A distributed control system (DCS) is a control system for a plant or industrial process that is made up of sensors, controllers, and computers distributed throughout the process and connected by a network. The DCS acts as the central brain that receives real-time data from sensors, uses control logic to make automated decisions, and sends instructions to controllers. This allows one DCS to control and automate an entire plant by coordinating adjustments across multiple interconnected processes more efficiently than individual controllers. DCS systems are commonly used in large manufacturing plants like oil refineries to improve safety, quality, reliability and efficiency of complex continuous production processes.