The following discussion is part of an occasional series, “Ask the Automation Pros,” authored by Greg McMillan, industry consultant, author of numerous process control books and 2010 ISA Life Achievement Award recipient. Program administrators will collect submitted questions and solicit responses from automation professionals. Past Q&A videos are available on the ISA YouTube channel; you can view the playlist here. You can read posts from this series here.

Greg McMillan’s Question

What books have you found useful for process control helping to achieve the best measurements, final control elements, control strategies, controller algorithms and controller tuning?

Julie Smith’s Response

Basic and Advanced Regulatory Control: System Design and Application by Harold Wade is a valuable resource for process control engineers and technicians, particularly those in the wet process industries. It emphasizes practical application and real-world scenarios rather than solely focusing on theoretical systems. The book provides guidance on applying experience, intuition and process-specific knowledge to design and implement successful control strategies. It covers both fundamental and advanced control techniques, including tuning feedback loops, feedforward control and other specialized approaches.

Process Dynamics, Modeling and Control by Babatunde Ogunnaike and W. Harmon Ray provides a modern and comprehensive introduction to process control, suitable for undergraduate courses in various engineering disciplines. It offers a unified approach to model representations, process model formation and includes advanced topics like multivariable control and model-based control. The book also incorporates a laboratory component, allowing students to gain practical experience. 

Process Modeling, Simulation and Control for Chemical Engineers by W.L. Luyben provides a comprehensive foundation for understanding and applying process control principles in chemical engineering. It teaches students how to model, simulate and control processes, which are crucial skills for chemical engineers in industry. The book emphasizes practical applications and real-world problem-solving, making it a valuable resource for both undergraduate and graduate students.

And of course… Process Control Systems by F.G. Shinskey. Shinskey’s deep and functional understanding of the engineering of chemical processes is simply brilliant. We have witnessed his proficiency while diagnosing and creating control designs that are well supported by solid applied engineering concepts and fundamentals and that work, despite the occasional skepticism. Shinskey’s firm belief is that the thing that makes an engineer great is his/her understanding of the basic sciences. Great engineering does not originate from the ability to use advanced tools.

Russ Rhinehart’s Response

Mine was Harold L. Wade’s Basic and Advanced Regulatory Control: System Design and Application, an ISA book, 3rd Edition was 2017, ISBN: 978-1-64331-120-3. I’d recommend it as a first reference for anyone entering the field. The book graphically explains the three PID modes, what the tuning coefficients do and steady state offset, which gave me the insight that mathematical analysis could not. The book clearly explains the “why” and “how-to” of classical advanced techniques (ratio, cascade, override, cross limiting, decoupling, etc.) that were either missing or confounded by math in most first-course books. Harold developed the book from his three-day ISA training course, which was grounded in his career experience with vendors and consultants.   

Michael Taube’s Response

In the current age of YouTube, TikTok and the like, there’s no shortage of “experts” providing their brand of loop tuning, performance criteria/monitoring, instrument selection, etc., and, while understanding these areas has its place — and to be clear, these are important factors (just not the most important) — there is  a far more fundamental issue that must be understood: how does the process actually behave and what is its operational intent/objective(s)?! Only when these foundational issues are understood can appropriate (optimal?) instrumentation and control structures be designed. Too often it seems that people try to make the process fit their preconceived notions of instrumentation, control structure and loop tuning rather than making the instrument selection, control structure & loop tuning fit the process and its operational objectives (i.e., putting the cart before the horse). 

Thus, the books that I’ve found most helpful are those that describe the process, the operational intent/objectives & limitations/constraints (both “safety” as well as nominal design), mechanical design considerations (e.g., centrifugal pump/compressor v. positive-displacement, etc.) and types of quality measurements (i.e., lab v. online, inferential, etc.). Many of Greg McMillan’s books — (e.g., pH & compressor control) — fall into this category. Unfortunately, much of my library is currently packed-up so I can’t quickly reference the few that have helped me in developing robust control schemes. 

