ControllerX360

controllerX360 is a vendor-agnostic control-loop performance monitoring and diagnostic solution designed to evaluate every controller across the plant. It analyzes PV, SP, OP, and MODE data from existing plant historians through a cascading diagnostic framework to identify service-factor issues, saturation, valve stiction, oscillation, and sluggish tuning.

Rather than generating another list of alarms, controllerX360 isolates mechanical and operational faults before recommending tuning actions. It converts diagnostic results into a ranked, evidence-backed work list showing which loops require attention, what is causing the issue, and which team should own the corrective action.

Salient Features

Cascading Control-Loop Diagnostics

Evaluate controllers through an ordered diagnostic process covering data quality, service factor, saturation, stiction, oscillation, and sluggish performance, ensuring operational or mechanical issues are identified before tuning recommendations are made.

Multi-Method Stiction Detection

Confirm valve stiction only when four independent detection methods agree, combining heuristic analysis, cross-correlation, phase-plot analysis, and higher-order frequency statistics for more reliable diagnosis.

Controller Performance Benchmarking

Benchmark loop performance using industry-standard methods such as the Harris Index and autocorrelation analysis to evaluate control variability, identify oscillations, and detect performance deterioration.

Ranked Diagnosis & Corrective Actions

Prioritize controllers based on consequence and severity, providing the diagnosis, supporting evidence, health status, recommended corrective action, and responsible discipline for each identified issue.

Customizable Limits, Priorities, etc.

a. Engineers can manipulate configured KPI limits based on plant priorities.

Sensitivity Analysis

Optimax provides feature to run multiple cases simultaneously with different limit ranges to enhance the actionable insights.

Role-Based Access and Security

Provides access control to ensure only authorized personnel can view or edit monitoring configurations.

Result Analysis Tool

Offers diagnostic tools to help engineers quickly investigate and resolve performance issues with different configurations

Client Benefits

Achieve 100% Loop Coverage

Evaluate every controller rather than relying on sample-based assessments, providing plant-wide visibility into control-loop performance.

Reduce False Re-Tuning

Isolate mechanical, operational, and process-related faults before recommending controller tuning, helping prevent unnecessary re-tuning of loops where tuning is not the underlying issue.

Improve Diagnostic Confidence

Use four independent detection methods to confirm stiction and evidence-backed diagnostics to help control engineers distinguish genuine valve and controller issues.

Enable 24×7 Performance Benchmarking

Continuously benchmark controller performance or run assessments on demand to identify emerging control-loop issues and performance deterioration.

Dashboard & Snapshots

Configure all tags related to specific Equipment:

Solution configuration [Defining the Objective: Maximize Production, Minimize Utility]:

Solution configuration [Defining cases of interest – Multiple cases can also be added]:

Result Tag Configuration: Identify the potential actionable insights.

Sensitivity Analysis: Supporting engineers to evaluate appropriate configurations

Case Studies

Development of Soft Sensor to predict the C5 contents in Debutaniser column Overhead:

Background

In modern petrochemical operations, maintaining product specifications within tight limits is critical for both quality assurance and process efficiency. One of the key challenges faced by a leading chemical plant was the need for real-time prediction and monitoring of C5 content in the overhead stream of the debutanizer column — a crucial step to ensure product specification compliance and optimize operations.

Challenge

Traditional laboratory testing methods for measuring C5 content introduced significant time delays, making real-time adjustments difficult. The plant required a fast, accurate, and reliable solution to continuously monitor C5 levels, allowing operators to take timely corrective actions and avoid off-spec products.

Solution with AnalyticX

Using AnalyticX, the engineering team was able to develop a soft sensor — a machine learning-based predictive model — specifically designed to estimate the C5 content in the debutanizer overhead stream in real time.

Key steps included:

Seamless ingestion of historical operational data into AnalyticX without any coding requirements.
Applying statistical analysis to identify key process variables influencing C5 concentrations.
Rapid development and training of a machine learning model tailored to predict C5 content with high accuracy.
Deployment of the predictive model into live operations for real-time product spec monitoring.

Results

Enhanced Product Monitoring:
Operators now have a real-time view of the predicted C5 content, significantly reducing reliance on delayed lab measurements.
Improved Process Control:
By closely tracking C5 levels, the plant was able to make timely adjustments to operational parameters, ensuring consistent product quality.
Reduced Off-Spec Production:
Real-time insights helped minimize off-spec batches, leading to material savings and reduced reprocessing costs.

Key Takeaways

AnalyticX enabled the rapid development of a soft sensor customized for critical KPI monitoring.

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