A message for those who have just started working in instrumentation

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First of all, I studied instrumentation in school, and after starting work I focused on working with instrumentation; it’s been 10 years since I graduated. After reading what everyone has written about those working in the instrumentation field, I was deeply moved, and I thought I should write something as well for those who have just started working in this area. First of all, the instrumentation industry is a tough one; it’s really not easy to do well in this field. If you want to achieve success in the field of instrumentation, you must put in more effort than those in other industries; you need to keep learning, accumulating experience, overcoming various difficulties, and sacrificing a large portion of your time. So, if you’re not really passionate about this industry right now, then you’d better change to another one. It’s easy to switch careers when you first start working; you can move to departments such as production or operations, as those are relatively easier to work in compared to working with instruments. If you are confident enough to keep going, then read on. As a new instrument operator, the first thing you must always keep in mind is safety. Because in the factory, instrument technicians are constantly faced with various safety issues. There is a risk of life-threatening situations here, not only for oneself but also for others. The equipment on site will not stop operating just because one thermometer is broken. And when replacing the thermometer, if the sleeve gets worn out, you might be exposed to hot oil, toxic gases, toxic liquids, and so on. If you’re not careful, you may regret it for the rest of your life—or you might not even get the chance to regret it at all. Also, the control panel is the core of the system; due to your negligence, it might trigger interlock mechanisms that result in the release of toxic gases that should not be released, thereby poisoning or even killing many innocent people. These are not exaggerations; they are all painful lessons. Therefore, those who work with instruments must constantly remind themselves of the potential dangers, for their own sake as well as for the sake of others. Before starting work, be sure to consider the possible risks; think about every risk and proceed only after confirming them. Taking myself as an example, in my ten years at work I’ve been faced with life-threatening dangers on no fewer than three occasions. Now, I’m a coward; I firmly refuse to do anything that I consider to be risky. Because I’ve argued with leaders who didn’t understand this many times; one’s life is one’s own – if you lose your job, you can find another one, but once you lose your life, it’s gone forever. For those working in instrumentation, you need to excel in instrumentation while strengthening other specialties. What does that mean? Those in the instrumentation field need to master their skills thoroughly so as to have confidence in what they do; if you only manage to do this, then you’re not a good instrumentation technician. A good instrument technician is not only proficient in their specialty but also knows everything about other areas, especially process engineering and electrical systems. Why? Because, all instruments are designed to serve the manufacturing process. If you don’t understand the aspects related to this process, then you certainly won’t know why there is a thermometer in that place, or what purpose the pressure transmitters serve. You also won’t be able to determine where there are hazards, or which thermometers might leak due to wear and tear. You won’t know which pipes contain high pressure or which ones are toxic. Even if you stay inside and manage the DCS, it’s still possible that, due to your lack of knowledge about the technical aspects, you could pose a risk to others. If you understand the process, you can propose better control schemes and more secure interlocks. You can also quickly identify the source of faults based on process data, as well as detect faulty shutdowns caused by operational errors. Let me give an example: we experienced such a shutdown here before. It was surprising – four large compressors stopped working one after another, either due to vibration or overpressure. After thorough investigation, it was found that the first compressor to stop was experiencing overpressure; there were no valve operations after its outlet, nor any blockages. Initially, even the management and some of the instrument technicians thought it was a fault with the instruments or some kind of interference. But at that time, an experienced instrument technician who understood the process well, by referring to the process operation records, identified a valve operation that had nothing to do with the compressors. It was the rapid operation of this unrelated valve that caused a sudden change in heat exchange between the liquid behind the valve and the gas coming out of the compressor, which in turn led to a sudden change in the pressure at the compressor’s outlet and triggered a series of shutdowns. If it weren’t for the familiarity with the process, the instruments bore the blame for this accident. Since the instrument is the core of control, all monitoring and control functions take place through it. In the minds of some managers, if the cause cannot be identified using the instrument, then it must be the fault of the instrument itself. You also need to be proficient in electrical systems, as you have to control electrical equipment. These devices come equipped with their own protection mechanisms. Often, shutdowns are caused by electrical issues or by the protective measures built into the electrical equipment itself. Once such a mechanism activates, it triggers the protection functions of the instruments. In many cases, there is a time difference between the signals from the instruments and those from the electrical systems, and that difference is measured in milliseconds. This can lead to confusion as to which system should take action first. If you don’t understand the electrical protection mechanisms, you might end up being held responsible for the problems. Therefore, an instrument technician is a versatile profession; as such, one must be proficient in instruments and have knowledge of other areas as well. As an instrument technician, when troubleshooting, one needs to be bold, meticulous, and thoughtful. What this means is that being bold does not mean speaking without thinking; it involves boldly proposing possibilities based on careful consideration of various factors such as instrumentation, manufacturing processes, electrical systems, mechanics, and so on, followed by thorough verification. During this verification process, one must have ideas and a clear approach of one’s own. For example, in the event of a sudden large-scale shutdown for unknown reasons, the first step is to identify characteristic signals, such as those related to the operation of motors. By combining these signals, it’s possible to determine which device showed abnormalities first. Once that device has been identified, its fault alarms are checked to determine the cause of the shutdown. Once the cause is known, further action isn’t necessary. If it is not obvious, it is necessary to analyze based on this reason, drawing on relevant knowledge in areas such as manufacturing processes, electricity, and mechanics to identify possible causes. Make bold assumptions, and then use those assumptions to look for evidence to support them. If there is evidence to confirm the assumption, do not rush to draw a conclusion; try alternative approaches to verify it. Only if everything checks out can a conclusion be drawn. Remember, never draw conclusions without evidence or with insufficient evidence – it will offend many people, and you won’t be able to account for it to your supervisors either. It should be said that working in a monitoring role is not easy, especially when an incident occurs; the supervisors will demand that the cause be identified quickly. One must remain calm and thoughtful, and not search around aimlessly like a lost fly. During maintenance, instruments are definitely the first to be installed and the last to be removed. Before equipment maintenance, the instruments are removed first; they are reinstated after the maintenance is completed. Here, often the maintenance time is delayed due to issues in other areas, and that time is then squeezed from the instrumentation work. Some managers don’t understand this; when asked why certain tasks aren’t completed yet, the answer is that it’s because of the instrumentation work. As a result, instrumentation becomes the slowest part of everything – what’s going on? I believe such leaders exist not only in our organization. Therefore, those working with instruments must withstand pressure, argue their case based on facts, and carry out their tasks thoroughly; otherwise, the work might still be completed, but subsequent issues such as leaks, blockages, and interference can cause great difficulties, and it might even be classified as a maintenance error. I’ve written so much nonsense – I’m typing on my phone and my fingers hurt from pressing the keys; I’ll write more later. Old instrument technician here; please don’t laugh. It’s for newcomers to this industry – take a look; it might be useful to you.