Process Control

SGS’s advanced process control solution improves your:

• Quality
• Safety
• Production
• Operational stability
• Control performance

The heart of SGS’s advanced process control systems lies in the skillful implementation of an expert system. An expert system consists of a knowledge base and an inference (reasoning) engine. It enables the timely and consistent application of best operating practice in response to variability. An expert system makes better control decisions because it is able to

• Consider more variables than a human operator can monitor.
• Act consistently time-after-time.

Applications

Below are a few examples where expert systems can be applied to perform intelligent tasks.

• Increase recovery
• Increase throughput
• Maintain quality
• Filter alarms
• Pollution / environmental control
• Shutdown and safety
• Energy savings
• Scheduling
• Root cause analysis
• Start-up procedure / batch processing
• Experimental design

These applications and more can be controlled or improved using MET. MET is also able to perform complex statistical analysis, create dynamic models and efficiently perform time-consuming expert tasks in real time. The MET platform can perform these decision-making processes by interfacing with any control system or third party software. Whether it is capturing the best operating practices from experts or using third party software as part of a control strategy, the MET platform is an extremely robust inference engine.

The two components of an expert system are the software package and the integration of the solution within your operation. The software provides the foundation and the tools for constructing an effective, robust and reliable expert system. It directly impacts on development time and maintenance.

The greatest impact on the success of implementation is the integration within the plant and the culture of the operation. SGS’s methodology is progressive and inclusive. Everyone in your organization must be included in your system’s development and maintenance if it is to remain useful, healthy and vibrant. In-depth interviews and on-site commissioning ensure that your entire team drives the development and tuning of the expert system.

SGS’s approach to expert system integration ensures that all members of your team recognize the benefits of the system and are confident that the expert system is improving the performance of the operation. The result is a product that encompasses your operating philosophy and reinforces the operators’ confidence and beliefs. When we leave your site, the team will be familiar and comfortable with the system and your operators will anticipate the changes invoked by the expert system. Full acceptance and utilization translates into improved performance for your circuit.

SGS MET and the MET Toolkit

Many producers share the problem of inefficient capture and use of information and knowledge in their decision-making. The SGS advanced systems group can help you take advantage of the proven benefits of advanced control technology to improve productivity. SGS MET can provide you with the decision-making tools to streamline your production in real time.

To increase the level of use and acceptance of your expert system, a user-friendly product is needed that minimizes the learning time required to provide a powerful, open and extendible platform for the site administrators. The product must provide tools to the site administrators for developing, maintaining and rapidly integrating expert systems. The product we have developed is known as the MET Toolkit. It combines numerous features that enable maintenance and development.

The MET Toolkit consists of a set of “specialty modules” designed with the end-user in mind. The MET Toolkit provides powerful functionality for the site administrator, but ultimately provides significant value to our coders as well. These features:

• Accelerate the development and troubleshooting of new logic.
• Facilitate the gathering of specific user-defined information to assess the performance of process unit operations.
• Streamline the application to make the best use of the computer’s resources.

SGS expert systems are always on duty, optimizing your output on every shift. They provide a best practice repository that stays with the system, even when the staff and management change. MET explains the control decisions, helping operators gain a deeper understanding of the process while on the job, empowering the operations group to critique the system while providing a powerful training and reinforcement tool for the less experienced team members. Partner with SGS today to gain a competitive advantage through our advanced process control.