Big Issues in Instrumentation

Legislation, Regulations and Directives

  • MCERTS - Pollute at your peril

    The Monitoring Certification Scheme (MCERTS) is designed to ensure that potential polluters are monitoring their emissions effectively and supplying the Environment Agency (EA) with reliable data. Although everyone welcomes initiatives to protect the environment, MCERTS has been criticised for being onerous and expensive. In fact, it should deliver a range of benefits in the future, including potential cost savings for some process operators, argues Tony Hoyle of ABB.

  • Are you ready for ATEX?

    The ATEX Directive governs the design of equipment intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. Martyn Northfield of ABB Limited’s instrumentation division explains what the Directive means for manufacturers and end users.

  • Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive

    The government’s statutory deadline for the completion of the “appropriate” treatment of secondary discharges is 2005. Which in effect gives the industry just four years to complete its programme.

Recording, Control & Fieldbus

  • A new era in data recording

    Developments in electronic data recording technology are opening up new possibilities for the collection, storage and retrieval of process data, making them appropriate for use in a host of new applications. ABB explains the benefits that electronic data recorders can bring and how they can be used to transform the way in which process data is collected and utilised.

  • Fieldbus into the future

    Fieldbus is now widely accepted as a valuable communication method between industrial control systems and field instruments.

Flow Measurement

  • Enjoy simpler flow meter selection

    The huge array of flow technology options on offer can often make selecting the correct flow meter for a processing application a bewildering task. ’The essential guide to process flow measurement’ wallchart presents ABB’s range of flow meter models for process industry applications and explains how to select the appropriate model for an application.

  • Putting the squeeze on compressed air costs

    With energy prices on the rise and huge savings there for the taking, Mark Allinson of ABB argues that the time has come to take control of compressed air.

  • A measured approach to energy management

    High fuel prices are threatening the competitiveness of UK-based businesses. But if companies want to make a real reduction in the amount of steam and hot water they use, the first thing they must do is measure it, says Mark Allinson of ABB.

  • Choosing the Right Flowmeter

    2003-01-21 - Dr Bryan Franklin, Flow Products Manager at ABB Limited, explains the main points that need to be considered when selecting a flowmeter for an application - Since much of a plant's profitability depends upon accurate and reliable flow measurement, it is essential that selection is based on broadly based, constantly reviewed knowledge and skills. Selecting a meter on cost alone may be short-term expediency but it can also lead to problems in the longer term. Although cost is clearly important, it should be viewed in the wider context of a supplier’s capability credentials. Good technical back-up, the provision of independently traceable test facilities, an established track record and a reputation for high-reliability products based on sound research and development ultimately provide for the most cost-effective development.

  • Let the flowmeter buyer beware

    2003-01-21 - Flowmeter buyers beware! There are some flowmeter manufacturers out there making claims about their flowmeter accuracies that are just not true. With no single standard imposing uniform conditions for flowmeter calibration, some companies are getting away with making misleading claims that could potentially cost you dear.

  • The future of Flowmetering

    2003-03-28 - "The growing interest surrounding leakage and revenue metering will increasingly become one of the main factors driving demand for more sophisticated flowmetering systems in the water sector." So says Dr Bryan Franklin, Flow Products Manager, ABB Limited.

  • Top Tips for flowmeter selection

    The huge array of flow technology options on offer can make selecting the correct flowmeter for an application a bewildering task. A broad range of factors can influence flowmeter selection, of which cost is just one. Dr Bryan Franklin, Flow Products Manager, ABB Limited recommends a list of top tips for selecting the best all round flow system for an application.

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Temperature & Pressure Measurement

  • Thermowells – a lesson in performance under pressure

    Thermowells must be properly designed and specified to withstand the pressure and stresses of their environment. Andrew Dunbabin, Product Manager, High Temperature Products for ABB Limited’s instrumentation business, argues that users should be aware of all the relevant standards, in order to guard against potentially disastrous failures.

  • Is it time you checked your pressure transmitters?

    Getting the best levels of performance from pressure transmitter equipment is a more involved process than many manufacturers would have you believe. Here, Trevor Dunger, Product Specialist, ABB Limited, explains why following a manufacturer’s claims when it comes to the calibration frequency of their transmitters may not always result in the best performance.

  • PED Directive - Who is responsible?

    By now, anybody working regularly with pressure equipment is able, at the drop of a hard-hat, to offer chapter and verse on the implications of the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) - or, to be strictly accurate for UK readers, the Pressure Equipment Regulations, 1999. Hands up, all those who believe this?