Emerson Exchange 365

After years of relying on the wealth of knowledge and experience their longtime plant personnel brought to all aspects of liquid analysis, plant managers today find themselves with a retiring workforce, and a staff of inexperienced workers. While they are more digital savvy, less-experienced employees may not have the knowhow to handle routine events such as calibrating a sensor or determining whether to use pH or conductivity measurement to find the concentration of a chemical.

In a recent article in Chemical Processing, Emerson’s Jason Dalebroux sets out 7 simple steps that plants can take to ease stress on less experienced personnel and help assure fewer human errors.

1. Jason advises first to Simplify wiring and connectors, an easy step for the plant. “A connector that locates all connections in the right place automatically and helps reduce human errors is worth far more than its small investment.”
2. Employ easy-to-use instruments with common user interfaces whenever possible. “Look for transmitters with built-in help menus that allow digitally oriented hires to touch the display to get the answers quickly right on the device.”
3. Use smart sensors with built-in calibration and other features. For example, a smart pH sensor’s memory holds calibration information, eliminating the need to carry equipment to the field. Calibration can occur in a controlled environment, such as a laboratory or maintenance shop.
4. Use sensors with built-in diagnostics to reduce time in field.
5. Select sensors with built-in secondary measurements. pH analyzers can be purchased with built-in temperature compensation and chlorine can be pre-integrated with pH to minimize the learning curve for employees.
6. Take advantage of workers’ digital expertise by making instruments accessible through handheld devices.
7. Utilize available systems integration capabilities to provide turnkey systems in a cabinet. Plant managers can benefit their staff and their bottom line by using available services of suppliers like Emerson to supplement their in-house capabilities. These services are often highly cost-effective and lessen the need for expensive specialists on staff.

There’s lots more detail in Jason’s advice. Click HERE to read the full article. And talk to Emerson experts about ways to make your inexperienced workers function like pros.