Student Evaluations of
ProControl’s Onsite Four-Day Course:
Revelations
on Dynamic Process Analysis and Advanced Control
for
Process Engineers
Comments below are from Process Engineers at the U.S. refineries and chemicals
plants of one of the world’s largest petrochemical corporations
"I
have a fair amount of experience (15 years) as a Process Engineer, but very
little in controls. As our plants push
for statistical process control and consistent product quality, the knowledge
gained in this class will be very valuable."
"This
course has been one of the most practical classes I have taken; I could have used it earlier." (This Process Engineer had previously taken
both a Beginning and an Advanced Statistical Process Control course.)
"This
class was very beneficial. My
understanding of controls and the need to know my process were
strengthened. I think now I will be able
to better apply myself and help the Control Engineers."
"I
have a much better understanding of the basics of dynamic control now. The conceptual presentation of the subject is
very good and well worth the time and money."
"I
liked how we were led into making some of our own conclusions;
e.g.: why did we start out
modeling the process from plant test data, instead of tuning? So we can then tune from the model!"
"This
class is a must for all Process Engineers and their supervisors. It would also be good for people supervising
Instrument Technicians."
"The
lectures are very relevant and informative;
the lab exercises support the lectures very well - they include the
types of comparison and sensitivity studies that we should do at the
plant."
"I
think that the analysis of process variability and the learning
of the type of control to counteract it is a main part of this course. This warrants the time!"
"I
have gained a good amount of insight this week that, in combination with the
Control Engineers, can be very effective.
I can use this course directly for several applications at the
RHU."
"I
felt that I learned a lot and that this course will prove beneficial in my
process analysis. I know that it is a
control course, but I think that I learned so much more!"
"This
has been a very impressive class. I
would recommend that every Process Engineer take this so they understand
how control works and they have the "language" skills to work
effectively with the Control Engineers.
This class fills the need."
"I
believe that now I will be better able to converse with the Control Engineers
in the design phase of my processes."
"This
class broadened my overall knowledge of how to optimize a process through
control applications, and how to troubleshoot a process through data correlation."
"I
have three years of experience and I felt that the course was well worthwhile;
it will help in teamwork with Process Control group engineers."
"After completing this course, I feel a lot more
comfortable about tuning a control loop.
Before, when I tuned a loop it was mostly just a guess. I knew of PID's, but didn't have a clear idea
of how to use them."
"I learned the most about tuning a PID
controller; I had never really
understood it before."
"Quizzes
are put to good use - to see if the students are all on track."
"Excellent lectures - detailed and specific!"
"I
learned how to tune loops in a methodical manner (not trial and error as
before)."
"A very good course! I think the approach is EXCELLENT!"
"The course was very worthwhile. As plant processes and controls become more
complicated, Process and Control Engineers should become more integrated."
"Well
justified class - a real moneymaker!"
"PID tuning interested me the most - I can easily
see a Process Engineering application for this."
"I think all Process Engineers would benefit from
this course - it was very helpful to me.
I wish I had taken it before any other courses."
"To
be able to tune controller loops now is a big plus - I can use this now
back in the plant."
"I now have a basic understanding of how control
applications are developed and maintained.
This knowledge will allow me to better apply my skills to any
technical service I provide."
"A
highly participative class - a very effective way to teach."
"The class is a good mix of practical experience
and theory."
"It
was definitely a worthwhile course. Even
though I consider myself fairly experienced, I have never really understood
most of the topics presented before."
"This course will help me communicate with the
Control Engineers."
"This
course is definitely a strong plus for my career. I strongly recommend it for all Process
Engineers involved with implementing Process Control Projects."
"I found it very worthwhile; it would have been
helpful earlier in my 3 year career."
"A
very practical course - I will now be able to look at a response and say
whether it should be tuned further."
"The process analysis section was my favorite
because it feels great to finally have some tools for better accomplishing my
day-to-day work."
"This
course has made me want to ask a lot of questions back at the plant - like why
aren't we using any derivative in our controllers? Maybe we should reexamine our tuning
parameters!"
