Plant maintenance: measuring trends in calibration

Aided by an increasing number of simplified solutions that provide more precision and combat the knock-on effect of inaccuracies, emerging technologies will play a vital role in enhancing the measurement process.

Significant innovation

The modern oil and gas industry faces an array of challenges that increase the demand for constant technological improvement: the need to maximise the value of mature wells; the intricacies of subsea processing; demands for clean energy; better understanding of fluid flow at higher pressures and temperatures.

Measurement, of course, lies at the heart of any scientific procedure designed to assess an operation, with accurate calibration key to this.

It is, however, a two-way process, points out Phil Mark, group manager for testing services at NEL – provider of technical consultancy services to the energy and oil and gas industry sectors and government.

The visual techniques using electrical, magnetic, capacitance and induction loop tomography are already under development

Phil Mark, group manager for testing services at NEL

The extent to which diagnostics and data processing can help interpret the performance of devices in the field will in turn inform the development of calibration intervals.

“Understanding the pressure effect on fluid density readings also requires further research work and standards development, ” says Mark. Research will also need to include verifying and extending the existing multiphase flow regime mapping for high pressure and temperature operation as a fundamental requirement for the development of new meter technology.

“The visual techniques using electrical, magnetic, capacitance and induction loop tomography are already under development. When you are no longer thinking about whether your server hardware will be able to cope with the demand you want to place on it, nor how much it will cost to build out your IT infrastructure, it opens up new possibilities,” he explains.

Remote witnessing of calibrations saves time and money without downsides. For organisations looking to upgrade or replace their current calibration system, cloud computing is an option worth investigating for its potential benefits.

Connectivity and the Cloud

While some organisations still use traditional methods to record calibration results, they have also become increasingly aware of efficiency and accuracy losses. As a result, the growing trend to adopt solutions enabling them to deliver quick results, while maintaining quality, will continue.

“There is a significant demand for data science, diagnostics and high-volume processing in the field of flow measurement technology,” says Mark.

As sensor technology improves, the opportunity to develop measurement techniques to provide a real-time visual mapping of multiphase flows is of vital importance to the accuracy of flow measurement and requires very fast number crunching with enormous data sets.

With connectivity and the cloud enabling easy access, data is less about location and much more about accessibility

Chris Fox, sales and marketing director at Rotronic

Another application Mark cites is the use of an extended array of instrumentation, providing some continuous data streams, which can be analysed to inform and enhance the measurement process and detect correlations.

Being able to send, receive and store vast amounts of data, in addition to providing device standards, manuals and reports in an engineer’s hand – whether the user is on location, online or mobile – is on the increase.

“The days of working in teams at key locations, and even small teams, have seen a decline in recent years. With connectivity and the cloud enabling easy access, data is less about location and much more about accessibility,” says Chris Fox, sales and marketing director at Rotronic, manufacturers of measurement solutions.

Outsource or in-house

While many companies outsource for expert skills, might we see a return to in-house calibration following recent improvements in technology?

“What we are seeing (and this is in my opinion due to a combination of technology and price pressure), particularly in the oil and gas industry, is people delaying calibration work for as long as possible,” says Mark.

From a flow metering perspective, NEL doesn’t believe technological developments will result in a move away from outsourcing calibration services.

However, technology should provide the user with a better means of determining when a calibration is required, rather than basing it on a set time interval.

I don’t see the current advances in technology doing away with the physical calibration process which means there will be a continued role for the specialist service provider

Phil Mark, group manager for testing services at NEL

There is also a shift from time-based to condition-based calibration intervals; with the meter being smart enough to tell an operator when the measurement uncertainty has exceeded set limits and hence calibration is required. Not forgetting too that this could work the other way and calibration intervals can also reduce.

“In this area,” says Mark, “I don’t see the current advances in technology doing away with the physical calibration process which means there will be a continued role for the specialist service provider.”

In the future, it may be that calibration will be dispensed with altogether and the meter performance predicted mathematically, but NEL concludes that this is some way off.

Engineers of the future

In light of the particular skills gaps, and the ageing workforce in general, how has NEL been addressing this issue?

“The focus has been on developing the unique combination of particular metrology and industry knowledge with a broad capability in engineering, science and research,” says the company.

In 2015, the first cohort of five NEL metrologists matriculated on a doctoral research programme which ran in combination with the University of Coventry.

All five candidates have progressed through the Masters of Research stage to the engineering doctorate (EngD) programme, and each is working on experimental research on the NEL facilities to address priority areas of flow metrology.

The second cohort of five candidates is scheduled to matriculate in May 2017, adds the company.

“An essential requirement of the programme is to gain a firm understanding of industry needs and engage with industry leaders.”

In 2014, NEL launched a Modern Apprentice scheme with an intake of five engineering recruits following a flow metrology technician route.

Employers are increasingly looking for engineers that will take it upon themselves to learn new techniques and the new technology of advanced pieces of equipment in order to perform their job to the best of their abilities

MatchTech online report

NEL requires that all its researchers, scientists and engineers engage and collaborate across the industry to raise their profile and progress their personal development. This applies to testing, standards development and research work carried out both commercially and for the UK’s National Measurement System Engineering and Flow Programme.

While traditional skills will continue to be sought after, “employers are increasingly looking for engineers that will take it upon themselves to learn new techniques and the new technology of advanced pieces of equipment in order to perform their job to the best of their abilities,” concludes MatchTech in its recent online article, Engineering skills: 2016 to 2026.

Calibration is an important aspect of maintenance. With the calibration of thousands of plant instruments, and then the analysis of data to a level required for trend evaluation, it’s no simple task.

Yet developing a combination of specialist skills – the advances in technology and management software enabling engineers to do more with less, while maintaining accuracy and reducing uncertainty – is the way forward.