This post includes the recordings of the two-part webinar series titled “How to avoid the most common mistakes in field calibration” we recently did together with our partner ISA (International Society of Automation).
ISA develops standards, certifies industry professionals, provides education and training, publishes books and technical articles, and hosts conferences and exhibitions for automation professionals. More information on ISA can be found at https://www.isa.org/
The webinar speakers have a lot of experience in automation and calibration:
- Hunter Vegas has over 30 years of experience in various automation projects. He currently works for the company Wunderlich-Malec.
- Ned Espy has worked over 20 years with calibration management at Beamex, Inc. and also has calibration experience from his previous jobs.
- Roy Tomalino has worked 15 years at Beamex, Inc. teaching calibration management and also has prior calibration experience.
To make it easier for you to find out what was discussed in the webinars, I have done a short table of contents with the starting times of each topic. This makes it easier for you to see if there are some interesting sections and to quickly jump straight into that section. Please note that this table of contents does not list all the things discussed, so I recommend checking the videos fully through. The videos include a lot of practical issues and considerations.
Please see the contents and the links to the webinar recordings below:
How to avoid the most common mistakes in field calibration – Part 1 (1:30:35)
| Time | Subject |
| 0:00 | Introduction to the webinar |
| 1:55 | Harvard calibration event video |
| 5:00 | Introduction of the webinar presenters |
| 7:10 | Webinar agenda |
| 8:08 | Introduction/background. Measurement in practice. Traceability & Test Ratios (TUR) |
| 12:00 | Poll Question - Do you need to connect in series for a field mA measurement? |
| 13:20 | mA measurement - No trips allowed! |
| 15:20 | Using transmitter’s test diode connection and related concerns |
| 18:30 | Poll Question - When hooking up a mA meter in series, do you hook it upstream or downstream of the transmitter? |
| 19:10 | Explanation of the poll question. Downstream avoid fuse blows. Ground leaks in transmitter. |
| 22:15 | Where does the 250 ohms resistor go and what does it do? How to connect a HART communicator. |
| 25:30 | Live demo. Calibration and trim of a HART temperature transmitter. |
| 31:00 | Questions & Answers |
| 49:45 | Absolute pressure transmitter issues. |
| 54:00 | DP calibration of storage tanks – Bubbler. |
| 56:05 | Calibration of a steam drum level |
| 59:40 | Resistance measurement; 2, 3 or 4 wire connection. |
| 1:04:00 | Poll Question – How to test a thermocouple & transmitter loop? |
| 1:06:40 | Loop calibration basics |
| 1:13:30 | Live demo. Pressure transmitter calibration – calibrate mA output and control room display. |
| 1:24:00 | Questions & Answers |
Watch the webinar (Part 1) by clicking the picture below:
How to avoid the most common mistakes in field calibration – Part 2 (1:24:04)
| Time | Subject |
| 0:00 | Introduction to the webinar |
| 1:40 | Introduction of the webinar presenters |
| 3:55 | Webinar agenda |
| 4:55 | Setting field parameters, common errors. |
| 6:30 | Poll Question – How difficult are capillary seal systems for you? |
| 7:30 | DP seal assemblies. Seal fluid, temperature and capillary issues. Single/dual pad seal installation. |
| 13:30 | Live demo – Capillary seal transmitter issues. |
| 15:00 | Poll Question – Most is the most common error tolerance in your plant? |
| 16:30 | Drivers for calibration. Testing parameters. Optimum testing interval. |
| 27:20 | Live Demo – Calibrating a square rooting DP transmitter, tolerance consideration. |
| 32:50 | Questions & Answers |
| 44:45 | Poll Question – What is the most common method for testing and calibrating valves in your plant? |
| 45:40 | Control valves. Valve types. Positioner. Linearity. Valve testing. |
| 53:00 | Testing and “Calibrating” valves. Best practice. |
| 59:00 | Review - Optimum testing interval. Calibration trend analysis. |
| 1:02:40 | ISA recommended practice RP105 – Management of a calibration program for industrial automation and control systems. |
| 1:05:20 | Live demo – Control valve test. |
| 1:10:00 | Questions & Answers |
Watch the webinar (Part 2) by clicking the picture below:
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