Process Control as a Factor in the Design and Construction of a Glass Manufacturing Plant

Abstract

The glass manufacturing plant is viewed as a system during engineering as well as in operation. Process control is as integral a component of this system as the manufacturing process or the process units themselves.In present-day practice the importance of process control is often not recognized or else neglected. Therefore, process control sometimes receives little attention during the engineering of a project. As a result, advanced techniques and innovative design concepts are often not used, or their use is limited by low budgets, and the completed plant does not have an optimum process control system.The role and importance of process control is reviewed and the desirable characteristics of process control systems are summarized. A review of the various phases of a glass manufacturing plant project demonstrates the magnitude of process control problems and the amount of interaction with other project problems.The impact of accepting process control as an economically and technically important factor, on the project, can be disturbing, but in view of the ultimate success of the project its acceptance is critical.