The aim of this course is to enable a future instrument expert to be familiar with all
instrumentation tools which may be available for maintenance operations on an oil-based
industrial site.
At the end of this course, in the field of instrumentation tools, the participant should be:
Familiar with the tools required for each repair and maintenance intervention,
2. REMINDER FOR ELECTRIC MEASURING DEVICES
It is preferable for all parties to have a "real" multimeter……..Refer to the necessary
qualities of a multimeter in this course…
And above all, be aware that an analog device is no less precise than a digital device
(equivalent category), they are simply easier (and quicker) to read, but are becoming
obsolete.
2.1. MEASURING IS NOT COMPUTING
The problem with our centralised control rooms is that nothing is easy to access.
Indications and measurements are developed by third parties. Display devices and
screens bring up a multitude of values, sizes, curves, graphs, reports, calculations
(impressive, in 3D, colours and figures to 18 decimal places, etc.) which we (generally)
accept as true without considering the source of the measurements and the quality of the
measurement chain (or loop).
This is valid for electricity and instruments
I witnessed ‘x’ decimal places (8 or 12), on a "large" Total operating site on a display
screen (commissioning and start-up). It was fascinating to note the 24.12345678 volts and
an ambient temperature of 26.56488556°C, combined with a "major" memory problem and
the mainly radio transmission time on this site. Sorting this out was neither simple nor
quick, "high-level" authorisation was required, and took time to obtain…
These impressive results often hide major measurement errors. In addition, the personnel
developing "your" measurements (the indications on the screens) are now part of the
"systems" team, generally including computer specialists rather than electricians,
electronic engineers or measurement specialists (instrument experts). They will accord priority to the interface to the detriment of the instruments or the processing of results
(from a mathematical or statistical point of view). Care is required!
The role of an on-site maintenance electrician or instrument expert is to check and
calibrate the existing measurement instruments. The following are required:
Enough calibration and measurement tools and instruments of the appropriate
quality.
Access to the entire measurement loop from the sensor to the screen.
Cooperation (or at least understanding) between production, computing and
systems' teams on sites.
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