Flavio Briguente’s Response

Following is my list of favorite ISA books:

• Basic and Advanced Regulatory Control: System Design and Application, Harold L. Wade, 2nd edition 
• Good Tuning: A Pocket Guide, Gregory K. McMillan, 4th edition 
• Advances in Reactor Measurement and Control, Gregory K. McMillan
• Boiler Control Systems Engineering, G.F.(Jerry) Gilman, 2nd edition 
• A Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge, Nicolas Sands and Ian Verhappen, 3rd edition

Sigifredo Nino’s Response

Coming from an electrical engineering background, I was drawn to control systems early on after taking a foundational course that sparked my interest. However, it wasn’t until I began working as an instrumentation and control engineer at a fossil power generation plant that I realized just how much more there was to learn — particularly when it came to applying theoretical concepts in real-world environments.

In my pursuit of a deeper understanding, I came across several books that played a key role in bridging that gap. Listed below in approximate chronological order, I have also updated the editions and noted where these books can commonly be found used.

Peter Morgan’s Response

Greg McMillan’s Tuning and Control Loop Performance 4th Edition (ISBN:978-1-60650-170-2) is a book that every student of process control and automation should have at hand. With more than 45 years of experience, I would offer, that although I have learned a lot, I still consider myself as a student of the field, since it is so broad and applications so numerous. Undergraduate courses (in my experience) rarely prepare students for the challenges they will face in the real world of automation. This particular book, now is in its fourth edition, puts a reference into the hands of automation specialists which is based on a lifetime of experience.

I would, of course, be remiss if I didn’t mention our ISA Technical Report ISA TR5.9-2023 Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) Algorithms and Performance, which leans on some of the content of Greg’s book and benefits from contributions from a number of field experts.

Mark Darby’s Response

Process analysis and control strategies:

• Process Control Systems, 4th edition, F. G. Shinskey
• Distillation Control, 2nd edition, F. G. Shinskey
• Distillation Operation, Henry Kister
• Practical Distillation Control, William Luyben (Editor)
• Centrifugal and Axial Compressor Control, Gregory K. McMillan

Loop analysis, tuning and contributions to Integral Absolute Error (IAE), Robustness:

• Feedback Controllers for the Process Industries, F. G. Shinskey
• Tuning and Control Loop Performance, Gregory K. McMillan
• Feedback Controllers for the Process Industries, F. G. Shinskey

Practical coverage of basic and advanced regulatory controls:

• Basic and Advanced Regulatory Control, 2nd & 3rd editions, Harold Wade

Instrumentation and final control elements:

• Essentials of Modern Measurements and Final Elements in the Process Industry, Gregory K. McMillan

Control text, graduate level. Note: Most complete treatment of RGA I’ve found.

• Multivariable Feedback Control, Sigurd Skogestad and Ian Postlethwaite

Model Predictive Control – Very readable:

• Predictive Control with Constraints, J.M. Maciejowski

Ed Farmer’s Response

(1) In my college BSEE program, we spent two semesters on control systems.  The course book was:

Kuo, Benjamin C.

Automatic Control Systems, 2nd Edition

(C) 1967 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

This book was superb and developed a following.  Current edition is its 10th, authored by Golnaraghi, Farid and Kuo.

(C) 2017 by McGraw-Hill

(2) In my college days, electrical engineering was broadening not only in process control but also into data communications.  The best treatment of those days was:

Schwartz, Mischa

Information, Transmission, Modulation and Noise

(C) 1959 by McGraw-Hill.

It did a wonderful job on the communications environments and fundamentals of dealing with them.

(3) In college engineering, we had to translate a “truth” buried in mathematics into some more useful presentation in a time before widespread availability of digital computers.  We learned a lot about the “translation” of differential equations from this book.  There are more options these days:

Blum, Joseph

Introduction to Analog Computation

(C)1963 & 1969 Harcourt, Brace, & World

(4) Automatic process control begins with understanding how the process needs to work. This is a useful source for such “understanding:”

Hillier, F. J. and Lieberman

Introduction to Operations Research

11th Edition is current

(C) 2021 by McGraw Hill

(5) No matter how thorough your education, the problem on your desk tomorrow might not be “exactly” what you studied. Handbooks help with that. I contributed two sections to this one:

Liptak, Bela G. and Venczel, Krista

Instrument Engineers’ Handbook

5th Edition (C)1969, 1985 by Liptak

Published by Chilton Book Company

(6) Understanding the physics and chemistry of what is to be controlled often requires understanding more about it than you learned in college. Handbooks help. I’ve spent many hours in:

Perry, Robert H. and Chilton, Cecil H.

