Petrochemical manufacturers experience unique challenges when it comes to maintaining effective regulatory control.  As practitioners know, the dynamics of petrochemical processes are complex.  From the volatility of batch reactions and rapid responses of pressure control to the highly nonlinear and sluggish nature of temperature control, the range of both process dynamics and industry applications routinely push the common PID controller to its limits.  Whereas an effectively tuned PID can enable safe and efficient production, a poorly tuned controller can inadvertently hamper quality and constrain production throughput.  Innovations in process modeling technology have proven to simplify the tuning of individual PIDs.  Only recently have these innovations been applied to simplifying controller optimization on a plant-wide basis.