Think Again: Control loops benefit more than control systems

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Control loops benefit more than control systems

Missing feedback loops could improve performance if those loops were closed. Learn how your automation knowledge can help others.

Closing feedback loops can improve performance outside of traditional control systems, when applied to other areas of operations, organizations, and supply chains, suggested Dr. John F. Carrier, Senior Lecturer, System Dynamics Group, MIT Sloan School of Management. Dr. Carrier’s presentation, “Applying Control Concepts to the Adoption of Industry 4.0,” was among 17 professional development hour sessions in the CFE Media and Technology spring Virtual Training Week, March 29 to April 2. The presentations are available for viewing on demand.

Carrier used examples to show how controls and automation expertise can help the world, which is filled with open feedback loops that could improve performance if the loops were closed. Deadtime can hinder progress. Technology advances have decreased the cost of controls, resulting in less than $100 for a control loop with sensors and a stack platform for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Carrier said many automation concepts can help in other applications. These include observability, controllability, system time constant, stability, inventory of dead time, model data, model invalidation, inverse response, and synchronization.

Sensors and appropriate logic devices help to detect the state of the system prior to the consequence. For example, when the stopping distance of a bicycle exceeds the visual distance of bicy-

cle light, events that normally would be avoided, now come into play, ultimately resulting in tragic consequences. Loss of observability can create industrial accidents, Carrier said. Quickly understandable human-machine interfaces (HMIs) connected to control systems can extend control engineer knowledge to the people who work in the plant, he suggested. Loss of controllability can be prevented with effective remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, machine learning, digital twins and education. Time constants Mark T. Hoske, Content Manager extended to the organization level can be explained by a Jack Welch quote: If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the insides, the end [of your system or organization] is near.

Observe, orient, decide, act

Col. John Boyd’s concept of observe, orient, decide and act (O-O-D-A) can be applied to a broad range of applications, Carrier said. Korean war fighter jets from the U.S. performed better because the pilots had better visibility, showing better visibility mattered more than better performance attributes such as speed, thrust and turning radius. Investing in technologies to improve observation, visibility or transparency can produce rapid positive results. To change a system, an organization has to change its mental models – the way the people in the organization think. Better to change the action (by providing new data or work habits) and how the work is done, then the models change as M More INSIGHTS a result. That works better than explaining the need for change, Carrier said. Technology provides better obserGet more advice with this online Think Again and Day 5 Spring 2021 Virtual Training Week. https://cfeedu.cfemedia.com/pages/ virtual-training-week Get vation by getting data where needed for rapid analysis. Think again if you consider control concepts only for automation; accelerate your organization’s implemenCarrier offers more about system tations of Industry 4.0 and Industrial dynamics: https://tinyurl.com/yafmbdqe. Internet of Things architectures. ce