What's New in Proficy CSense 2023?

This release contains all improvements and resolved issues released in services packs and software improvement modules since the previous release of Proficy CSense.

This release of Proficy CSense also introduces the following new exciting features:

Control Loop Optimization Enhancements

CSense 2023 extends its Control Loop Optimization capabilities by introducing powerful new enhancements to the integrated System Identification and PID Control Loop Tuning capabilities. These exciting new features are available to users of the Continuous Troubleshooter: 

System Identification Assistant enhancements

CSense 2023 includes an enhanced System Identification Assistance with the following enhancements:

• Added the capability of Auto System Identification, that is, when doing system identification, users can now allow the system to select a best model based on the input data.

• Added the support of Closed Loop System Identification.

• Added the ability to specify and auto-save controller configuration settings for a model when performing System Identification using the System Identification assistant in the Continuous Troubleshooter. When configuring controller configuration settings during System Identification, the system will automatically detect new controllers and provide users with the option to save new controllers to a Control Loop in the system, enabling re-using common controller configuration during System Identification and Control Loop Tuning.

PID Control Loop Tuning Assistant enhancements

CSense 2023 includes an enhanced Loop Tuning Assistance with the following enhancements:

• Added the support to tune for P, I, and D.

• Added the ability to specify and auto-save the PID controller configuration settings for a loop when performing Loop Tuning using the Loop Tuning assistant in the Continuous Troubleshooter. When configuring controller configuration settings during Loop Tuning, the system will automatically detect new controllers and provide users with the option to save new controllers to a Control Loop in the system, enabling re-using common controller configuration during System Identification and Control Loop Tuning.

• Increased the coverage of PID Tuning for wide range of common model types. Users can now Tune PID controllers for most common model types.

• Users can now export the expanded Closed Loop PID controller blueprint to Architect and simulate.

• Added the support for Margin based Tuning using the Gain Margin and Phase Margin tuning parameters.

• Added Auto Tuning capability in the system. When Tuning, users can now specify the minimum number of controller options, then the system selects the correct Tuning method and automatically suggests the best parameters.

• Users can now select optimization for Setpoint tracking or Disturbance rejection. That is, users can now select algorithm that optimizes the Setpoint or Disturbance rejection in the inputs.

• Users can now specify a maximum Overshoot percentage while controlling the Settling time.

• Added a detailed controller response section. This section describes the controllers outputs with more details and is visualized in the interactive charts. The characteristics of the response are described using :

  • Settling Time (secs)

  • Rise Time (secs)

  • Overshoot (%)

  • Gain Margin (dB)

  • Phase Margin (degrees)

  • Disturbance Settling Time (secs)

  • Disturbance Overshoot (%)

New Control Loop Import Operation for Data Recipes

CSense 2023 includes a new Control Loop Import Operation for Data Recipes that allows Process+ users to quickly import cached control loop data when building Data Recipes. The new Control Loop Import operation is accessible from the standard Import Dataset palette for Data Recipes available in both Troubleshooters. The new import operation allows users of Process+ to quickly import cached control loop data from deployed Process+ Action Objects to facilitate rapid system identification, control loop tuning and analysis of control loops monitored with Process+ Action Objects.

CSense Runtime Enhancements

New CSense Runtime Manager

With this release of CSense, the Action Object Manager has been renamed to the CSense Runtime Manager. The new CSense Runtime Manager also includes several enhancements to improve the user experience when deploying and managing CSense Action Objects: 

• New look and feel with improved icons and images.

• The CSense Runtime Manager now includes the new modern Windows Event Viewer and several other MMC snapins to provide a single point of access to manage and configure your CSense runtime environment.

• Users can now export blueprints and data recipes for deployed Action Objects.

• A new Start button has been added for deployed Real-time and Scheduled Action Objects that allows you to start Action Objects that have been stopped without requiring the original blueprint or data recipe.

• Enhanced list views for Real-time, Scheduled, and Event-based Action Objects have been added to provide more flexible searching, filtering and sorting of deployed Action Objects.

• Resource displays have been added to several views in the CSense Runtime Manager to provide users with guidance on current system CPU, Memory and Process Utilization when deploying Action Objects.

• Several new columns have been added for Scheduled Action Objects to provide additional information on the status of deployed Scheduled Action Objects.

More control over real-time Action Object Scheduling

The new CSense Runtime Manager now provides you with more control over the scheduling of real-time Action Objects by allowing you to set the time of the first execution.

Extended error handling options for Scheduled Action Objects

You can now set retry on error option for Scheduled Action Objects to allow Scheduled Action Objects to attempt to recover from errors introduced by network failures or timeouts when connecting to external data sources.

Increased concurrency limits for Scheduled Action Objects

The previous limit of 32 for the maximum number of concurrently executing Scheduled Action Objects has been removed, allowing for significant improvements in concurrency for Scheduled Action Objects deployed at scale. You can continue to configure this property by updating the CSense Runtime properties accessed from within the CSense Runtime Manager. 

Improved Deployment speed for Action Objects with external connections

The deployment speed for Action Objects with connections to external data sources has been significantly improved. This improvement is most noticeable for Action Objects with connections to external data providers that may be slow to establish.

New CSense Event Log

All the CSense related events will be logged in the new CSense event log. You can access the CSense event log either from the CSense Runtime Manager or as a Windows utility, in Event Viewer, under Applications and Services logs. This allows users to perform more efficient CSense-related event filtering and searching.

Enhanced CSense Help

The CSense help and documentation has been converted to HTML5 based help and can be launched using your favorite browser when accessing the help from the application. The help layout and search capabilities have also been improved.

For the most updated version of the CSense help documentation, you can access the CSense Help documentation online at GE Vernova. The online version of the help also provides you with the ability to directly share your feedback. We continuously listen to your feedback and do our best to ensure that the help is always updated and meet your requirements. The online help is also a great place to access our CSense training video playlists and more.

Enhanced CSense Start Center

The CSense Start Center has been enhanced with a new and improved look and feel, new system information displays and several system diagnostic checks to ensure that your CSense installation is healthy. The Start Center also includes a Project Explorer to allow you to quickly search and access CSense artefacts in your configured CSense Project Folder.