Glossary · Control theory and process control
Process control technology
Also known as: Process automation technology, Instrumentation and control (I&C)
German: Prozessleittechnik
In industrial automation, process control technology is the engineering discipline and body of equipment for measuring, controlling, monitoring and operating process plants, covering field instrumentation, control systems, operator interfaces and safety instrumentation.
- Control theory
- Process industry
In one sentence
Process control technology is the discipline and equipment for measuring, controlling and operating process plants, from sensors to control rooms.
Example
The process control technology department of a chemical company specifies transmitters, valves, the process control system and the safety instrumented systems for a new plant.
How it applies
- Engineering: Process control technology spans the lifecycle from the P&ID and instrument specifications to loop checks, control system configuration and plant handover. Recommendations of user associations such as NAMUR shape much of the practice in German-speaking countries.
- Operation: Control room design, Alarm management and operator training are part of the discipline, not only hardware.
- Documentation: The discipline produces large sets of controlled documents: instrument lists, loop diagrams, cause-and-effect matrices, control narratives. The documentation team should agree on a shared terminology and tag convention early, because these documents are cross-referenced constantly.
Process control technology vs. process control
Process control is the control function itself. Process control technology is the wider field, including instrumentation, operator interfaces and Functional safety of safety instrumented systems.