Chemical Engineers’ Handbook

5th Edition, (C)1973 by McGraw - Hill

(7) Details on applied process control are well-identified and presented by:

Shinskey, F. G.

Process Control Systems

(C) 1967 and 2nd Edition (C) 1979 by McGraw Hill

(8) Learning and teaching help:

Murill, Paul W.

Fundamentals of Process Control Theory

(Independent Learning Module)

(C) by ISA 1981

(9)  Achieving “control” of a process involves understanding it and the measurements involved in its control. These authors collected thoughts and techniques for 14 situations, each addressed by experienced professionals.

I contributed one for:

Cheremisinoff, Paul N. and

Perlis, Harlan J.

Analytical Measurements and Instrumentation for Process and Pollution Control

(C) 1981 by Ann Arbor Science

(10) Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, there was tremendous effort devoted to integrating a multiplicity of loop-oriented control into more integrated approaches that improved control and process visibility. As our present technology evolves, this remains important. These authors collected and present seven chapters of expert’s thoughts on an array of tools and factors. Some are still pertinent, but all remind one of the importance of “thinking ahead” and establishing a view of “the big picture:”

Cheremisinoff, Paul N. and Perlis, Harlan J.

Automatic Process Control

(C) 1981 by Ann Arbor Science Publications Inc.

(11 & 12) In the “early days” of artificial intelligence, ISA produced a two-volume set that was particularly good.  My “volume one” has lots of my “bookmarks” around some issues related to computer program development for AI applications. I found their approach to be especially helpful with process control software design for the limited capability computers available, and in the long run that benefited our product line. See:

Artificial Intelligence Handbook (two volumes)

(C) 1989 by Instrument Society of America

There are two “Contributing Editors,” Eli Nisenfeld. PE and James R. Davis, PhD

and 11 “Contributing Authors.”

(13) Building and understanding language for understanding and developing automation-related technology benefits from basic meanings of words and phrases commonly used in descriptions, explanations, and discussions. This is especially important to new practitioners, and everyone involved with growth and evolution of the field:

Comprehensive Dictionary of Instrumentation and Control

Edited by: W.H. Cubberly 

(C) 1988 by ISA

(14) In my “early days,” I was learning and using industrial standards and practices in a lot of my work, especially in projects involving new concepts and evolution of the implementation technology. I had a “standards and practices” library for each discipline involved in my work. One was:

Standards and Practices for Instrumentation

The one on my shelf is the 8th Edition - 1986

Published by the Instrument Society of America

I would recommend a more current one — times change and keeping up can be important!

(15) I’ve worked with dynamic multivariable systems, especially as control technology evolved from independent small-segment systems to wider and more diverse systems. A lot of thinking and writing went into those then-fresh challenges. Some focused on the underlying design and analysis arrangements. An early one is an Independent Learning Module:

Controlling Multivariable Processes

By F.G. Shinskey

(C) by Instrument Society of America, 1981

(16) Sometimes my work involved dependencies and interactions between related systems, often with geographic separation. I’d had a lot of math in engineering college but welcomed help that came from an on-line 36 lecture college-level course:

Understanding Multivariable Calculus: Problems, Solutions and Tips 

By Bruce H. Edwards, Professor at University of Florida

(C) The Teaching Company, 2014 www.thegreatcourses.com

Process automation has expanded in breadth of practice and depth of technology over the last hundred years. Our Mentor Program leader, Greg McMillan, has contributed to this with his large suite of publications. Some evolve the basic science involved and others focus on smaller, but motivating, subjects facilitating solutions, clarifications and enhanced understanding.

