Top 5 Control Engineering articles, July 21-27: Offshore drilling, control programming habits, PID math, more

Articles about offshore oil and gas drilling, control programming habits, PID math, tuning PID control loops, and MES project execution were Control Engineering’s five most clicked articles from last week, July 21-27. Were you out last week? Miss something? You can catch up here.

By Chris Vavra July 28, 2014

1. Drilling deeper for offshore oil and gas production

Automation improvements make deep offshore drilling economically feasible, while still maintaining safety and reliability.

2. Habits to improve your control programming

Engineering and IT Insight: Control programming is programming, even if it uses ladder logic, sequential function charts, function block diagrams, and procedure function charts. Improve your programming in a dozen ways. Errors in control programs can harm people, damage equipment, and destroy products. 

3. PID math demystified, part 4

You’ve seen the equations, but have you thought about how those elements work together? Part 4: Feed forward 

4. Tuning PID control loops for fast response

When choosing a tuning strategy for a specific control loop, it is important to match the technique to the needs of that loop and the larger process. It is also important to have more than one approach in your repertoire, and the Cohen-Coon method can be a handy addition in the right situation.

5. MES project execution: 3 mistakes to avoid

Here are a few basic guidelines to help ensure your next manufacturing execution system (MES) project is successful.

The list was developed using CFE Media’s web analytics for stories viewed on controleng.com, July 21-27, for articles published within the last two months.

– Chris Vavra, content specialist, CFE Media, cvavra@cfemedia.com.