Efficient Plant March 2020 - 15

feature | instrumentation
so one can be calibrated at a time, demanding extra attention since the instruments
must be handled while the process remains
active.
Many of these industries schedule infrequent maintenance outages or turnarounds
during which calibration work can be
performed while the process is stopped for
other major maintenance activities. Careful
coordination is necessary to ensure the
right materials and personnel are available
to calibrate instruments during this brief
window of opportunity. Occasionally,
equipment failure will open an unexpected
window of time during which work can
be performed on associated out-of-service
systems.
The "where" component can be just as
involved as the "when." A shop or laboratory, either on- or off-site, is usually an ideal
and controlled environment stocked with
everything needed to calibrate instruments.
However, shop or lab calibrations require
instrument removal, transport, and handling that introduces time delays, increases
costs, and adds the risk of inadvertent
damage.
These downsides can be offset by efficiencies gained when multiple field teams
remove and reinstall instruments, enabling
a small calibration team in a shop or lab to
perform work quickly in bulk.
Instruments may also need to be calibrated in place because removal is impractical.
For very quick turnarounds, the removal,
transport, and replacement cycle may be
unacceptably long. In those cases, an individual or calibration team must be ready for
deployment to the field.

SERVICES SECURE SCALABILITY

assure a timely response. For this reason,
plant personnel often find they can supplement or completely rely on instrument
calibration vendors to provide specialized
services for some or all of their metrology
needs. These service providers are in the
best position to deliver the required flexibility and scalability.
Depending on need, calibration sup-

port can be arranged to vary from half a day
of service to a more long-term solution of
having an embedded, full-time calibration
technician.
Some calibration-service providers are
strictly local or regional, but a provider
with multiple regional facilities can provide
distinct advantages. End users will always
appreciate the availability of metrology

INNOVATION
THAT REVOLVES

AROUND YOU
Inpro/Seal ® didn't just invent the Bearing Isolator.
We've perfected it - again and again - to meet the
unique needs of our customers. Our whatever-ittakes approach to protecting and extending the life of
rotating equipment is why, over 40 years later, Inpro/Seal
is the trusted source of permanent bearing protection.
www.inpro-seal.com/est1977

Because calibration needs often come
in waves, with relatively long periods of
inactivity between them, it is very difficult
for process plants to maintain the necessary
staff, knowledge bae, and standards that

MARCH 2020

EP2003fendress.indd 15

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Efficient Plant March 2020

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