
P & ID. Just put the link in CustomerLink.inc.
- Trends now have extra x-axis labels.
- Speed up of Loop History and Key Performance browser pages when asking
for loop data and the loop has been recently created.
- Plant Summary History now shows "no data" and not "Fault" if no
assessments have taken place at the requested times.
- Warning message put out in browser if more than 200 points selected in a
history page.
PlantTriage Performance Assessments Available via OPC
Get any assessment you want, for any loop, via
OPC. Every assessment is available for every loop. The
PlantTriage OPC Server is certified compliant by the OPC
Foundation.
New as of May 2002:
Oscillation Detection
PlantTriage now detects oscillating loops and makes a rough diagnosis of the
cause. The diagnosis of oscillation assessment is given as a number between 0
and 100%, where 100% is the highest confidence of oscillation occurring. The
oscillation diagnosis can either be:
- Hardware problem: stiction or hysteresis is causing the loop to
cycle.
- Load Upset: another loop is causing this loop to cycle.
- Tuning Problem: PID tuning is over-aggressive, causing the loop to
cycle.
Each of the diagnosis is given as a number between 0 and 100 where 100% is the
highest confidence in the diagnosis.
Sample Interval Configurable on a Loop Basis
Select the sample intervals for each loop to be either 1, 2, 4, 10, 20,
or 60 seconds, but
these can be changed. Each loop is assigned to a sample interval
category. This sample
interval can be modified for the entire category. A category sample
interval can have any
value between 1 and 60 seconds.
Off-Line for Individual Loops
In addition to being able to take off-line an entire unit operation
based on the comparison of a variable
with a value (like a flow being under a certain value), each loop can
be taken off-line
by the logical comparison to any variable. Assessments are not
refreshed when a loop or unit is off-line.