"Now that I understand cascades and PID's I can
communicate with the Control Engineer, and develop tuning that will maximize
impurities in product streams without going off spec."
"This
course was immensely valuable - I am going to recommend this course to every
Process Engineer at our plant. They need
to get more involved in this area."
""I am
very experienced, yet it was worthwhile.
All Tech Service Engineers need this information also!"
Even with several years of experience I found the course
very worthwhile."
"I will be supervising engineers who routinely will
be doing plant testing, PID tuning, and configuration of cascades so this
information will be extremely helpful to me."
"I
feel like I have a much better understanding of control and will become
more involved in the control of my unit now that I am armed with a little
knowledge!"
"For
myself as a Process Engineer - it is better to know everything a bit so we can
understand what the process computer control people want to do in the
unit."
"I now know what type of controller to use where -
it will be very helpful to me since I am often responsible for start-ups."
"The
whole series of examples which led to discovering how the tuning constants
relate to process dynamics was great. It
helps me as a Process Engineer relate to how important knowledge of those
dynamics are."
"I was very interested in learning how to decipher
the usefulness and validity of data without upsetting the whole plant. It seems that there is about a 90% garbage to
10% useful data ratio in this world!"
"This
course was definitely worthwhile. Over
the next couple of years our emphasis at the plant is on improving process
control. This has been the first class
where I really understood what that entails."
"I have five years of design and troubleshooting
experience and I needed this course now just as much as I needed it five years
ago."
"Throughout
the course I have found examples of where I can improve operations, through
your examples in class."
"I am an experienced Process Engineer. I wish I took this course twelve years
ago. Both I and this plant would have
benefited a lot!"
"ProControl's
biggest advantage is teaching the understanding of exactly what is happening --
with P, I, and D for example."
This engineer had previously taken SAIT's (Calgary, Canada) Advanced
Control Course, Foxboro's, and *****'s Basic and Advanced Statistical Control
courses.
"vs.
Foxboro's Distillation Course:
ProControl's course will be of more direct use in the plant."
"vs.
Foxboro Distillation: this course was
more useful and easier to follow and provided a lot of practical tools to be
used back on the job."
"Since
this course brought very little theory into the fray, classes like Distillation
Dynamics and Control (AIChE) paled in comparison."
"This was the BEST EVER - over my college courses
and our two day in-house class."
"This
class far outweighs *****'s Basic Process Control Course because of its
in-depth study and the coverage of real control problems."
"I've taken control courses in college and at our
research center, but this course by far put it all in place. I never really had a grasp on P, I, D - now I
do."
"This
is more valuable and more practical than *****'s Advanced Process Control
Seminar."
"This was much more practical than any previous
class (Honeywell and ModComp)."
"This
course has been more beneficial than any of the others."
"The instruction was evenly paced; he made certain
that everyone understood what he was talking about for each subject."
"The use of plain language to explain difficult concepts
certainly helped the learning process.
He repeated the concepts in different ways which helped a lot."
"Very effective style - he made one think."
"The instructor's experience and his stories are
what make the class practical."
"The style is conceptual: he starts at the bottom
of the individual's understanding and builds on that until he brings the
individual up to the final goals."
"He made potentially dull topics interesting - very
similar to a very good professor."
"Very effective use of flip charts/colors,
etc. The fact that I had to do coding
and take notes will increase my retention."
"He really wants you to learn, and this comes
across immediately."
"He related theoretical topics with real life -
explained how this stuff works at the gut (nuts and bolts) level."
"The lectures are very understandable, even to one
that hasn't English as a mother tongue."
"He was very open to listen to plant problems and
was willing to solve them."
"A very methodical style. He knew where he was going and where he
wanted us to end up. He answered all
questions - if necessary he digressed to make sure everyone understood."
"Very open to class participation and questions -
very effective. He tried to tailor the
teaching to the understanding of the class (which is good)."
"Technically he's a genius. Good understanding of student engineers'
difficulty with the topic materials."
"Very good teaching skills. He explained things thoroughly and simply,
but was not patronizing."
"He was able to teach the most un-understandable
subjects in an easy and practical way."