Greg’s publications showing only the latest editions including the ones to laugh and learn:

• Advanced pH Measurement and Control, 4th Edition, ISA, 2024
• New Directions in Bioprocess Modeling and Control, 2nd Edition, ISA, 2021
• Industrial/Process Instrumentation and Controls Handbook, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2019
• Good Tuning: A Pocket Guide, 4th Edition, ISA, 2015
• Tuning and Control Loop Performance, 4th Edition, Momentum Press, 2015
• Advances in Reactor Measurement and Control, ISA, 2015
• 101 Tips for a Successful Automation Career, ISA, 2012
• Advanced Temperature Measurement and Control, 2nd Edition, ISA, 2011
• Centrifugal and Axial Compressor Control, Momentum Press, 2010
• Process Control Case Histories: An Insightful and Humorous Perspective from the Control Room, Momentum Press, 2010
• Essentials of Modern Measurements and Final Elements in Process Industry, ISA, 2010
• The Funnier Side of Retirement for Engineers, ISA, 2008
• Life and Times of an Automation Professional, ISA, 2005
• Models Unleashed, ISA, 2004
• Advanced Control Unleashed, ISA, 2003
• Dispersing Heat through Conviction – The Funnier Side of Process Control, ISA, 1999
• How to Become an Instrument Engineer - Part 1.523, ISA, 1995
• Logical Thoughts at 4:00 am, ISA, 1991
• Continuous Control Techniques for Distributed Control Systems, ISA, 1989
• How to Become an Instrument Engineer, ISA, 1987

The ISA books published before 2003 and the Momentum Press books that were updates to previously published ISA books whose publication rights were returned to Greg are all out of print.

Matthew Howard’s Response

The books that I have used are the following:

• Process Control for Practitioners by Jacques Smutts
  
  • Was a really basic book on fundamentals of feedback and feedforward control. The best starter book I used with just enough detail to be a quick reference.

• The Alarm Management Handbook by Hollifield and Habibi
  
  • Good read that is the handbook on alarm management for a reason. I read both editions. It puts the reason behind alarm management and uses many real world examples.

• The big blue Liptak handbooks
  
  • Have process specific controls diagrams that are invaluable for optimizing your own process in house. Have much more, but I have used mostly the Optimization book.

• Process Control Fundamentals for Pulp and Paper by Tappi
  
  • Cowritten basically by Bill Bialkowski and the Entech guys in the 1990s. Is dated now, but a great introduction to Lambda tuning methods, especially for someone in the paper industry.

• Tuning and Control Loop Performance, 4th edition by Greg McMillan
  
  • Great chapter about capability analysis and how to determine opportunity. The lists at the end of each chapter of the things to do and not do are memorable. It has a vast scope to it, but the almost hidden to near-integrating processes is especially helpful. I’ve never seen it in any other literature.

• Basic and Advanced Regulatory Control by Harold Wade
  
  • The front half explains the separate actions to the PID controller more completely than I have found elsewhere.

• Process Control Systems by Greg Shinskey
  
  • Shinskey’s fourth edition was hard to find, but even the two pages about controls with intermittent signals made it worth the money off of Amazon.

• Other books I look at off and on are the Fisher Control Valve Handbook, Managing Industrial Controls by Battikha, Adaptive Control by ISA, and Effective Operator Control Guidelines, 2nd Edition by the ASM Consortium.

Greg McMillan’s Response

I found all of Shinskey’s books to be a guiding light for learning the first principle relationships between process dynamics and control system performance and the objectives and effects of controller tuning. Unfortunately, they are all of print, but you can possibly get Process Control Systems, 4th Edition from the Schneider Electric education department. I found the book Control Valves for the Chemical Process Industries by Bill Fitzgerald extremely helpful in providing specification, application and performance details for a large spectrum of valves and actuators.

Often process control books do not provide much knowledge on instrumentation dynamics, giving an idealized view. The emphasis in my books has been on sharing my knowledge of things that can go wrong often gained the hard way through plant experiences in process control improvements. There are many problems with sensors and final control elements rarely identified in books on process control, the 5Rs (e.g., repeatability, resolution, rangeability, response time and reliability) particularly for control valves designed for high flow capacity and tight shutoff, variable speed drives with high static head and not the latest and best inverter technology, flow sensors with an accuracy in percent of reading instead of span that are affected by upstream and downstream piping, temperature sensors not touching bottom of thermowell or with insufficient emersion length, differential pressures with impulse lines that are too long, not insulated or filled with inconsistent process fluid and pH solid state or flat glass electrodes with not the best and latest advances in measurement glass and reference junction for process environment.

