Control & Operator Performance Solutions

New standards such as ISA 101 are being developed to address common problems attributed to operator error and to improve overall operator effectiveness. In this seminar, we explore how new standards and tools for Control and Operator Performance solutions are helping customers achieve operational excellence.

• Improving Situational Awareness using Advanced Operator Displays
• Effective Alarm Management
• Top Quartile Plant Performance
• Lifecycle Dynamic Simulation: Emerson's Digital Twin

Christi Mezzic, Process Control Consultant, Emerson
Improving Situational Awareness using Advanced Operator Displays

This presentation introduces what Advanced Operator Displays are and how they can improve situational awareness when incorporated into HMI designs. Learn how to leverage physical and psychological human traits to produce a more intuitive and less ambiguous environment that draws in the user’s attention to abnormal situations and increases their ability to comprehend and interrupt the situations long before it becomes serious and time-critical. Many people refer to Advanced Operator Displays as ‘gray-scale’ displays, but it encompasses so much more than that. Some companies have attempted to implement gray-scale HMI’s without incorporating all of the other elements, which actually further hampers the user’s ability to identify problems.

This presentation will discuss all of the elements required to achieve Advanced Operator Displays in HMI design and how each one is important in situation awareness and improving safety.

John Veldhuis, Business Development Manager, Emerson
Effective Alarm Management

Modern distributed control systems are both powerful and complex. The consequences of even the most diligent and careful application of an alarm philosophy can be devastating in the wrong situation. The basis of the challenge is that static alarm configuration dictates performance over the full range of operating states and transitions. Most distributed control systems are configured to work best for the 'normal' case, which is often near steady state. This presentation will provide context to the performance of alarm management methodologies, provide an overview of Emerson’s Dynamic Pre-Rationalization Methodology and advanced software platform, AgileOps, to support and sustain an effective alarm management program.

Eric Schulz, Manager of Advanced Controls Services, Emerson
Top Quartile Plant Performance

This presentation will discuss two Control Performance solutions which can provide significant ROI and help you reach Top Quartile Performance. First, we will discuss Model Predictive Control (MPC), which provides coordinated control across many process variables for complex operations such as distillation towers, refinery fractionation units, cracking furnaces, and many others. Successful implementations result in reduced energy consumption, improved yield, and increased throughput. Second, we will cover the concept of State Based Control, which helps to automate manually executed procedures by embedding them in the control system. Results include more consistent and safer operations, reduced startup and grade transition times, and reduction in abnormal situations. For each technology, we will provide background information on the technology, Emerson’s approach to these solutions, example projects and their results, and ideas on how to get started.

Rachelle McWright, Business Development Manager, Emerson
Lifecycle Dynamic Simulation: Emerson’s Digital Twin

In Capital and Modernization projects, getting to start-up safely and quickly is paramount. To meet operational goals, it is essential to have a trained, competent control system and operations staff. As experienced operators are leaving the industry faster than they are entering, it is imperative to capture their valuable knowledge to pass on to new operators and provide these operators with real-world training on handling transient conditions well ahead of costly and dangerous incidents. This presentation will outline the ways in which Lifecycle Dynamic Simulation successfully enables you to design, build and test early the project lifecycle; upskill your workforce without affecting plant production; and reduce the cost and risk of start-up and many other operational improvements.