Why APC benefits fade, and why AI raises the stakes
Many advanced process control applications are running in manual, clamped to narrow limits, or built on models that no longer match the unit. Meanwhile, every vendor now pitches AI closed-loop optimization. You need someone who has sold and supported APC on every major platform to tell you what is worth fixing, what is worth replacing, and what the money really is.
What we look at
- Service factor and operator trust: how often each controller is on, and why operators turn it off
- Constraint activity: whether controllers are actually pushing against the limits that make money
- Model quality: degradation since commissioning, after turnarounds, catalyst changes, or new feeds
- Benefits versus the original study: what was promised, what is being captured, and the gap in dollars
- Sustainment: who owns tuning and model maintenance, and whether that bench still exists
Two ways to start
APC Health Check
A remote review of controller uptime, constraint activity, model quality, and lost benefits, with a prioritized fix list ranked by dollar value. The fastest way to recover value from an APC investment you have already paid for.
AI Optimization Benefits Study
Unit-by-unit estimates of $/bbl, energy, and throughput opportunity, with a vendor-neutral recommendation: retune existing APC, add model predictive control, or adopt an AI-based optimizer. Gain-share pricing available for qualified sites.
Where the savings come from
Typical ranges reported in published vendor case studies. Your results depend on the unit, the economics, and how well the controls are sustained.
| Unit | Main levers | Typical published range |
|---|---|---|
| Crude & vacuum units | Throughput against constraints, product cut points, furnace efficiency | 1–5% throughput or yield |
| FCC, hydrotreaters & reformers | Conversion, severity, hydrogen and energy use | Several $M per year at large sites |
| Cryogenic gas plants | NGL recovery, demethanizer pressure, refrigeration and compression energy | 2–10% energy; 0.5–5% NGL recovery |
| Compression & pipelines | Fuel use, recycle, load sharing | Fuel and power reduction |
| Amine, CO₂ capture & EOR | Reboiler energy, injection stability, custody accuracy | 5–15% energy on capture |
Recent benefits assessments
Pre-project assessments Scott led in 2025–26 before founding ROI. Customer names withheld. These are estimates, not verified post-implementation results.
Est. $9M per year, payback under 4 months
Recommended replacing an obsolete PLC with a redundant DCS, a SIL-rated SIS, and multivariable APC with industrial AI, addressing safety, obsolescence, custody transfer, and tax-credit reporting gaps.
Est. $1–3M+ per year, about 6-month payback
Built a model predictive control business case across refrigeration, turboexpanders, demethanizer, fractionation, and compression, with over 100% first-year ROI after all ongoing support and licensing costs.
Vendor-neutral, on every platform
Twenty-five years on the vendor side across Honeywell, Yokogawa, Emerson, and Rockwell means we know how each platform's APC is sold, priced, and sustained. We evaluate AspenTech DMC3, Emerson DeltaV PredictPro and SmartProcess, Honeywell Profit Suite, Yokogawa advanced control, and newer AI closed-loop optimizers on your economics, not on who is paying us. We do not resell software or integration labor.
Advisory-led, partner-delivered
Quantify
Health check or benefits study from your historian data and controller files, under a mutual NDA. Read-only, fully remote.
Select & scope
A vendor-neutral recommendation, a scope your integrator can price, and an independent review of the quotes you receive.
Verify
We stay with the project through commissioning and run a post-audit, so the savings in the business case show up in your numbers.
"Most plants don't need a new APC sales pitch. They need someone to tell them, in dollars, what the controls they already own should be earning."
— Scott Giard, Founder, ROI, LLCRelated: Predictive Maintenance & Historian-to-AI Readiness · DCS Migration Cost Review · Refining · Oil & Gas