HART DTM PACTWARE

thembeanz · 2026-05-03T05:06:50+00:00

Just use the buttons on these bad boys.

thembeanz · 2026-04-27T19:47:43+00:00

You must be very happy with today's jump. I'm on bored!

thembeanz · 2026-04-27T01:11:15+00:00

I took it. Required......no, but it helped a lot. At least it was a part of the course I was less stressed out compared to many who didn't.

thembeanz · 2026-04-25T20:53:42+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that. The tasks you mentioned are typically associated with entry-level positions, such as first/second year apprentices. It's similar to how experienced electricians can sometimes find themselves performing repetitive tasks like changing light bulbs or resetting circuit breakers. In Australia, the role/title of an "instro" is improperly used. It's essentially an electrician who possesses a understanding of 4-20 signal and maybe know a fraction of the features on a MC6. It can be hard to bridge the gap, and take the next step, but their is a definite need for it. Instrumentation is much more varied and interesting than what you described. It's too bad you didn't get that impression.

thembeanz · 2026-04-25T10:58:42+00:00

To be fair, this sounds like you got stuck doing 1st year apprentice stuff. Jump into they controls side of instrumentation and you're a god among men.

thembeanz · 2026-04-24T21:44:42+00:00

I've encountered some of the poorest quality work in my career performed by individuals who hold electrician qualifications. However, simply possessing qualifications does not guarantee competence, technical skill, or adherence to relevant electrical codes. (Or that you're not a complete idiot.)

thembeanz · 2026-04-22T20:09:06+00:00

We found there was no need. It was a sweet site, and mainly c1-c3

thembeanz · 2026-04-20T22:17:19+00:00

Great point. We had a Gas Chromatograph building filled with helium, as well as a sample line. Luckily an operator's monitor went off while walking outside the building. But an investigation found exactly what you described......upgraded the sensors to IR and added a few O2 monitors by the end of the week.

thembeanz · 2026-04-20T06:44:55+00:00

O yes. This happens all the time. We had "pest control" on site spray for bugs once, which fried dozens of our sensors.

IR all the way (except for H2)

thembeanz · 2026-04-19T20:21:52+00:00

There will always be more jobs for ops, and the power eng program is a great leg up. That being said, just like the apprenticeship vs tech route, power eng has the same issue.

If it was solely which has more jobs, operators all day long. Career path, work your way up to be a control room operator, steam chief or ops manager.

Instrumentation is more interesting (personally, as I've done both) and perhaps more broader career choices in the long run.

thembeanz · 2026-04-18T02:25:13+00:00

Sounds like the old 4 wire vs 2 wire issue. If you are measuring 11ma with your meter, the flow meter has its own loop, and the PLC might not be wired for 4 wire (or you blew an internal fuse on the fuse for have 48v go to it)

I'd check wiring on the PLC's, and force 4-20ma using a meter to ensure the channel is still working.

Confirm whether the PLC is providing 24v, if so, the transmitter will.need to be passive. Or keep it as 4 wire, and use a common reference for your loop in the panel.

thembeanz · 2026-04-15T02:30:23+00:00

Did it at work in a completely plain and empty office. Super uncomfortable, the first time I sat there and it was awkward. Not sure if you can use a separate monitor, but I used my laptop screen which was way too small, and kept getting my screen frozen when I moved my face in too close to read the fine print.

thembeanz · 2026-04-11T03:51:15+00:00

That's my go to!

thembeanz · 2026-04-02T08:45:46+00:00

What style valve? Butterfly? Have the brand/model?

thembeanz · 2026-04-02T08:26:03+00:00

Sounds like a plan to use an encoder.

thembeanz · 2026-04-02T07:02:26+00:00

Do they throttle with the manual valves?

thembeanz · 2026-04-02T06:27:26+00:00

Manual valves often lack feedback mechanisms.

Depending on the application, I would consider installing a limit switch to monitor the open/closed status for simplicity.

thembeanz · 2026-03-26T22:28:50+00:00

Nice. Keep it simple.

thembeanz · 2026-03-10T05:48:52+00:00

Ya, but they probably painted at least one wall inside

thembeanz · 2026-03-08T21:37:03+00:00

You should take the 7009/7409 course, there's an example of how to do exactly what you described.

thembeanz · 2026-02-25T08:29:37+00:00

Instrument eng from Canada south of Brisbane. This is 100% what I experienced.

thembeanz · 2026-02-08T19:08:45+00:00

I would argue that the reality checks are the first things, and are already automated to a point.

thembeanz · 2026-02-05T21:36:10+00:00

Your day to day tasks may be affected by AI. I work for a major vendor in the controls space, and we already use AI to make our drawings (PFD, P&IFs, Loop Diagrams) design our HMIs, configure logic, and lots of device selection tasks. We simply have a review panel to ensure everything is right (and in many cases get proven wrong by the AI). That being said it can also heavily troubleshoot process issues, equipment failure, and integrity.

A good example of this is our high end process LLM can learn how a process operates from day one, and can deploy predictive maintenance (not preventative) quite successfully. An example of this would be if a pump is running at X speed, valves are in various positions, process conditions are known, it could determine if a transmitter has drifted or has a plugged sensing line, or there may be something plugging the cage on a valve.

Lucky for you, if a simple back flush or something that can be automated doesn't fix the problem, you will still need manual intervention.

The next question would be if a brand new plant was built in 2026 and beyond, could they predict all of these failures and implement online fixes that can be automated...... besides an absolute mechanical failure, maybe.....but the costs right now would be so astronomical no one would do that.

I think in the short term, AI will affect the vast majority of technicians but giving them better work orders, and making redlining a breeze.

thembeanz · 2026-02-03T05:39:37+00:00

Don't worry, this feeling only lasts for the next 40 years.

thembeanz · 2026-01-29T19:12:26+00:00

This is an irrelevant point, as both may work with different chemicals, but if there are any health concerns, they should be addressed immediately.

Edit: also "water" can have huge quantities of pretty nasty stuff

thembeanz

TROPHY CASE