ISA Technician Guides

Select from the following International Society of Automation Technician Guides available from Amazon:

Calibration: A Technician’s Guide (Recommended)

This comprehensive review of calibration provides an excellent foundation for understanding principles and applications of the most frequently performed tasks of a technician.

Topics addressed include terminology, bench vs. field calibration, loop vs. individual instrument calibration, instrument classification systems, documentation, and specific calibration techniques for temperature, pressure, level, flow, final control, and analytical instrumentation.

Loop Checking: A Technician’s Guide

In today’s competitive markets, manufacturers strive to continually improve manufacturing performance to meet their business needs and goals. As process control loops have a major impact on a plant’s financial performance, focusing on loop performance is critical.

This technician’s guide defines loop checking in the broader scope of control loop performance in addition to the more traditional terms of the plant startup. It discusses general methods and practices that can be applied across many processes/industries. Featured topics include: loop checking basics, factory acceptance testing, wiring and loop checks, performance benchmarking, and sustaining performance.

Troubleshooting: A Technician’s Guide, Second Edition

Troubleshooting loops and systems is something all technicians must do, but that few truly master. This newly revised edition draws on the author’s long experience as an instrument and electrical engineer and his maintenance expertise to provide a detailed look at the skills and knowledge required for troubleshooting.

Interspersed with a wealth of practical detail and real-world examples are Mostia’s no-nonsense discussions of what a good troubleshooter needs to know. He provides an in-depth discussion of the basic logical framework that underlies all troubleshooting as well as advanced troubleshooting techniques. He also explores the causes of failures and the techniques that engineers and technicians use to trace them down.

This new edition covers troubleshooting methods, both basic and advanced, hints and troubleshooting aids, troubleshooting safety, basic maintenance concepts, information about training, and the developing troubleshooting skills. It also includes numerous examples of troubleshooting problems in mechanical systems, process connections, pneumatic systems, electrical systems, electronic systems, and valves. Mostia also explores test equipment, programmable electronic systems, communication circuits, transient problems, and software.

Start-Up: A Technician’s Guide, Second Edition

When new plants or systems go online, Control Systems Technicians face special challenges. The start-up you are involved with may be a newly built, substantially changed, or the start-up of a portion of a manufacturing facility.

In Start-Up: A Technician’s Guide, author Diane R. Barkin explores and explains the crucial role a technician plays in this process. From the first start-up team meeting to the last round of tuning and loop checking, Diane uses her extensive practical experience in the process control field to walk you through the issues and skills typically required during a start-up.

Updated significantly, since the first edition, Barkin has added content regarding project execution and information concerning the systems and personnel a technician will work with in the current manufacturing environment.

Each chapter of Start-Up: A Technician’s Guide includes self-study learning objectives, practice questions and exercises, answers and references to industry practices and standards. Written with the technician in mind, it is a non-mathematical, practical book that provides an overview of the scope of duties a technician must perform in real-world situations. Includes over 30 figures and tables; fully indexed.

Project Management: A Technician’s Guide

Books on project management typically focus on the theory of project management and the role of the project manager or project engineer. This text explores project management from a technician’s perspective and is an excellent resource for preparing for the ISA Certified Control Systems Technician® (CCST) exam.