AUTO-TUNING IN A DISTRIBUTED PROCESS CONTROL ENVIRONMENT

An auto-tuner for use in tuning a control element in a process control network having distributed control functions includes a first tuning element located in the field device in which the control element is operating and a second tuning element located in a different device that communicates with the first device via a communication network. The first tuning element controls the operation of the control element during the dynamic data capture phase of an auto-tuning procedure, collects data during this phase of the auto-tuning procedure and determines one or more process characteristics from the collected data. The first tuning element then communicates the determined process characteristics to the second tuning element via the communication network. The second tuning element uses a stored rule set to determine a new tuning parameter for the control element based on the process characteristics developed by the first tuning element and sends the determined tuning parameter via the communication network to the control element to thereby re-tune the control element.