The Renaissance System® For Instrument Engineering ...

Engineering goes down one path, and maintenance goes down another," says Terry Wilford, President of Renaissance "There’s a lot of duplication of efforts, and duplication of data. You’re out of synch, and you don’t get updated." If this sounds like your installation in operation and maintenance mode, you are one of the people this software developer had in mind while creating its ISO-9000 & Process Safety Management Calibration System.

As the name suggests, the system is designed to manage calibration information to simplify compliance with ISO-9000 quality standards and OSHA Process Safety Management requirements. To do this, it brings the information from construction, engineering, and maintenance into a single database. Centralizing information is the basis of the system. "We had a company that was looking for something on the market for ISO-9000 certification, and they couldn’t find it." Says Wilford. "They were doing everything by hand, and it’s very easy to lose a piece of paper. When you lose a piece of paper, that becomes a violation, and you can lose your certification." The system stores all the information in the computer where it’s centrally located and always available. The information includes the calibration procedure, manufacturer’s specifications, and related engineering documents as well as master calibrator data, as-found instrument data, and maintenance history from the maintenance department.

Statistical quality control charts can be produced and analyzed to help diagnose problems. "The SQC portion of the package will chart any group of tags, pieces of equipment, or instrumentation," says Wilford. "You can compare them side by side, and you can narrow down to which actual component in a loop is problem device." You can also determined statistically the capability of the loop, as well as the piece of equipment on which it’s installed. Stored data can be statistically evaluated to determine when calibration or other maintenance should be performed. The user can then schedule maintenance and print scheduling reports for all the instruments that are due for calibration. The critical difference between this calibration system and other approaches such as hand-held calibrators are the ties to management and engineering. "Compared to hand-held calibrators, this system includes maintenance management, not just field data," says Wilford.

Written in C++ with proprietary databases, the software runs on Windows and Windows NT. It works with Renaissance’s System for Instrument Engineering, which is a tool that automatically generates CAD drawings, engineering and maintenance reports, man-hour estimates, wiring lists, and specification sheets. (For and end-user review of the system for Instrument Engineering, see Eliminate CADD) With the instrument engineering system, "You can create drawings without ever drawing a line," say Wilford. AutoCAD-type drawings are automatically created based on what the user puts in the database. "We’re also storing all the piping and instrument details, which are required by OSHA as well," Wilford continues. "We’re able to generate all the wiring schedules, all the process data sheets, the whole gamut of calibration reports, and statistical charting." Using the ISO-9000 & Process Safety Management Calibration system with the System for Instrument Engineering avoids duplication of data and keeps construction, engineering, and maintenance in synchronization. Wilford says, "Engineering, construction, and maintenance all coexist under one roof. We bring back those ties seamlessly between those of different groups.

Reprint from Control Magazine