My focus has been on understanding first principle relationships to gain knowledge on how to design control strategies and tune controllers. Appendix F in my books has the ordinary differential equations to understand and model process dynamics. I am proud of the ability to model runaway processes that have a window of allowable PID gains, where too low of a PID gain causes rapidly growing oscillations. I developed equations from Nyquist plots to estimate the ultimate gain and period for these processes with positive feedback. I have personally been in plants where the exothermic reactors that used high gain and derivative action and would not allow integral action. I worked on batch reactors where the controlled variable was temperature rate of change. Luyben developed equations that estimate the maximum to minimum gain ratio based on sensor and process thermal lags showing how close the application was to the window of allowable gains closing. I also developed equations to predict the window for integrating processes.

I use test results from dynamic models to show how process and instrumentation dynamics affect loop performance. I have had several dynamic modeling breakthroughs for challenging applications such as the fast interval halving solution of the charge balance including effect of activity coefficients and conjugate salts documented in my pH book, the momentum balance revealing the hidden part of the compressor map to left of surge line that causes positive feedback and jumps in suction flow documented in my compressor book, and the Convenient Cardinal Equations for effect of pH and temperature and the generalized Michaelis-Menten Equation for the effect of media concentrations on cell growth and production rate for modern biologics documented in my bioprocess book. Dynamic modeling test results for the equipment, process, measurements, final control elements and PID Strategies, Form and Structure are an important part of my books with key points and best practices listed to provide a quick and concise summary.

In my books since 2012, I have emphasized the significant value of external-reset feedback that has largely been overlooked. My work with Peter Morgan in developing the recently approved ISA Technical Report ISA-TR5.9-2023 Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) Algorithms and Performance and articles with test results I coauthored with Peter reveal an incredible opportunity for cascade control, override control and deadtime compensation that I alerted readers to my books. Important guidance on the best control valve dynamic response extracted from my books is in Annex A that I wrote for recently approved updated ISA Technical Report ISA-TR75.25.02-2024 Control Valve Response Measurement from Step Inputs.

I will be posting on LinkedIn significant knowledge on the critical aspects for the best variable frequency drive (VFD) application rarely seen in the literature that I documented in my ISA book Essentials of Modern Measurements and Final Elements in the Process Industry. Peter Morgan is doing tests that are confirming the dramatic effect of static head on VFD rangeability. This book also has two chapters with lots of details on control valves and the many problems with tight shutoff rotary valves and piston actuators that have excessive lost motion and stick-slip including shaft windup and terrible readback.

Nick Sands' List of Reviews

I put together a list of books that reviewed well. There are reviews for all of these and more. My goal at the time, around 20 years ago, was to answer the question of which books were worth reading and which were worth buying and reading again. There are newer additions for some of these. There is also a list that did not review well and some other books that are further from process control. Here are the books with best reviews. The scale was 1-5 B’s and very subjective.

About the Authors

Julie F. Smith is the global automation and process control leader for DuPont. She has 35 years of experience in the process industry, having been part of numerous engineering and operations activities across the globe. She has written several papers and columns highlighting the value of modeling and simulation. Julie has a BS in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MChE from the University of Delaware.

Michael Taube is a principal consultant at S&D Consulting, Inc. Serving the greater process industries as an independent consultant since 2002, he pursues his passion to make things better than they were yesterday by identifying the problems no one else sees or is willing to admit to and willingly “gets his hands dirty” to solve the problems no one else can. Due to the continued occurrence of individual injuries and fatalities as well as large-scale industrial incidents, he collaborates with operational excellence and safety culture experts to promote a real and lasting cultural shift in the process industries to help make ZERO incidents a reality. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. His LinkedIn profile is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltaube/

Flavio Briquente is an automation professional and ISA member with 27 years in the chemical industry. He worked for five years for Rohm and Haas and 15 years for Monsanto. He has been with Evonik for seven years now and is responsible for advanced process control and digitization topics in the Americas region. He earned his bachelor in chemical engineering, post graduate in environmental engineering, master in automation and robotics and PhD in material science.

