August 19, 2008 – Non-Steady State Modeling Innovation Improves Control and Enhances Plant Profitability

Non-Steady State Modeling Innovation Improves Control and Enhances Plant Profitability

August 19, 2008  Control Station today announced the general availability of its patent-pending PID diagnostic and optimization technologies. LOOP-PRO v5.0 represents a quantum leap forward in regulatory diagnostic technology. At the core of this revolutionary software is the Non-Steady State (NSS) modeling innovation which enables manufacturers to improve control over complex production processes and to achieve more profitable plant operations.

LOOP-PRO applies a unique approach to the analysis of multi-variable process data and it eliminates the need for steady-state operation during testing. In contrast with other time-domain modeling technologies, the NSS innovation does not utilize a specific data point or average data point as a “known” and is therefore not constrained by it. Rather, the innovation centers the model across the entire range of data under consideration. This provides flexibility to consider all possible model adjustments and to optimize the model fit relative to the entire range of data under analysis. As a result, the NSS modeling innovation can account for oscillatory and disturbance-driven behavior witnessed in production processes.

Traditional “state-of-the-art” process modeling tools require steady-state operation before conducting process diagnostic and optimization tests. Process tests expose the cause-and-effect relationship between control infrastructure and a process’ inherent characteristics. Failure to achieve or maintain steady-state operation during these tests impairs the efficacy of the model parameters produced by such tools. With LOOP-PRO, the requirement for non-steady state operation has been all but eliminated.

Our team of researchers and engineers continually test assumptions that restrict innovation, commented Dr. Bob Rice, Control Station’s Director of Solutions Engineering. By challenging these assumptions, we gain a clearer understanding of the nature of things and identify novel approaches for solving complex process control challenges. The NSS modeling innovation is a direct result of that philosophy.

Achieving and maintaining steady-state operation is rarely in the best economic interest of a manufacturer. A typical production environment is inherently dynamic due to 100s or even 1,000s of interconnected and moving process variables. Assuring that all elements of a production process are “quiet” and stable prior to and during testing is often neither feasible nor possible. As a requisite of traditional state-of-the-art tools, achieving steady-state operation prior to the performance of tests can significantly impact a production facility’s economics by decreasing throughput, reducing quality, increasing off-specification production, wasting feedstock and human resources, and other unnecessary operational expenses.

Equipped with NSS and other enhancements, LOOP-PRO stands alone in the market for PID optimization technologies, said Dennis Nash, the Company’s President. It offers a highly valuable alternative to the expense of DCS and other supervisory control solutions. It also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to innovation and to supporting the needs of our customers.

Coupled with other product enhancements, LOOP-PRO v5.0 has proven its worth to existing Control Station customers. Since submission of its patent filing, the Company has successfully applied the technology with customers in the Pharmaceutical, Petroleum, Specialty Chemical and other industries. In each case, customers have realized significant improvement in their modeling of process data and in achieving enhanced regulatory control. Control Station filed its application for the NSS modeling innovation with the United States Patent and Trade Office in June 2008.