Instrumentation is the design, equipping, and/or use of measuring instruments in determining real-life conditions in a plant’s process, as for observation, measurement and control. Instrumentation technicians will install, maintain and calibrate devices used in the automation of industrial processes. The importance of accuracy in instrument measurements is 1) Safety of people and equipment, 2) Quality of the product being created and 3) Profitability of the business.
At JM Test Systems, we offer many services for your instrumentation needs, such as:
Instrument Calibration and Repair
PPE Testing
PPE Rotation Programs
Tool Repair
Onsite Services
Rental Solutions
We also offer equipment delivery and pickup in most areas.
Instrumentation is vital in many different industries such as petrochemical plants, power plants (coal, electrical, generation and co-generation), water treatment facilities, pulp and paper plants, and mining and steel manufacturers, to name a few. Job titles in this field range from Instrument technician, to I&E technician, I&C technician, Electrical technician and Electronics technician.
Instruments tested in these fields include transmitters, sensors, analyzers, detectors, recorders and control elements. Common equipment used in these fields are Communicators, data logger/analyzers, digital and analog chart recorders, gas monitors, temperature calibrators, and cable fault finders/tracers. This equipment is used to measure and control industrial process variables including pressure, temperature, flow, force, motion and communication. Such testing equipment includes:
- Hart communication device
- Pressure measurement device
- Pressure generating device
- Signal source and measurement device
- Temperature RTD / T/C source and measurement device
- Process multi-meter
- Frequency
- Wrenches
- Calipers
- Steel rule
- Flashlight
- Thermal imager
- Power supplies
- Stroboscope
Common Terminology Related to Instrumentation
Current Loop- used where a device must be monitored or controlled remotely over a pair of conductors. On industrial process control instruments, analog 4-20 ma and 10-50 ma current loops are commonly used for analog signaling, w/ 4 ma representing the lowest end of the range and 20 ma the highest
Calibrate- to determine, by measurement or comparison with a standard, the correct value of each scale reading on a meter or other device
Configure- to set up a program or computer system for a particular application
DCS (distributed control system)- a system of dividing the plant or process into several areas of responsibility, each managed by its own controller (processor), with the whole interconnected to form a single entity usually by communication buses of various kinds
Fieldbus- a digital 2 way, multi-drop communication link among intelligent measurement and control devices. It serves as a (LAN) local area network for advanced process control, remote input /output and high speed factory automation applications, a communication protocol
HART- (Highway Addressable Remote Terminal)- provides digital communication to microprocessor-based (smart) analog processes control instruments: a communication protocol
Profibus- a communication protocol
Control variable- measured variables that can be manipulated by the control system, such as flow, level, pressure and temperature
Frequency- the number of cycles completed by a periodic quantity on a unit time
Input / output (I/O)- all equipment and activity that transfers information into or out of a computer
Instrumentation- a collection of instruments or their application for the purpose of observation, measurement or control.
Range- the region between the limits within which a quantity is measured, received or transmitted: expressed by stating the lower and upper range values
Strain gauge- a device that uses the change of electrical resistance of a wire under strain to measure applied force
SCADA- (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)- a control package used to monitor and control a remote process: also includes hardware such as modems, telemetry, servers and control systems.
Temperature Bath- a volume of a substance held at constant temperature, so that an object placed in thermal contract with it is maintained at the same temperature
Thermocouple- devices that convert heat energy into electrical energy
Transducer- an element or device that receives energy in one form and converts to another form
Transmitter- a transducer which responds to a measured variable by means of a sensing element, and converts it to a standardized transmission signal that is proportional to the measured variable.
Tuning- adjusting of parameters to optimize a particular process
UPS- Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)- used to keep critical equipment, including computers, running in the event of a power failure
VFD- (Variable Frequency Drive) / VSD (Variable Speed Drive)- electronic equipment that allows an electric motor to be run at varying speeds.
