In an oilfield covering many square miles, managers always need to know which process upsets at which well pads will need an operator or technician to make the round trip to address a valve, separator or instrumentation issue? Which process upsets are likely to revert to the well pads normal pattern without intervention? Predicting the priorities ahead of time and with certainty saved millions in workforce time and vehicle expense.

Designing a control scheme that minimizes oscillations often allows greater overall throughput. Sophisticated analysis of correlation and causality, lead and lag effects and improved control logic requires cutting edge modeling. At this facility, the work took three months and produced a $8,000,000 improvement to annual output at the same product quality.

We developed a patented approach for analyzing which small shifts in data patterns most likely indicates the early stages of lower asset and instrument performance. The customer adopted this methodology to reduce unscheduled and costly maintenance events.

Breakpoint and anomaly detection technology allowed us to develop more advanced early warning signals that the customer then embedded into their control logic. As a result, expensive repairs to very expensive production equipment can be reduced by 25-50%.

For most facilities, even a day of lost production is worth a $1M or more. That represents the costs and events we can see. Like an iceberg, the greater costs of constant suboptimal control lie beneath the surface of what 4-20mA data and trends normally lets us see.

On average, most facilities suffer eventually “see” and record performance degradation from 1- 2% of its pumps, instruments or other devices. This is more than enough to drive operating costs upward and production up time downward from unscheduled events and shutdowns.

Millions of hours of monitoring 4-20mA and HART signals from over 11 facilities have shown us that close to 20% of all Control Loops, Analyzers and Instruments are providing or soon going to provide sub optimal control.

The most valuable insights to customers have been early warning notifications of control loop performance degradation, emerging measurement errors or when pump and motor decay may not extend through the planned production cycle.

For many of our customer facilities we analyze the data patterns from every asset on a semi annual basis.

We have taken several different approaches to reducing chemical dosing costs.

One approach is to consider new analyzer technology so that rapid and accurate on line analysis enables precise control at minimal time delay. This approach can also minimize treatment levels and operations, lab and maintenance costs. We often have to support the development of new control logic and other measurement changes as wel, but the results can be significant.

A second consideration is the use of Wet Analysis input provided careful maintenance schedules are crafted that take into account the effects of time, temperature and pressure on probe accuracy.

A third approach that can work is to develop rigorous inferential models to support the decisions of operators who other wise manually “control” the up and down cycling required to get process output within product quality or regulatory requirements.

Technical literature, many a facility professional and our own data indicates that 30-35% of control valves are not able to perform to their design criteria. No matter the valve and component suppliers, we have developed patented support tools for analyzing which of the many moving parts of a control loop "eco-system" needs attention so control is sustained and improvements can proceed on solid ground. ( Link to illustrative support tools)

Performing “flow scan” tests for valve assemblies are the traditional way to determine if you have a mechanically sound Valve. Though common in the process industry, this test cannot tell you what you most need to know unless it is combined with a rigorous control loop assessment.

An assessment tells you if the valve assembly is well integrated and forms a fully “in synch” connection to the signals of your normal operating control scheme and the superseding logic in the event of trip. A good assessment also recommends the best ways to improve and sustain the control loop performance you need.

We have developed patented support tools for analyzing which of the many moving parts of a control loop "eco-system" needs attention so control is sustained and improvements can proceed on solid ground.

Our customers want to know they have a valve that can perform with the accuracy and response their control system calls for, that their air pressure and quality is adequate, that the control tuning is optimal, that the valve is properly sized.

What’s more, they want a practical plan to prioritize what most needs to be done so the ROI of control valve and loop improvements is well thought out and actionable.

After multiple facility shutdowns we have learned that producing meaningful improvements to subsequent production and control requires:

Targeting one or two substantial KPI improvements and then thoroughly analyze and develop high ROI solution paths to achieve them

Capturing the data necessary to triage which control loops most need assessment and may need re-sizing or performance monitoring

Completing a quick control loop tuning verification analysis right after the shutdown so any significant or drifting tuning issues can be addressed right away

By continuously analyzing the HART data from high value custody transfer meters and the related Temperature and Pressure data; we have been able to provide frequent online verifications.

This allows our client to extend more invasive and expensive calibration events for as long as five years depending on the flow meter technology.

This is especially helpful for facilities with multiple different flow meter suppliers, high value transfer points, or in continuous production cycles.

This is a thorny, data intense and valuable to solve problem in some applications.

The key is building an expert system which can continuously notice subtle pattern shifts in HART data that have proven troublesome in the past.

Sometimes these patterns signal impending concerns about pH measurement accuracy because of temperature, pressure, load or changes in chemical composition levels. Our support tools notify maintenance technicians when to replace pH probes before accuracy is compromised. Just as importantly, this approach assures that a fully effective pH probe stays in place as long as measurement accuracy is not going to be a near term concern.

The results have been remarkable. We have achieved reduced probe use, maintenance and grab sample time while substantially improving the range of measurement control in over 11 facilities over the past seven years.

Minimizing the damage when trips occur and avoiding the process oscillations that leave an application short of its KPI potential requires quick and easy analysis at reasonable intervals; especially after you have made other changes to your measurement, process controls or desired load levels.

We complete semi annual control loop verifications for most of our clients on a regular basis by analyzing data and signal patterns from the 4-20mA variables of their control loops as they respond to signals from their DCS system.

A customer has a critical but fragile application which is vulnerable to upstream process upsets that cause costly trip repairs and lost days of production.

We captured 1 per second data streams from a highly secure wireless network into an expert system that conducted rigorous analysis of the HART data from digital positioners.

Our expert system provides the customer early warnings of valve performance degradations and troubleshoots small instabilities in optimal data patterns so production can be uninterrupted for five years between planned shutdowns.