Artificial Intelligence Powered Advanced Process Control Systems

Advanced process control (APC) is a broad set of techniques and technologies used to improve the performance of industrial processes by reducing variability, increasing throughput, and optimizing energy use. New technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are giving APC systems greater flexibility and modularity to adapt to changing operating conditions and business objectives. As a predictive maintenance component, AI monitors and forecasts unfavorable future conditions, giving notifications with diagnoses and recommendations to take action before the failure happens. Improved knowledge capture facilitates the diagnosis of anomalous operations and standardizes operations by eliminating gaps between work shifts by automating process operations and equipment maintenance. Effective prediction operations and maintenance tools allow us to evaluate the temporal interdependencies of a group of variables to detect patterns in time series, leading to the identification of fundamental causes and predicting their implications more accurately.

We are witnessing a trend of digitalization of production facilities such as Oil refineries across the world as companies are increasingly exploring these digital tools to improve their production efficiencies. Several renowned companies, such as Honeywell Connected Enterprise, Schneider Electric Group, ABB, and new players such as Sentient, are driving the advancement of these artificial intelligence-powered advanced process control systems, which have the potential to fundamentally revolutionize the operations of manufacturing units around the world.