Learning the ABCs

of APC
Max Tschurtschenthaler and
Ryan Koorts, ABB, explain how
technological developments
such as the Internet of Things
(IoT), data analytics, and cloud
technology are underpinning
progress in advanced
process control.

T
he pressures facing
manufacturing sectors,
such as the cement
industry, are well known
and are often discussed in the
pages of trade magazines and at
industry conferences. Similarly,
the benefits of digitalisation
and Industry 4.0 have been
much advertised by suppliers
and users, keen to position
themselves at the forefront of
industry development.

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Terms such as Internet of Things (IoT), big data, measurement would be too expensive, or to
data analytics, artificial intelligence, and cloud increase the frequency of data input and provide
technology have become largely familiar – if not fully backup for unreliable measurements.
understood. Using this data, it becomes possible to
The question is no longer one of whether these supplement the human operator’s skill and
digital technologies can bring significant advantages creativity to better control the process and optimise
to cement operations, but how they are able to performance. Central to this process is advanced
achieve ongoing process optimisation in practice. process control (APC).
This article will take a look at one aspect of that,
focusing on the use of advanced process control The autopilot to an optimised plant
(APC). APC – such as ABB’s Ability™ Expert Optimizer
– is best conceptualised as the autopilot that
Connected, intelligent operations drives a plant to its optimum state. Using model
When planning and implementing a digitalisation predictive control (MPC), APC is able to reduce
strategy, it is important to take a holistic approach. process variation and move the process closer
This means moving the process from using isolated to the constraints. It is able to achieve this by first
and discrete functions to one in which processes are understanding process interactions and delays
connected, via developments in IoT technologies, and through data-driven empirical models, such as state
then automated. From there, it is possible to transition space models, and then making small changes,
to autonomous operations, whereby optimisation and much more frequently than a human operator could.
asset management functions occur largely without This thereby creates a much more stable process
human interaction within a secure cyber environment. environment than is possible under manual control
The key therefore to successful digitalisation is (Figure 1).
data, collected directly from connected equipment The use of APC therefore offers the potential to
and processes or derived from soft sensor overcome a range of customer challenges to:
models. The latter can be used to infer data where � Minimise costs:
no measurement exists, e.g. when real-world » Minimise energy
consumption.
» Minimise
consumables.
� Maximise yield:
» Minimise variability.
» Maximise
throughput
while minimising
give-away.
» Minimise shift-to-shift
variations.
» Minimise upstream
Figure 1. ABB holistic approach: driving up the digital value chain. disturbances.
» Honour
environmental
Production Rate

process constraints.
Manual Operation APC Stabilize APC Optimize

APC The challenges of

Target APC
APC as a concept has
Benefits been around for some
due to
time: the first description
Optimization
of the use of MPC to
Operator
Target control applications was
presented in the 1970s
by Jacques Richelet.
Despite its potential
advantages, however,
APC has acquired a
mixed reputation.
Time A typical APC
project starts with the
Figure 2. APC first stabilises and then optimises the process. design, installation and

