Platform for Advanced Control and Estimation (Advanced Process Control)

Control Stabilization Baked In

For nearly two decades, Yokogawa has been at the forefront of delivering APC licenses, along with comprehensive consulting and engineering services for a variety of process units. Creating a seamless integration between APC and DCS, Yokogawa has harnessed this synergy to increase profitability. The foundation of regulatory control stabilization is baked in allowing for an effective control hierarchy and optimized set point targets.

A Comprehensive Platform

Our all-encompassing Platform for Advanced Control and Estimation seamlessly combines multi-variable control, quality estimation, intricate custom calculations, and operator-friendly user interface design into a single, cohesive best-of-class application. This not only reduces deployment time but also streamlines maintenance and ensures consistent performance.

Control Enhancements

Through a concise feasibility study, we leverage our extensive experience in implementing control enhancements, drawing from in-depth analysis of historical operational data. This enables us to estimate both the financial and operational advantages, thereby underlining the potential benefits in both and giving you enhanced control and sustained performance.

Dramatically Reduce Modeling Time
Advanced Control In a Single Environment
Performance in Less Commissioning Time
Monitoring & Diagnostics

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Multivariable Control & Quality Estimation

Yokogawa's APC platform has been co-developed with Shell: one of the world leading pioneers in development and application of Advanced Control Technologies in the energy industry.

Our latest Platform for Advanced Control and Estimation is a best in class suite; Platform for Advanced Control and Estimation is meant to rapidly deploy and sustain Advanced Control Applications that generate benefits throughout the plant lifecycle.

Design Time

Design Time provides a single workspace for the following: process data management, process dynamics modeling, processor and sequence design, and scenario-based simulation - all of which are based on best practices in Advanced Process Control deployment.

Seamless sharing of information between Design Time and Run Time empowers control engineers to develop complex applications rapidly.

Preliminary Controller Design

A defined preliminary control matrix which consists of Controlled Variables (CV) and Manipulated Variables (MV) is used for the automatic plant-step response test under Run Time.

Robust Model Identification

The plant step response data is imported to Design Time. The data is then cleaned using various tools, such as bad slicing, data clamping and rule-based cleaning, for model identification.

Multiple Linear Dynamic Models can be identified over a wide operating range using the model statistics with traffic light indication of the model's robustness. Multiple model elements for a single Input/output pair, and non-linear gain formulas, are supported.

Complex Application Development

A Complex plant-wide application can be developed within the same Workspace with multiple types of processors - such as plant-wide Controller with multiple sub-systems, estimator, real-time optimization interface, and custom processors.

Control model transfer functions are changeable online. Multiple model elements can be switched to handle processes with non-linear dynamics as well.

Furthermore, a custom processor provides a versatile capability to build a custom calculation and/or logic using VB or C#.

Run Time

Run Time environment supports two RUN modes; Staged (Read Only) and Live (Read and Write). Running the two modes in parallel allows the Control Engineer to validate modifications in a Staged version before swapping with the Live version.

The Human-Machine interface panel is organized hierarchically for easy visualization of process conditions and status of the control system. Operators and engineers can access relevant information quickly and easily by clicking the icons, navigation tree and breadcrumbs.

Auto Step Testing

Auto Step testing initiates automatic plant step response tests with the Preliminary Controller Design. The Plant step response data is stored in the embedded historian.

Tiled trends give support to validate process responses for dynamic model identification.

New Human-Machine Interface with Key Performance Indicator Faceplate

The human-machine Interface adopts a new key performance indicator Faceplate with a health status, improving interactions with operators and control engineers.

The human-machine Interface panel is defined using variable-sets, meant to strategically organize the variables into relevant groups. it comes with an integrated powerful trending tool and Dynamic Relationship panel to support operations and application maintenance - especially for very large applications.

Online Tuning

Online tuning supports the control engineer in the validation of integrated Estimator Model and Controller Tuningusing real process data in real-time, before putting the application in Live active control.

