PlantESP™ Enhanced with Automated Process Improvement Capability

March 31, 2011 - PRLog -- Tolland, CT – Control Station announced enhancement of its PlantESP Performance Monitoring Solution with the introduction of an innovative auto-benchmarking capability.  The innovation further simplifies the optimization and control of business-critical production processes.

PlantESP’s new auto-benchmarking capability embraces best-in-class production practices and supports the goal of constant process improvement.  Introduced with the most recent release, the function evaluates control loop performance on a scheduled basis and tightens benchmarks of individual PID controllers as performance improves.  PlantESP works nonstop to ferret out under-performing PID controllers within a production environment.  Recommendations for corrective action from the solution equip users with actionable intelligence.  In this way PlantESP identifies the source of production-related defects and assists with the reduction of production variability, mirroring the core principles of Six Sigma.  The auto-benchmarking capability aligns PlantESP more closely with Six Sigma by automatically adjusting benchmarks to more rigorous performance levels.

The new function within PlantESP has been used to dramatically reduce solution implementation and configuration.  By utilizing historical process data PlantESP quickly determines the typical process behavior for each PID controller.  Recommendations for performance benchmarks are automatically generated and provide a rapid understanding of the production facility’s behavior.  The processing of historical data from a small to mid-size facility and benchmarking of the associated PIDs can be performed in a matter of minutes by PlantESP.  This is in stark contrast to other monitoring solutions that typically involve either multiple weeks or months to implement and configure.

“PlantESP goes beyond what customers have come to expect in a monitoring solution,” shared Bob Rice, Control Station’s Vice President of Engineering.  “Refinements to PlantESP’s ‘usability’ address common end-user needs and allow them to extract greater value from both our technologies and their processes.  These advances enhance the lifetime value of PlantESP in a significant manner.”

PlantESP’s auto-benchmarking capability has been implemented across the core of Control Station’s install base.  The enhancement has simplified the adjustment of individual PID controllers and facilitated regular improvements in regulatory control.  Now an essential tool in the implementation and configuration of new deployments, PlantESP’s auto-benchmarking capability is optional and can be disengaged on a system-wide basis or for individual PID controllers.

PlantESP was officially launched in 2010.  The solution actively monitors and analyzes plant-wide PID controller performance and provides end-users with actionable recommendations for both corrective action and plant optimization.  The solution simplifies the identification and isolation of inefficiencies in regulatory control performance.  Corrective actions are automatically generated and facilitate the correction of issues ranging from instrumentation and process to controller tuning.  With the ability to analyze thousands of individual PID loops as well as to assess their interactivity, PlantESP is the ideal solution for improving overall process performance and plant profitability.

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About Control Station:
Control Station is the leading provider of PID loop tuning and process control optimization technology and education.

Founded in 1998 under the name of Control Station Technologies by University of Connecticut's Dr. Douglas Cooper, the Company focused on solutions for teaching PID control loop diagnostics and optimization. Control Station Technologies became the leading provider of PID diagnostic and process optimization course curriculums to both the commercial and academic communities. The Company's Practical Process Control© curriculum is utilized today by over 150 colleges and universities worldwide.

In 2004, Control Station incorporated to deliver enhanced PID diagnostic and optimization technologies. The Company boasts installations with Fortune 100 customers worldwide. Control Station products – LOOP-PRO™ and PlantESP™ are available from Control Station, its channel partners, and as OEM solutions through leading automation vendors.