Russell (Russ) Rhinehart has experience in both the process industry (13 years) and academe (31 years). He is a fellow of ISA and AIChE, and a CONTROL Automation Hall of Fame inductee. He served as president of the American Automatic Control Council and editor-in-chief of ISA Transactions. Now “retired,” Russ is working to disseminate engineering techniques with his web site (www.r3eda.com), short courses, books and monthly articles. His 1968 B.S. in ChE and M.S. in NucE are both from the U of Maryland. His 1985 Ph.D. in ChE is from North Carolina State U.

Sigifredo Nino is the founder and president of Summa Control Solutions, Inc. He has transformed process control systems across six major industries worldwide, from oil and gas refineries to food processing plants. A recognized authority in advanced control strategies, he specializes in the critical but often overlooked aspects of process control that can make or break industrial operations. His expertise as a contributing expert to the ISA PID Technical Report (ISA-TR5.9-2023) and his "Neglected Topics in Process Control" briefings have established him as a trusted resource for solving the industry's most complex control challenges. Through his combination of hands-on commissioning experience, academic teaching and technical publications, he bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world industrial performance.

Peter Morgan is an ISA senior member with more than 40 years of experience designing and commissioning control systems for the power and process industries. He was a contributing member of the ISA 5.9 PID committee for which he won the ISA Standards Achievement Award and has had a number of feature articles published in Control magazine.

Mark Darby is an independent consultant with CMiD Solutions. He provides process control-related services to the petrochemical, refining and mid/upstream industries in the design and implementation of advanced regulatory and multivariable predictive controls. Mark is an ISA senior member. He served on the TR5.9 committee that produced the PID technical report and has presented at ISA technical conferences. Mark frequently publishes and presents on topics related to process control and real-time optimization. He is a contributing author to the McGraw-Hill Process/Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook, Sixth Edition. His LinkedIn profile is: www.linkedin.com/in/mark-darby-5210921

Ed Farmer completed a BSEE and a Physics Master degree at California State University - Chico. He retired in 2018 after 50 years of electrical and control systems engineering. Much of his work involved oil industry automation projects around the world, and application of the LeakNet pipeline leak detection and location system he patented. His publications include three ISA books, short courses, numerous periodical articles and blogs. He is an ISA Fellow and Mentor.

Matthew Howard is the pulp mill area systems manager for Sappi North America, Somerset Mill, Skowhegan Maine, a large fully integrated pulp and paper manufacturing facility. He is a past member of the ISA Mentor Program. He is responsible for multiple DCS systems maintenance and integration. He prefers to use his UMaine Chemical Engineering and technical background to implement process improvements with or without capital investment. Informed by an early stint as frontline supervisor, he also strives to steadily improve the operator effectiveness of his plant in accord with ISA standards 101 and ISA 18.2.

Gregory K. McMillan retired as a Senior Fellow from Solutia Inc in 2002 and retired as a senior principal software engineer in Emerson Process Systems and Solutions simulation R&D in 2023. Greg is an ISA Fellow and the author of more than 200 articles and papers, 100 Q&A posts, 80 blogs, 200 columns and 20 books. He was one of the first inductees into the Control Global Process Automation Hall of Fame in 2001, and received the ISA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, ISA Mentor Award in 2020 and ISA Standards Achievement Award in 2023. His LinkedIn profile is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-mcmillan-5b256514/

Nick Sands is a DuPont Laureate with 35 years in automation at DuPont. He has been a business process control leader, site process control leader, process control consultant and plant control engineer in several different businesses. He has worked on or led the development of several corporate standards and best practices in the areas of automation competency, safety instrumented systems, alarm management and process safety. He has been involved in many ISA and IEC standards, and co-chaired ISA18 for almost 20 years. He was the co-editor of ISA’s Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge, 3rd Edition.