Benefits from process control: results of a joint industry-university study

A key component of any process control upgrade project is the initial benefits analysis. This analysis defines the correct scope of the project based on the plant's economics, production requirements and capacity, and equipment capacity. The scope must be defined to correctly determine the process units and controls included in the project, design the control strategies, specify the equipment required, plan the engineering aspects and develop a realistic schedule. As a result of the importance of this topic, a major study was undertaken by the Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering (University of Sydney) to establish a general method to be made available to Australian industry. The study was performed by a team of over 40 professionals from industry, government and academe and lasted over 1 year. The resulting method for control benefits analysis is described in this paper. The method addresses the organizational aspects of personnel interviews and data collection. It also addresses technical issues such as the calculations and plant tests required to predict control benefits. None of this material is new in itself, but the selection and integration provides a coherent method not available elsewhere. In addition to the method, this paper describes seven industrial case studies. Substantial benefits, ranging from 1.4 to 6% of operating costs, were identified in the case studies. The success of these studies indicates that the benefits method can be adapted to a wide range of processing plants.