IMPACT OF CONTROL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING IN INDUSTRY

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 I. Introduction

Control systems are prevalent in our society. They have played a key role in the
advancement of technology. In fact, they have contributed to the development of solutions in
many fields that are essential in our life. For one is control systems engineering which facilitates
the operation and production of health and medicine, energy, industrial manufacturing processes,
transportation, and urban planning. Indeed, control systems are the cornerstones of the society of
the future, given their capability to provide sustainable progress. They impact transformation and
development in industries which result in remarkable improvements.

However, despite the large number of success stories related to the application of control
technology, according to a well-known definition coined by Karl Johan Åström, control systems
are still a “hidden technology” (Åström, 1999); that is, their role is often not recognized by
people whose background is in a different field. This provides evidence that the impact of control
systems can still be increased significantly and maximized to advantage.
The researcher, being engaged in engineering field, has come up with this paper which
delved on control systems engineering in industries. Specifically, it sought answers to the
following questions:
1. What is a control system?
2. What is control systems engineering?
3. What is the importance of control systems engineering in industries?
4. What impact does control systems engineering bring about in industries?

Nowadays, control engineering is regarded as a new field of study that gained good
reputation as a propeller of efficiency and development. It can be defined or classified as
practical application of control theory. With this paper, the nature and extent of application of
control systems engineering in industries will be discussed.

II. Body
Control System

The fundamentals of a Control System include measuring an error signal and then
adjusting the system to reach the desired course or outcome. If the system deviates too fast and
the control system is unable to adjust the course or outcome, the Control System is inadequate to
manage the disturbances. Some basic examples of a control system include a cruise control in a
motor vehicle, temperature control in a building, the chemical concentrations in drinking water,
the speed of a conveyor belt in a process plant.
Control Systems are used in domestic applications, general industry, military and virtually
every modern vehicle in the world. Control Systems are very common in SCADA and Industrial
Automation systems.
Control Systems are used in Industrial Automation to regulate how devices operate in real
time. In a closed-loop control system the controller (RTU, PLCS, DCS) feedback (error) signal is
used to adjust the control variable such that the process is constantly trying to match the
operational set point. The system described here is generally referred to as a control-loop. The
controller must have a suitable dynamic response to be able to adjust the system to remain stable.
If the controller is unable to adjust to a stable condition (ie with minimal hunting) the control-
loop is said to be “out of control”. In very complex processes a single closed-loop control system
may be insufficient to stabilise the process. Cascaded control-loops may be used in situations
where there is moderate complexity and the process is “changing quickly” in respect to time,
however Advanced Process Controllers may be required for slow moving processes like
distilling, bio-reactors etc.

Control Systems Engineering

Control Systems Engineering is the engineering approach taken to understand how the
process can be managed by automation devices and to implement such into operation. Process
Engineers design plant to operate in a particular way. How the plant operates is shared by the
Process Engineer and interpreted by a Control Systems Engineer who usually documents the
functionality of how devices monitor signals, control the process, how performance is measured
including accumulation of statistical data, and how data is communicated to a host system or to
peer control devices. Control Systems Engineering requires a broad skill set including electrical,
mechanical and computer software systems.

Control engineering or control systems engineering is an engineering discipline that

deals with control systems, applying control theory to design equipment and systems with
desired behaviors in control environments. The discipline of controls overlaps and is usually
taught along with electrical engineering and mechanical engineering at many institutions around
the world.

The practice uses sensors and detectors to measure the output performance of the

process being controlled; these measurements are used to provide corrective feedback helping to
achieve the desired performance. Systems designed to perform without requiring human input
are called automatic control systems (such as cruise control for regulating the speed of a
car). Multi-disciplinary in nature, control systems engineering activities focus on implementation
of control systems mainly derived by mathematical modeling of a diverse range of systems.

Modern day control engineering is a relatively new field of study that gained significant
attention during the 20th century with the advancement of technology. It can be broadly defined
or classified as practical application of control theory. Control engineering plays an essential role
in a wide range of control systems, from simple household washing machines to high-
performance F-16 fighter aircraft. It seeks to understand physical systems, using mathematical
modelling, in terms of inputs, outputs and various components with different behaviors; to use
control system design tools to develop controllers for those systems; and to implement
controllers in physical systems employing available technology. A system can
be mechanical, electrical, fluid, chemical, financial or biological, and its mathematical
modelling, analysis and controller design uses control theory in one or many of
the time, frequency and complex-s domains, depending on the nature of the design problem.

