Safety, Calibration, and Testing

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Safety Standards and Practices

Topics: Government safety regulations; Compressed gas, chemical, electrical, biological, radiation, and mechanical hazards; Noise pollution

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss kinds of hazards and compare employer and employee responsibilities relating to safe job practices.
• Describe safe procedures for working with compressed gases, acids, flammable solvents, and other hazardous chemicals.
• Describe ways to minimize the possibilities of hazardous or lethal electric shock, including safe lockout procedures.
• Explain the use of dosimeters.
• Identify potential safety hazards in the instrument shop and along the process control network and describe the use of appropriate safety equipment for each hazard.

Chapter 2: Servicing Fundamentals

Topics: Repair modes and records; Failure mode analysis; Maintenance, calibration modes, and records; Calibration seals; Tools and equipment

Learning Objectives:

• Compare methods of on-site and shop repair of malfunctioning instruments.
• Describe the differences between repairing, maintaining, and calibrating instruments.
• Describe the contents of an equipment history file and a process loop file.
• Discuss the benefits of failure mode analysis.
• Describe proper calibration procedures, including use of calibration seals, and explain what NIST-traceable means.
• Describe the typical main sections of an industrial instrument shop.

Chapter 3: Electrical and Electronic Stations

Topics: Electrical and electronic stations and test equipment; Pneumatic and hydraulic test equipment; Test stands; On-site operations; Calibration

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the differences between electrical and electronic test areas.
• Describe how the ammeter, megohmmeter, wattmeter, and dynamometer are used in electrical work.
• Describe how the multimeter, signal/waveform generator, oscilloscope, voltage and current source, and frequency counter are used in electronics.
• Discuss the benefits of accurate calibration and thorough equipment maintenance records.
• Explain how test stands are used and name three kinds of operations that are typically conducted on site.

Chapter 4: Pneumatic and Hydraulic Stations

Topics: Handling equipment; Cleaning and decontamination; Testing and evaluation; Disassembling and reassembling; Calibration; Test stands

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the layout and power requirements of a typical pneumatic/hydraulic station.
• Describe safe and efficient methods of cleaning pneumatic and hydraulic instruments and controls.
• Discuss procedures for testing and evaluating a faulty component, using the calibration of a pressure-to-current (P/I) transmitter as an example.
• Describe proper procedures for disassembling and reassembling pneumatic and hydraulic components.
• Name the steps in preparing to service instruments on site.

Chapter 5: Instrument Troubleshooting

Topics: Using manufacturer's literature, maintenance and repair records, tools, and test instruments; Calibration; Recording the repair

Learning Objectives:

• Explain how an understanding of the process and its instrumentation reduces troubleshooting time.
• List at least four kinds of information typically included in a manufacturer's manual or instruction book.
• Describe the contents of an instrument history file and explain its usefulness in troubleshooting.
• Discuss the kinds of tools, including calibration standards, you are apt to use in troubleshooting.
• Describe the steps in a typical troubleshooting procedure and explain how to use a branching troubleshooting chart.
• Describe cascading failure.

Chapter 6: System Specifications and Instrument Calibration

Topics: Interpreting specifications; Error; Accuracy; Precision; Resolution; Transfer function; Sensitivity; Hysteresis; Response time

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the specifications of a typical measurement system.
• Explain how to read a graph showing a linear or nonlinear transfer function, hysteresis, or the time constant.
• Discuss SI and English systems of units and explain how to convert from one to the other.

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