Flexible controller tuning combined with comprehensive simulation allows for engineers to test the entire runtime application under different situations, in parallel.

Introducing the new concept of Best Performance Value (BPV): Defined as the most desired point CV operation in the case of infeasibility, the controller optimizes MV move plans to slow the movement of CVs from their BPVs - yielding a superior transient dynamic performance of the controller.

About OpreX

OpreX is the comprehensive brand for Yokogawa’s industrial automation (IA) and control business. The OpreX name stands for excellence in the technologies and solutions that Yokogawa cultivates through the co-creation of value with its customers, and encompasses the entire range of Yokogawa’s IA products, services, and solutions. This brand comprises the following five categories: OpreX Transformation, OpreX Control, OpreX Measurement, OpreX Execution, and OpreX Lifecycle. Platform for Advanced Control and Estimation, an OpreX Asset Operations and Optimization family solution in the OpreX Transformation category, delivers operational excellence throughout an enterprise’s activities, from production through to supply chain optimization and risk and business management.

With this brand, Yokogawa will deliver integrated solutions that address specific needs and support its customers in their efforts to transform and grow their businesses.

Advanced Regulatory Controls

Advanced Regulatory Controls are field-proven, user-friendly and off-the-shelf standard function libraries designed to stabilize base layer control and can be used in conjunction with Multivariable Optimizing Control and Robust Quality Estimation to achieve desired control and operating objectives.

The Shell Surge Volume Control (SSVC)

SSVC is designed to take full advantage of the Surge Capacity available in the plant to achieve a more stable operation. The SSVC module managers the surge vessel's level within specified limits while minimizing flow fluctuation entering or leaving the surge vessel. The algorithm is designed to work not only for one surge volume but also for cascading surge volume such as cascading Distillation Columns. The algorithm will take advantage of periods when there are no large disturbances to bring the level to ideal set-point, to make capacity to absorb the next large distubances.

Furnace Pass Balancing (BALANCE)

BALANCE is designed to evenely distribute the heat energy absorbed by each pass in a multi-pass heating furnace. The BALANCE module improves Furnace Efficiency by passing more flow through those passes with higher heat recovery, balancing the outlet temperature of each pass. Each BALANCE module can manage up to two furnaces with up to two cells/chambers. Each cell can have up to 16 passes (coils) and each pass can have up to a maximum of 5 skin temperatures reading. The BALANCE module also manages the total Flow through the Furnaces, which is a very valuable tool for the management of Heating Furnace.

Measurment Validation and Comparison (MVC)

MVC algorithm is designed to validate two field measurements of the same process output variable for comparison. Deviations between two field measurements of the same process output variable for comparison. Deviations between two field measurements above a reference value are continuosly accumulated, and when the accumulated value exceeds a certain limit, an alarm results.

Advanced Monitoring and Diagnosis

Advanced Monitoring and Diagnosis is designed to sustain and improve the performance of Advanced Process Control Applications and base layer control loops.

Hierarchial Performance Monitoring

In Hierarchal Performance Monitoring the web viewer provides a browser-based monitoring and reporting interface to the on-line database.
The monitoring view summarizes information and data by date, control performance and operator interventions for the chosen asset type and the customization asset level hierarchy.
Web property pages can be used to navigate from the top of the hierarchy to the bottom, and vice versa. Web property pages also provide property information about all data items from the location configuration, down to a single tag.

Reporting

The real-time reporting tool uses current data to highlight the bad actors at the base layer or advanced control loops that require operator action immediately.
The executive report summarizes performances for the entire location using assets from the preferred hierarchy level.
Escalation reports per monitoring type are customizable.
The reports can be emailed, printed, or exported as a file for use in Excel.

Interactive Performance Analysis

The off-line diagnosis tools use statistical methods to extract the essential control performance information and provide interactive analysis screens to find the root causes of control problems.