Tour of instrument loop system after July 2009 remodel

Students in BTC's Instrumentation and Control Technology program build complete, working instrument systems in the lab by using what I call a "loop system," consisting of several metal racks with 2-inch pipes for them to mount instruments to, several electrical enclosures for them to pull wires to and through (terminal blocks inside those enclosures for connection points), and a control panel and DCS equipment to interpret the instrument signals. By using this system -- instead of pre-built "trainers" such as those manufactured by Hampden Engineering or other firms -- students not only learn how the instruments work, but also learn how to pull wire, install liquid-tight flexible conduit, properly terminate cables, make good electrical connections, draw and interpret accurate loop diagrams, and most importantly how to troubleshoot systems spanning large areas. After each team builds their loop, I fault the loop and have each student (individually) diagnose the problem using their test equipment. When everyone is done with their troubleshooting, I have students dismantle their working systems and put all instruments back on the storage shelves.

This video gives a brief tour of the lab area following a remodel over the summer break of 2009.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• instrumentation
• loop
• lab
• BTC
• conduit
• unistrut
• controller
• DCS
• DeltaV
• Siemens
• PID
• transmitter
• troubleshooting
• education

[DIRTYBAY2HTOWN]

Well the last year I was there we never used the pilot plant only to draw our loops. But we never had "Hands on". If we had hands on building the loops I would have a better understanding of what I do. Lee college has a great program but just needs more hands on training that's it.

[BTCInstrumentation]

@DIRTYBAY2HTOWN Thanks for the clarification. That's really unfortunate, that their pilot plant doesn't get used to its full potential. One reason colleges don't have students doing more "hands on" work is the time commitment required. I'm curious -- what was the balance between classroom theory and lab time at Lee College? At BTC, it's about 50/50 classroom/lab, which gives us a lot of time for hands-on stuff.

[DIRTYBAY2HTOWN]

I sure wish we had that at are college, which is Baytown Lee College. Building the loops you get all the hands on training on all aspects of constructing a loop. We really didn't have much hands on training and the loops were already made. We had to trouble shoot, start and stop.I just wish we had more hands on cause I work better with my hands. Where is the Technical school that you teach at, located?

[BTCInstrumentation]

@DIRTYBAY2HTOWN I've heard the same about other schools too -- nothing but pre-built loops. The irony is, this "loop system" method where students construct their own loops (then troubleshoot loops other students built) not only teaches a lot more, but it's actually cheaper and less work for the instructors to set up! I wouldn't completely knock your setup at Lee College (I've visited there) -- they have quite the glycol pilot plant, which provides a unique learning opportunity.

[BTCInstrumentation]

@DIRTYBAY2HTOWN I teach Instrumentation at Bellingham Technical College in Bellingham, Washington. We're pretty much the furthest north-west you can get in the US apart from Alaska.

[BTCInstrumentation]

Students learn far more by building the loops themselves. Not only do they learn good construction techniques, but they also learn to sketch "as-built" loop diagrams (or build loops according to a given diagram). With a well-organized "loop system" in place, the actual construction time for each working loop is just a couple of hours.

Pre-built simulators only make sense for very short-term training sessions, where students don't have as much time as they do in a full-time degree program.

[wa4aos]

Excellent demo and outstanding Lad. Very well explained and enjoyed Watching.

Thanks for posting.

Glenn Scott

DSM Labs

SC

[Adanatar]

I like the idea of not having pre built simulators, When i went to NAIT in Edmonton Alberta we didn't build the loops they were already there, the hands on would have being really helpful