Why Some APC Applications Lose Performance Over Time And How You Can Avoid It

Abstract

For a long time, companies in the Chemical Process Industry have turned to Advanced Process Control (APC) as a means to increase profitability and production capacity. Among the most widely used APC techniques is Model Predictive Control (MPC). Many service and software vendors have become knowledgeable in executing projects and delivering MPC applications throughout a diverse range of processes. The focus of this work is on what happens after project conclusion, when the project team is dismissed and the application is handed over to the customer operations.It has been observed in practice that without proper maintenance, APC applications will tend to progressively lose their ability to capture benefits. This work will present how we developed a program aimed at sustaining the value of our APC applications. The program reflects our experience in supporting APC applications from multiple vendors installed in 11 different polymerization lines in seven different sites. It will be presented which steps were taken in building such program starting with the cause-effect analysis, where we identify the causes for application malfunction, going through the identification of stakeholders, key performance indicators and assignment of roles and responsibilities.Although the outlined program was built based on the characteristics of the plants and APC applications found in the polymers business, it should be equally applicable to other industries. It is also interesting that the program does not depend on the choice of APC vendor.