World Cement Reprinted from June 2020

commissioning of the applications, at which point the � To deduce recommendations to handle the
benefits are realised. With the system performing identified issues.
as promised, the user might well decide against � To provide a roadmap for APC
the cost of a service-level agreement, preferring to applications based on ROI and speed
maintain the system via an onsite champion. Over of implementation.
time, however, this onsite champion moves on, while � To provide a budgetary costing and
operating conditions, such as raw materials and fuels, resource planning for both parties.
gradually change to the point that the predictive model
no longer reflects the actual operating conditions.
As a result, performance of the application starts to
deteriorate and it is eventually turned off.
The development of new digitalisation
technologies, such as IoT and cloud computing,
offers a solution by moving APC from a CAPEX-led
investment with separate software license and
maintenance agreements, to a collaborative and
continuing partnership between APC supplier,
such as ABB, and plant, based on the idea of
subscription licenses and services. Not only does
this mean that the advantages of the system are
maintained, but it opens up an opportunity to
achieve enterprise-level multi-site optimisation.
The benefits of this approach can be
summarised as follows:
ff Collaborative: Information is accessible to
anyone, anywhere, on any device, at any
time. This brings operational visibility to all
levels of a business, from a top-level fleet Figure 3. Performance optimisation for cement
view to compare and benchmark plants, to (PRISE).
looking at individual plants to assess critical
KPIs, down to viewing individual operations and The analyses and KPIs included in the scope of the
assets. study vary from site to site but generally cover raw
ff Faster: Quicker reaction to changes in the materials processing, raw mill, calciner, kiln, cooler,
process. and cement mill (Figure 4). It is also recommended
ff Lower risk: The approach is lower risk as that certain preliminary data is provided before the
a result of lower operational costs and a onsite study begins, such as a process flowsheet,
completely managed environment. The APC is heat and mass balance (where relevant), process
maintained and the benefits are sustained and description and standard operating procedure.
no longer de-activated and then forgotten. Once the site study has been undertaken
and presented to the site, and assuming APC
APC: a guide to success implementation moves ahead, the challenge
As APC implementation has not always been then becomes maintaining the benefits after
successful over the long term, ABB offers a commissioning. As noted previously, this has been
three-phase approach to ensure continuous system the downfall of APC systems and the reason behind
performance under the banner of ABB Ability™ its sometimes less-than-favourable reputation. ABB
Performance Optimization for mining and cement overcomes this through a process of KPI monitoring.
(PRISE; Figure 3): The monitoring of KPIs provides a quick overview
ff Evaluate. of application performance and availability with the
ff Implement. following goals:
ff Sustain. � Monitor ongoing application performance.
� Highlight areas of concern.
Under the first phase, a plant’s needs are assessed � Minimise engineering required to
via a site study (fingerprint), which helps to define troubleshoot misbehaving controllers.
and evaluate a digitalisation roadmap based on � Maximise application performance.
tangible monetary benefits (ROI), including process
stabilisation, consumables reduction, throughput KPIs are either predefined and set up during
increase and quality increase. The goals of the commissioning or can be customised by the client.
study are: Predefined KPIs relate to the general performance,
ff To identify bottlenecks via data analytics of real effectiveness and utilisation of ABB Ability Expert
plant and process data.

Reprinted from June 2020 World Cement

Optimizer, or to the manipulated and controlled ensuring a cement operation survives and thrives in
variables. a competitive business environment. Indeed, typical
By regular monitoring of the system’s improvement values delivered to users of APC
performance, the problems posed by it ‘going applications such as ABB Ability Expert Optimizer
out of date’ or a site losing its APC champion include:
are avoided, ensuring the benefits continue to be ff Up to 50% use of alternative fuels.
enjoyed long after commissioning and eliminating ff 1% – 3% recovery of product.
the potential for the system to be switched off by ff Up to 30% reduction in consumables.
operators. ff Up to 8% increase in throughput.
ff Up to 50% reduction in quality variability.
The benefits of APC ff Up to 10% reduction in emissions levels.
When implemented and maintained to these best ff Longer equipment lifetimes.
practices, APC becomes a powerful tool for ff Improved operational discipline.
ff Reduced energy consumption.

Conclusion: a data-driven
revolution
Data lies at the heart of this revolution.
Cutting edge technologies, such as IoT
and cloud computing, are connecting
equipment and processes to plant operators
and company management like never
before. With more and better quality data
now available, advanced data analytics
and artificial intelligence can be applied
to enhance process control and bring the
concept of an autonomous plant into reach.
Boosted by these advances, APC is moving
beyond its checkered past to play a leading
role in the development of the intelligent
cement plant.

About the authors

Max Tschurtschenthaler leads the global
cement industry market for ABB. He has
worked for more than 16 years in the
cement and mining industry having gained
extensive experience as Project and Sales
Manager for greenfield cement plant
projects in Asia and the Middle East.

Ryan Koorts is Product Manager for

ABB Ability™ Expert Optimizer. His
experience spans nine years in process
Figure 4. Analyses and KPIs that can be included in site
plant optimisation across several industries
study. The scope is subject to change during the site visit,
including mining and cement. It also
depending on plant suitability and information availability.
includes all three major
pillars of brownfield
value creation from
identification of
potential benefits, to
implementation and
long-term service
maintenance.

Figure 5. Work flow of site study: data understanding and date preparation
are critical steps. It is therefore critical that the information collected is as
accurate as possible.

World Cement Reprinted from June 2020