The questions we get most often, answered in advance.

In three phases. First the free PID Performance Scan: introduction, collecting data and process analysis, concluded with a discussion of the findings and a fixed price for the optimisation. Then the optimisation: calculate, implement and verify. If you then want your control loops to stay calm, Stay Optimal follows. After every phase you decide again whether you want to continue.

See the full programme →

Controllers are often set during commissioning until they run stably enough, usually under time pressure. After that they are adjusted by feel: a small step here, a small step there. That works for a while, but it searches step by step and does not see how the process really behaves.

We first measure from your trend data how the process responds: how much dead time there is, how fast it responds and how strongly a control action carries through. From that we calculate the settings. That way you arrive in one go at a control setting that suits your process, substantiated and verifiable.

Your engineers can adjust a controller perfectly well. But they have many control loops under their care and daily faults come first. A loop that runs restlessly but does not cause a fault rarely makes it to the top of the list.

We do not take work away from your engineers. We find out which loops cause the most unrest and why, calculate the settings and discuss every change with them in advance. If you already work with a system integrator or your DCS supplier, we do not replace them: we only do this one part.

The quickscan is a checklist of twelve questions you fill in yourself in a minute: do you recognise the signs of a restless control loop? The PID Performance Scan is an analysis we carry out on your own trend data, with an assessment of each control loop on objective metrics. The quickscan gives a first impression, the PID Performance Scan shows where the unrest is and why.

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The PID Performance Scan usually takes a few working days, depending on the amount of data and the complexity of the process. Once you agree to the optimisation, we calculate the new settings within ten working days and then support the implementation on site.

The process runs more calmly from the day of implementation. Two to four weeks later, the verification measurement shows in black and white by how much.

No. The analysis is done on existing trend data, without extra sensors or measuring equipment, and the new settings are implemented during normal operation.

No. We only work on control loops: the settings of your PID controllers. Protection functions, trip settings and the safety instrumented system (SIS) stay outside the assignment. With the control loops themselves we also work according to your procedures, and your own operator or engineer enters every change.

Very little. For the scan, one video call and an export from your DCS or historian are enough. No workshops, no internal project teams and no disruption for your operators. During the implementation your own operator or engineer enters the new settings step by step, with our support. We do the analysis, the calculation, the verification measurement and the documentation.

Both, depending on the phase. The introduction, the free scan and the discussion of the findings are done remotely: a video call and an export of your trend data, so nobody has to travel. We also calculate the new settings remotely.

For the implementation we come on site: your own operator enters the settings step by step, we support and do not touch the plant ourselves. That way your team stays in control. Two to four weeks later we do the verification measurement remotely again, on fresh trend data. Stay Optimal can be done on site or remotely, via an OPC connection to your DCS or historian.

With the two of us, Brent and Tobian. We look at your data ourselves and stand next to your people during the implementation ourselves. A question always comes straight to one of us, not to an account manager.

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Existing trend data from your DCS or historian: for each control loop the process value, the setpoint and the output or valve position, supplemented where needed with signals such as load or disturbances. Preferably as a CSV export with timestamps, together with screenshots of the control loops so we can see the current settings and the structure.

No problem. An export is the most convenient, but it is not a requirement. If you cannot or do not want to export, we work from the trends themselves, for example screenshots of the trend charts. From those, too, we can analyse the control behaviour in a substantiated way.

Yes. Among others, we work with Yokogawa, Honeywell, Siemens, Emerson, ABB and Rockwell Automation, but also with other systems. A PID controller works on the same principle everywhere; only the form of the equation, the units and the names of the parameters differ per system. We translate those to your system, so the calculated settings fit it exactly.

See how settings are converted between systems →

No. For the scan and the optimisation we work with an export or screenshots; we do not log in to your systems. Your own operator or engineer enters the new settings.

Only with Stay Optimal can it be done remotely, via an OPC connection to your DCS or historian. That connection only reads trend data and writes nothing back. You decide on and manage the access and can revoke it at any time.

Confidentially. We only use process data and plant information for the analysis of your plant and we do not share them with third parties. We only show results in anonymised form, and we never name customers, not even on this site. After the assignment we do not keep your data longer than necessary, and at your request we delete it sooner.

For each control loop we first derive how the process behaves: dead time, time constant and process gain. We then assess the control behaviour on objective metrics: deviation from setpoint, oscillation, control activity, overshoot, recovery time and margin to alarm and trip limits.

We also look at interactions between control loops. Two loops that are coupled through the process can work against each other, even if each is set well on its own. That is why we analyse them in relation to each other, not one by one.

Read what PID control is and how P, I and D work →

Practically every industrial control loop: flow, pressure, temperature, level, dosing and ratio, including in cascade and feedforward structures. As long as there is trend data, we can analyse the control behaviour.

See where it goes wrong for each type of control loop →

We decide that together in the introduction. We usually start with the control loops that cause the most unrest or where operators intervene most often. The fixed price of the optimisation and the annual fee of Stay Optimal depend on the number of control loops.

The PID Performance Scan is free. If it shows that things can be calmer, you receive a fixed price for the optimisation: calculation, supported implementation and the verification measurement. If you then want your control loops to stay calm, that is possible with Stay Optimal, for a fixed annual fee.

No hourly rate and no surprises afterwards. You know where you stand in advance, and so does your finance department.

Because you should first be able to see whether it is worth it. In the scan we use your own trend data to show where the process is restless and why. Then you decide, with a fixed price on the table. If there is little to improve, we will tell you honestly and it costs you nothing.

Then you do not pay. With the verification measurement we compare the control behaviour of each control loop before and after, on the metrics from the quotation and over periods with comparable operation. Every process naturally fluctuates a little. That is why we first determine from your data from before the implementation how much a metric varies by itself from day to day or week to week. An improvement only counts if it is clearly larger than that natural fluctuation, so it cannot be attributed to noise or chance. If a control loop has not clearly improved, you pay nothing for that loop.

The condition is that the new settings remain unchanged during the settling period, so the measurement is fair.

Read the result guarantee in the terms and conditions →

Yes. While the implementation is under way, any change can be reverted immediately to the original settings. If that is necessary for reasons of safety or operations, we look for an adjusted setting together with you.

Yes. The results section contains case studies of real optimisations, with figures and charts from the trend data from before and after. They are anonymised: we never mention customer names, locations or traceable process details.

And the strongest proof is your own plant: the scan is free, so you see the result of the analysis before you are committed to anything.

See the results →

Calm and stability. A control setting that matches the dynamics of the process keeps the process value closer to the setpoint, damps disturbances faster and makes valves move less unnecessarily. That means fewer trips and alarms, less manual intervention, more margin to trip limits and less wear on valves and pumps. Often the consumption of energy or auxiliaries goes down as well.

In the rare case that there is little to gain, we already see it in the free scan and tell you honestly. You will then have spent nothing.

After the scan we discuss the findings with you or your engineer. After the optimisation you receive the outcome of the verification measurement on paper, per metric, with the measurement method. After payment you receive the full report: the analysis, the calculated settings and the reasoning, for your own records.

Not by itself: valves wear, measurements drift and the load changes. That is what Stay Optimal is for, at a fixed annual fee. We periodically review your optimised control loops again on the same metrics and adjust where needed, before operators notice the unrest.

This can be done by visiting again, or remotely via an OPC connection to your DCS or historian. Once a year is usually enough, but we match the frequency to your process.

More about Stay Optimal →