2015 AIChE Spring Meeting and 11th Global Congress on Process Safety
(143a) Why Are We Still Controlling Plants like We Did in the 1950's?
Author
Huffman, D. A. - Presenter, ABB INC
The early days of process automation had operators controlling individual loops and devices from field control boxes. Operators today still control the same way, but now they sit in a chair in front of a computer workstation. In many ways, the only thing that has changed is the location and the number of loops one person can manage. Controllers have increased in power and capabilities but few companies have changed their automation to take advantage of these improvements. State Based Control is a way to make significant improvements in production KPIs and plant safety. Methodology is consistent with ISA106.