Hands-on advanced process control training on real-time simulation software - 3 days in the classroom or 21 hours online, building cascade, constraint, model-based, and dead-time-compensated control schemes from real plant data.
The APC200 advanced process control training course teaches engineers, technicians, and supervisors to design, build, and commission optimizing controllers inside the DCS or PLC using real-time process control software. Known formally as PiControl's Industrial Advanced Process Control Design course, APC200 runs as 3 days of classroom training or 21 hours online, with lab sessions on the PITOPS and SIMCET software from the first day.
APC200 begins where PID100 ends. Attendees use real time-series plant data to identify multivariable closed-loop and open-loop dynamics, then build control schemes entirely inside PITOPS: cascade, constraint override, maximizing and minimizing constraint controllers, selectors, model-based controllers, dead-time compensators, and more. The course also covers advanced PID controller functions in greater depth, and closes with the practical judgment call of when to use traditional advanced regulatory control and when to use multivariable model-predictive control.
APC200 moves from process control hierarchy and APC strategy selection to applied controller design, with lab sessions on real plant data throughout. After completing the course, attendees can study a process and its P&IDs, talk to the right people in the plant or control room, and then design and build controllers in the DCS or PLC. Attendees become skilled in PID tuning, feedforward implementation, and parameter specification for every controller type in the DCS or PLC, and use process control software to calculate tuning and other DCS parameters scientifically rather than by guesswork.
The course also trains attendees to commission new control schemes carefully: avoiding common activation mistakes and starting up a control chain in the correct sequence. The following topics are covered.
The process control software used in APC200 is straightforward enough that new and less experienced technicians can follow the course comfortably, so these topics remain accessible across plant roles.
APC200 is built for the people who design and maintain advanced control schemes in the plant: process control engineers, advanced process control engineers, instrument engineers, lab technicians, DCS and PLC technicians, managers, and supervisors. Completion of the PID100 course is required, because APC200 assumes a working command of PID tuning and builds directly on top of it. A 2-year or 4-year degree in engineering or operations is recommended, and a few months of plant or engineering experience is desirable but not mandatory.
Study a process and its P&IDs, identify multivariable dynamics from real plant data, and design, build, and commission control schemes entirely inside PITOPS.
No advanced programming knowledge is required. Concepts are introduced progressively, so lab technicians and operators moving into a control engineering role can follow the material and complete the exercises.
Gain the vocabulary and judgment to evaluate APC proposals, sequence a control upgrade, and understand what the engineering team is committing to, without needing to operate the process optimization software directly.
APC200 also suits full teams from a single plant. Group participation works well when a team is responsible for an APC project or a DCS upgrade, and custom corporate sessions are available in which examples and labs are tailored to your own control environment and industry processes. Onsite training is available on request so a team trains together on its own loops and its own data.
Hands-on labs separate a working advanced process control course from a lecture. This is why APC200 is taught on production process control software rather than on classroom exercises. APC design fails most often at commissioning rather than at the whiteboard, so engineers learn most when they identify dynamics from their own kind of plant data and build the scheme themselves. APC200 uses closed-loop PID tuning software, the PITOPS software PiControl uses to extract process models from normal operating data without open-loop step tests, as the lab environment for every design exercise: feedforward, triple cascade, internal model-based control, and multivariable closed-loop identification.
Attendees work with real time-series plant data rather than idealized examples, identifying SISO and multivariable closed-loop transfer functions and then building the control scheme on top of the model they just produced. This is the same closed-loop system identification method PiControl applies in production plants. The SIMCET real-time simulator supports the PID work the APC schemes depend on, and for the theory underneath the whole course, APC200 draws on the Advanced Process Control Guide.
Engineers who continue past the course into full multivariable projects move on to closed-loop MPC model identification and, where a plant wants the work delivered rather than taught, DCS-resident advanced process control.
APC200 attendees receive a PiControl Certified APC200 Completion Certificate, which supports professional development records and can be added to a resume or LinkedIn profile. Many organizations and licensing boards accept APC200 training hours as PDH or CEU credits; check with your local authority, and PiControl provides documentation support on request. Skill is assessed through automated performance reporting inside the process control software, covering APC implementation, PID tuning effectiveness, and control quality, rather than through a written exam alone.
All course materials are provided, including training slides and temporary software licenses, so attendees do not need to bring anything. You may bring your own plant data for the practical exercises if your organization pre-approves it. Online participants receive recorded sessions, so a missed session can be caught up with instructor approval. After the course, attendees keep trial licenses for PITOPS and SIMCET for further practice, with post-training licensing packages available for continued use, and are invited to the PiControl alumni LinkedIn group to discuss control problems with other engineers. For employers, PiControl supplies pre- and post-training assessment tools, plant-specific problem-solving tasks, and performance benchmarks to quantify the value of trained staff.
Short answers to the questions engineers ask most before enrolling in the APC200 advanced process control course.
Register for APC200 to give your engineering team the ability to design, build, and commission advanced control schemes in your own DCS or PLC, using the same process control software PiControl applies in operating plants, with a completion certificate on finishing. Online, 3-day classroom, and onsite formats are available, so teams in any location or time zone can start.
Supporting resources: Download the course syllabus. Questions: [email protected], Tel: (832) 495 6436.