Control system engineering deals with the study of design, modelling and stability of
systems with or without feedback. The aim is to design and control plants/processes to meet
certain desired target/specifications and to stabilize the systems.
 Control system finds application in every other field of engineering, from day to day used
products to high end research. It is as such important to study control engineering.

Importance of Control Systems Engineering

Control engineering, as one of the cornerstones of automation, has contributed

enormously to the development of modern industrial society. In the automation systems of today,
control engineering remains one of the core functions. It ultimately enables actual automation
tasks to be accomplished, even though the controllers themselves are not as immediately obvious
to the observer as modern user interfaces. Yet, control engineering still delivers a considerable
proportion of the benefit customers gain from automation systems.

The job of the controller is essentially to capture process variables -- either as a

continuous process or at sufficiently short intervals -- and to compare them with set values. The
controller uses the results of the comparison as the basis for intervention in the process being
controlled, thus ensuring that in a steady state, process variables are in line with specified set
values.

Controllers are therefore important for the running of a technical plant when the process
to be managed is subject to influences that, without control, would cause the process variables to
deviate from the set values. Where a technical process is to run automatically, the use of
controllers is vital with respect to economy, reproducibility of product quality, service quality,
safety and environmental protection.

In order to keep meeting these criteria, technical plant operators are forced to
continuously improve automation systems, which has also had a knock-on effect on the
development of industrial control systems. Particularly over the last decade, a vast range of
various control functions — the like of which control theorists could long only dream of — have
emerged in industrial systems to join the classic PID controller. A PID controller calculates its
output signal by a proportional, integral and differential process in relation to the input signal.
Advantages of Control Systems Engineering

With control systems large equipment can be moved with precision that would otherwise
be impossible. Huge antennas can be pointed toward the farthest reaches of the universe to pick
up faint radio signals; controlling these antennas by hand would be impossible. 

Because of control systems, elevators carry people quickly to their destination,

automatically stopping at the right floor.  Control systems provide the power required for the
load and the speed; motors provide the power, and control systems regulate the position and
speed. 

We build control systems for four primary reasons: 

1. Power amplification 

2. Remote control 

3. Convenience of input form 

4. Compensation for disturbances 

For example, a radar antenna, positioned by the low-power rotation of a knob at the input,
requires a large amount of power for its output rotation. 

A control system can produce the needed power amplification, or power gain-Robots
designed by control system principles can compensate for human disabilities. 

Control systems are also useful in remote or dangerous locations. For example, a remote-
controlled robot arm can be used to pick up material in a radioactive environment. 

Control systems can also be used to provide convenience by changing the form of the
input. For example, in a temperature control system, the input is a position on a thermostat. The
output is heat. 
 Thus, a convenient position input yields a desired thermal output. Another advantage of a
control system is the ability to compensate for disturbances. 

Typically, we control such variables as temperature in thermal systems, position and

velocity in mechanical systems, and voltage, current, or frequency in electrical systems. 

The system must be able to yield the correct output even with a disturbance. For example,
consider an antenna system this point in a commanded direction. 

If wind forces the antenna from its commanded position, or if noise enters internally, the
system must be able to detect the disturbance and correct the antenna's position.  Obviously, the
system's input will not change to make the correction.  Consequently, the system itself must
measure the amount that the disturbance has repositioned the antenna and then return the antenna
to the position commanded by the input.
As cited by Samad et al. (2020), control systems engineering paves for the improvement
of industrial products/processes and has brought forth cost reduction, energy efficiency, and
reliability,

III.Conclusion

Rapid advances in computing, communications, and sensing technology offer

unprecedented opportunities for the field of control. A control system is a device in which a
sensed quantity is used to modify the behavior of a system through computation and actuation.
Control systems engineering traces its roots to the industrial revolution, to devices such as the
centrifugal governor. This device used a flyball mechanism to sense the rotational speed of a
steam turbine and adjust the flow of steam into the machine using a series of linkages. By thus
regulating the turbine’s speed, it provided the safe, reliable, consistent operation that was
required to enable the rapid spread of steam-powered factories. Control played an essential part
in the development of technologies such as power, communications, transportation, and
manufacturing. A modern view of control sees feedback as a tool for uncertainty management.
By measuring the operation of a system, comparing it to a reference, and adjusting available
control variables, we can cause the system to respond properly even if its dynamic behavior is
not exactly known or if external disturbances tend to cause it to respond incorrectly.

Control systems engineering has brought significant impact which resulted efficient,
effective, reliable, and improved industrial products and processes. There is more to explore in
so far control systems engineering is concerned, thus, this field must be given attention to utilize
it to the optimum and maximum advantage.
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