Print this page Equipment Specifications: Requirements, Developments, and Use
Clifford T Johnson, P.E., CSE
Course Outline
This 2 hour online course discusses the methods of documenting equipment, materials, and systems used in industries such as Pulp & Paper, Power, Chemical, Water & Waste and other industrial firms. Contractors and maintenance people install and maintain such equipment and must use these descriptions, commonly termed specifications. Engineered equipment, such as instrumentation and controls, are normally procured in a competitive bid process that requires that the description of them be generic, but also specific, so that several manufactures can submit proposals. The course will enable a person or engineer to development a specification on a short or long form in order to procure and document the equipment or system.
It assumes you
have the product and/or process knowledge required to complete the information
required for forms.
This course includes
a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding
of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Be familiar with the types of specifications used to describe equipment;
- Familiarize you with requirements for developing specifications;
- Use forms provided to generate short form specification sheets for instrument devices;
- Have some understanding of a long form specification for instrumentation systems;
- Understand the reasons that specifications should be used on all engineered projects; and
- Use related
links to find answers to further questions to questions the course may generate.
The course would
be beneficial for anyone that must describe equipment or material to be purchased
especially in a competitive situation. It is specifically intended for those
involved in instrumentation and controls. You must have the knowledge to know
how the equipment or process operates in order to fill generate specifications.
Benefit
to the Audience
The novice individual just being introduced to requirements for choosing devices used as instruments in control systems, whether it is for process control, boiler control or HVAC will make the most from this course because it will introduce them to short and long form methods of describing (specifying) the devices or systems to be purchased. The course also includes a full set of short forms generated in Lotus spread sheets (Microsoft Excel ® will easily import the forms). Other disciplines could adapt the short forms to their particular needs because they are not copy righted.
Course
Introduction
Almost every engineered
project involves the purchase of various types of equipment. If it is a chemical
plant there are chemical tanks and reactors, cooling towers and heat exchangers,
Boilers and auxiliaries, and of course instrumentation and controls for all
of these major pieces of equipment. Many times a person responsible for procuring
a piece of equipment simply looks up a manufacturer and model number of the
item in a catalog and sends a RFQ (request for quotation) to the manufacturer
for the item in question. This method of procuring a piece of equipment can
lead to many errors. The written specification can eliminate most if not all
errors.
Course Content
The the course content is in a PDF file Equipment Specifications: Requirements, Developments, and Use. You need to open or download this document to study this course.
Course Summary
Specifications
should be used for all procurements and installations, and incorporate drawings
when necessary to describe equipment or service. The short form is best used
if the item is an industry standard. Model numbers should not be used except
in support of a specification. Specifications facilitate installation and later
maintenance. The responsible engineer should at minimum check all specifications.
Related
Reading
This course is
not intended to be used as a stand-alone document. It is recommended to refer
to the following courses available online:
ISA The Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society- http://www.isa.com
Once
you finish studying the
above course content,
you need to
take a quiz
to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.com or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
