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BREAKING AWAY FROM CONVENTIONAL ROLES : A
SUCCESS RECIPE FOR |
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IN
THE EARLIER DAYS IT WAS SUFFICIENT FOR A PROFESSIONAL TO HAVE EXPERTISE IN HIS CHOSEN FIELD ONLY. BUT TIMES HAVE
CHANGED AND SO ARE THE DEMANDS & EXPECTATIONS. IN THE PRESENT SCENARIO
OF GLOBAL COMPETITION CONSISTENCY
IN QUALITY , REDUCTION IN COST AND INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY HOLD THE
HIGHEST PRIORITY. THESE STRINGENT DEMANDS CALL FOR A MULTI-SKILLED ,
MULTI-DISCIPLINED APPROACH. THE CASE OF AN INSTRUMENT ENGINEER CAN BE
TAKEN AS AN IDEAL EXAMPLE. CONVENTIONALLY
AN INSTRUMENT ENGINEER IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN ELECTRONICS ENGINEER ONLY .
BUT THE JOB REQUIRES
A MULTI -SKILLED,
MULTI-DISCIPLINED PERSON. HE IS REQUIRED TO BE AN ELECTRONICS EXPERT BECAUSE
ELECTRONICS IS OMNI-PRESENT IT IS EVERY WHERE ; RIGHT FROM SIMPLE PANEL
INSTRUMENT TO PLC-DCS TO FIELD DEVICES. THE INCUMBENT MUST POSSES
EXPERTISE ON DIGITAL AS WELL AS ANALOGUE SYSTEMS. BECAUSE THE SIGNAL WHICH
STARTS AS A DIGITAL SIGNAL IN HIGHER LEVEL SYSTEMS (LEVEL-2 OR LEVEL-1
SYSTEM) IS CONVERTED TO AN ANALOGUE SIGNAL
i .e. CONTINUOUS CURRENT
OR VOLTAGE SIGNAL AND VICE
VERSA. HE SHOULD HAVE SOUND MECHANICAL BASE ALSO TO UNDERSTAND AND SET
RIGHT PRECISION MECHANISMS OF VALVES , ACTUATORS , ELECTRO-PNEUMATIC
DEVICES. BASIC ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING HE MUST KNOW TO COMPETENTLY HANDLE AND TROUBLESHOOT
ACTUATORS, RELAYS, UPS, AC & DC DRIVES etc. HE SHOULD BE
CONVERSANT WITH COMPUTER SYSTEMS TO
SORT OUT SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE PROBLEMS OF VARIOUS SYSTEMS LIKE PC, PLC,
DCS, DRIVES, WEIGHING SYSTEM etc. HE SHOULD BE AN EXPERT IN COMMUNICATIONS
TO HANDLE INTRICATE NETWORKS
AND SOLVE INTERFACING PROBLEMS POSED BY DIFFERENT SYSTEMS ON THE NETWORK.
THE PERSON SHOULD ALSO KNOW A BIT OF HYDRAULICS. SINCE A LOT OF PROCESS
EQUIPMENT OPERATE ON HYDRAULICS AND THESE CAN BE PRETTY COMPLICATED TOO ;
A PROPORTIONAL VALVE IS ONE SUCH EXAMPLE.
THE FIELD OF PROCESS CONTROL INSTRUMENTATION REQUIRES A THOROUGH
UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY,
ELECTRICITY, PHYSICAL-CHEMISTRY etc. WHICH ARE NORMALLY LEARNT AT SCHOOL
LEVEL . OHM’S LAW IS REFERRED & USED EVERY NOW AND THEN
FOR VOLTAGE, RESISTANCE & LOAD CALCULATIONS. CHARLES &
BOYLE’S GAS EQUATIONS ARE REFERRED FOR TEMPERATURE & PRESSURE
COMPENSATED MASS FLOW MEASUREMENT OF GASSES . PASCAL’S LAW IS RECALLED
FOR PNEUMATIC AND HYDRAULIC SYSTEM TESTING & TROUBLESHOOTING. SEEBECK
/ PELTIER / JOULE - THOMPSON EFFECTS ARE USED IN TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
BY THERMOCOUPLES & COMPENSATING CABLES . FLEMING’S RULES ARE USED IN
VARIOUS ELECRO-MAGNETIC DEVICES. DOPPLER’S PRINCIPLES
OF ACOUSTICS ARE USED IN ULTRASONIC INSTRUMENTS . BASIC PRINCIPLES
OF RADIOACTIVITY & RADIO ENGINEERING ARE USED IN NUCLEONIC / X-RAY
& RADAR GAUGES RESPECTIVELY. IONISATION
AND FUNDAMENTAL CHEMISTRY IS USED IN pH & CONDUCTIVITY
MEASUREMENT. PROPERTIES OF PARA-MAGNETISM AND THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY ARE
USED IN GAS ANALYSERS. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OPTICS ARE UTILISED IN MANY
APPLICATIONS LIKE OPTICAL PYROMETERS, LOOP SCANNERS, HOT METAL DETECTORS .
