Process Improve is a plant-optimization consulting service in which PiControl studies your process using process flow diagrams and P&IDs, then works with your engineers and operators to design and develop solutions inside your existing DCS or PLC, cutting steam losses, flaring, emissions, and alarm counts while extending valve life and automating startups and shutdowns.
PiControl engineers study your process using process flow diagrams and P&IDs before proposing anything, so every recommendation that follows is grounded in how your plant actually runs.
Engineers work directly with your plant's engineers and operators to confirm which goals matter most, whether that's steam losses, emissions, alarms, or valve wear, before any solution is designed.
PiControl designs and develops every solution inside your existing DCS or PLC, so there is no new hardware layer to install, maintain, or integrate before the plant sees the benefit.
The result is a set of solutions running on your own control system that help the plant operate better and more efficiently, increasing the bottom line and plant profits rather than adding a system to manage.
PiControl process control consulting experts review all the details from your plant, then design and develop solutions inside your existing DCS or PLC to help you run the plant better and more efficiently, increasing the bottom line and plant profits. No two engagements look identical because the scope follows whichever combination of the goals below matters most to your operation.
Compressor surge control is one of the more demanding items on that list, and it draws directly on the same closed-loop tuning methods behind PiControl's dedicated PID tuning consulting engagement.
Process Improve engagements target the losses that sit inside normal operation rather than a single control loop: steam vented instead of used, reflux and reboiler duty spent past what the product spec requires, gas flared instead of recovered, and emissions running closer to permit limits than they need to. Because every fix is delivered inside the existing DCS or PLC, the gains show up without a new system to operate or maintain.
Emissions and permit-related work compounds the benefit: cutting NOx and SOx toward permit limits lowers both the environmental impact and the risk of a violation penalty in the same engagement. Alarm reduction and smoother valve movement compound in a different direction, lowering operator workload and maintenance cost on equipment that would otherwise wear out from constant, unnecessary movement.
Reducing gas flaring and increasing product recovery is one of the more direct wins on the list: gas that would otherwise be flared and lost is instead recovered as saleable product, so the improvement pays for itself out of material that was previously being burned off rather than sold.
Automating plant startup and shutdown sequences addresses a different kind of risk. These are the periods when operators face the highest workload and the plant is most exposed to upsets, so automating the sequence, together with early-warning alerts and first-out capture after a shutdown, gives operators more time to act before a small deviation becomes a bigger one.
PiControl studies your process using process flow diagrams and P&IDs and works with your engineers and operators to identify which of the improvement areas apply and in what order. Process control consulting experts then review all the details from your plant and design and develop solutions inside your existing DCS or PLC, so the plant does not take on new hardware or a parallel system to keep the improvement running.
Because the work is delivered on the control system already running your process, it fits alongside other PiControl engagements rather than competing with them. A plant already running a PID tuning consulting engagement, for example, can extend that same DCS- or PLC-resident approach into emissions, alarm, or flaring improvements without introducing a new platform.
PiControl has successfully achieved these goals in plants worldwide, including but not limited to olefins, aromatics, chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, paper, mining and excavation, oil refining, polymer, electric power, compressors, boilers and turbines, shipbuilding, and automotive. Many of these plants sit within the broader petrochemicals footprint PiControl also serves through dedicated process control offerings.
The engineering approach carries across every process: study the PFDs and P&IDs, work with the plant's own engineers and operators, and deliver the solution inside the control system already in place.
Ready to reduce steam consumption, flaring, emissions, or alarms, and run your plant smoother? Get a demo and a PiControl engineer will review your process goals and outline how a study of your PFDs and P&IDs turns into a solution built inside your existing DCS or PLC.