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PID, APC

Courtesy: APC Performance LLC
Process Manufacturing April 4, 2020

Understanding multivariable control: The missing metric

Advanced process control: An improved understanding of the role of multivariable control in industrial process operations will lead to more cost-effective solutions and engage a wider circle of people in the process automation enterprise.

By Allan Kern
Figure: Three top skill sets to get ahead are engineering, project management, and communication/presentation. Courtesy: Control Engineering research, CFE Media and CFE Technology
Discrete Manufacturing February 14, 2020

Hot topics in Control Engineering for 2019

Think Again: Engineering salaries and career tips, object-oriented programming, rate-predictive control, Internet of Things (IoT) and career advice were among top articles posted on the Control Engineering website during 2019.

By Mark T. Hoske
Figure 1: By integrating data into the cloud, an environment is created for cross-sectional analysis, with third-party consultants able to perform high-precision analysis and provide suggestions for optimizing production. Courtesy: Yokogawa Electric Corp.
PID, APC February 10, 2020

Top 5 Control Engineering articles February 3-9

Articles about the Engineers' Choice winners, advanced process control, robotics and AI in agriculture, intelligent cloud use, and exoskeletons were Control Engineering’s five most clicked articles from February 3-9. Miss something? You can catch up here.

By Chris Vavra
Intuitive touchscreen displays put a wealth of real-time data and analysis tools at operators’ fingertips so they can monitor, adjust and learn from their machinery while moving through the field. Courtesy: John Deere/RIA
Process Manufacturing February 1, 2020

Control Engineering hot topics, January 2020

Control Engineering's most clicked articles in January 2020 included stories about the System Integrator Giants, Engineers' Choice finalists, robots in agriculture, subscription software, and advanced process control answers. Miss something? You can catch up here.

By Chris Vavra
Industry expected model-predictive control (MPC) to naturally expand into the multi-loop control (MLC) region, but that never happened; MPC costs of ownership remain high and MPC remains primarily a high-end solution. MLC represents an important, but under-developed part of the APC matrix spectrum. Courtesy: Control Engineering webcast, Advanced process control: Past, present and future.
PID, APC January 27, 2020

Top 5 Control Engineering articles January 20-26

Articles about the System Integrator Giants, advanced process control, robotics and AI in agriculture, improved process control engineering, and revamped HMIs were Control Engineering’s five most clicked articles from January 20-26. Miss something? You can catch up here.

By Chris Vavra
Courtesy: Control Engineering webcast, Advanced process control: Past, present and future.
PID, APC January 15, 2020

Advanced process control: More answers

After a webcast on “Advanced process control: Past, present and future,” more answers to audience questions are provided by the webcast speaker covering advanced process control (APC) to help with process optimization.

By Allan Kern
Diagram of a spray dryer system. Courtesy: McEnery Automation
System Integrators December 20, 2019

System integrator upgrades spray dryer controls

Control system upgrade of spray dryer improves product quality and profitability.

By Michael McEnery
Figure 1: Multivariable control matrix for an atmospheric crude distillation column, based on operation-driven design practice. The matrix is smaller than traditional crude column applications. It addresses primarily column pressure and product inferential quality control, which are often the most valuable objectives of this application – and often the ones found “unclamped” in existing large-matrix applications. Courtesy: APC Performance LLC
PID, APC December 2, 2019

Operation-driven matrix design

A multivariable control matrix has manipulated variables (MVs) on one axis, controlled variables (CVs) on the other axis, and models in the matrix that indicate a relationship between that MV/CV pair. Effective multivariable controllers use the right models for various control and optimization needs.

By Allan Kern
Figure 1: Data acquisition network connections. Courtesy: Maverick Technologies
Data Acquisition, DAQ November 26, 2019

Eight data acquisition best practices

To discover which real-time data adds value to improve operational efficiencies and increase competitive edge in the marketplace, first understand data acquisition systems and consider the eight essential best practices for data acquisition success

By Brian E. Bolton
Figure 2: Real-time dashboards provide the information required for each level of the plant’s organization. Courtesy: Yokogawa Electric Corp.
Process Manufacturing November 4, 2019

Profit-driven operations require IT/OT integration

Maximizing process plant profits requires close integration across all levels of an organization.

By Yasunori Kobayashi