EVEN
INFRA-RED AND ULTRA-VIOLET BANDS OF LIGHT ARE UTILISED FOR TEMPERATURE
MEASUREMENTS AND POSITION DETECTION. PHENOMENON OF EDDY CURRENT IS USED IN
SPEED MEASUREMENT & CONTROL OF ROTATING MACHINES. PIEZO-ELECTRIC
PRINCIPLES ARE USED FOR
VIBRATION MONITORING OF HIGH SPEED EQUIPMENT.
IN
ADDITION TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF
ABOVE FUNDAMENTALS & PRINCIPLES THE PERSON SHOULD HAVE SOME SPECIFIC
PERSONALITY TRAITS viz. CREATIVITY
OF AN ARTIST TO DESIGN & DEVELOP PLANT GRAPHICS & SCHEMATICS . ANALYTICAL
ABILITY OF AN ACCOMPLISHED CHESS PLAYER TO VISUALISE THE ACTION /
REACTION OF PROCESS & EQUIPMENT WHILE DESIGNING AND DE-BUGGING
SEQUENCE-LOGIC SOFTWARE ; THIS TRAIT ALSO COMES IN HANDY WHEN ANALYSING
THE PLANT PROBLEMS. PATIENCE
& PRECISION OF A SURGEON WHEN WORKING ON DELICATE INSTRUMENTS.
MEMORY OF AN ELEPHANT TO REMEMBER & RECALL PERTICULAR PROBLEMS
/ SOLUTIONS RELATED TO VARIOUS EQUIPMENT INSTANTLY. LEADERSHIP
QUALITIES OF AN ARMY COMMANDER TO INFUSE CONFIDENCE & DISCIPLINE IN
HIS TEAM AND SUCCESSFULLY LEAD THEM EVEN
IN ADVERSE SITUATIONS WHILE ALWAYS KEEPING AN EYE ON PERSONNEL &
EQUIPMENT SAFETY.
AN INSTRUMENT ENGINEER WORKING IN A PROCESS PLANT NEEDS TO HAVE
IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROCESS HE IS WORKING ON SO THAT HE IS ABLE TO
INTERPRET EVERY CHANGE IN SIGNAL INPUTS IN TERMS OF PROCESS. DIFFERENT
PROCESS PLANTS ALSO PRESENT DIFFERENT CHALLENGES ; FOR EXAMPLE PROCESS
CONTROL IN STEEL PLANT IS A
CHALLENGING JOB BECAUSE STEEL
PLANT IS LIKE AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF PROCESS CONTROL INSTRUMENT APPLICATIONS
WHERE PROBABLY EVERY TYPE OF INSTRUMENT IS USED IN SOME AREA OR THE OTHER
. RIGHT FROM A SIMPLE U-TUBE MANOMETER TO THE MOST SOPHISTICATED ANALYSER.
THE PROCESS PARAMETERS CAN RANGE FROM
MINUS 180 DEG.CENTIGRADE IN CRYOGENIC APPLICATION OF OXYGEN PLANT
TO 1700 DEG.CENTIGRADE AND MORE IN STEEL MELTING SHOP. SIMILARLY PRESSURES
IN HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS CAN GO AS HIGH AS 300 BAR TO AS LOW AS MINUS 0.95 BAR
(.05 BAR ABSOLUTE) IN VACUUM DEGASSING UNIT. THESE WIDE RANGING
APPLICATIONS ALSO PRESENT VARIOUS TYPES OF HAZARDS eg. HIGH TEMPERATURES ,
POISONOUS &
EXPLOSIVE GASSES , HEAVY ROTATING
EQUIPMENT etc.
A SUCCESSFUL INSTRUMENT ENGINEER THEREFORE NEEDS TO HAVE ALL THE ABOVE
INGREDIENTS PLUS A BIT OF COMMON-SENSE AND INSTINCT TO RUN THE SHOW SAFELY
AND SUCCESSFULLY.
A
RIGID ORTHODOX APPROACH THEREFORE WILL ONLY LEAD TO FAILURE , REJECTION
& FRUSTRATION. THE NEED OF THE HOUR IS ADAPTABILITY, FLEXIBILITY AND
POSITIVE ATTITUDE FOR ADDING NEW SKILLS AND HONING THE OLD ONES ; AND THAT
DEFINITELY IS THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS.
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