Overview
L-Tech Engineering services provides specialized services in process instrumentation calibration, pre-commissioning, commissioning, maintenance and safety valve testing for oil and gas, refineries, petrochemicals and power plants.
High-level performance
To attain higher levels of excellence by providing professionalized treatment and specialized technical services, L-tech Engineering is equipped with the most modern test instruments/equipment available in instrumentation. They also have well-educated and extremely experienced technical staff for calibration, testing, commissioning and maintenance in scheduled time.
“We consider ourselves the best equipped contractor in India. We were also the first company to introduce fieldbus calibrators in India. Being the best and staying the best, we constantly keep up to date with all of the developments in process instrumentation, providing training programs for our staff. At L-Tech, we assist customers by providing resources/tools designed to perform multiple function calibration services for process variables and to maintain quality”, describes Mr. Binish Nair.
Unexpected challenges when introducing the fieldbus calibrator
In 2007, L-Tech received a substantial contract from a leading Indian Oil & Gas company. As a result, L-Tech mobilized itself with a lot of new equipment and significant investments and learned that over 80 % of the transmitters in the contract were fieldbus based. According to Mr. Nair, finding the right solution was a huge challenge; learning about Beamex created new hope for L-Tech as a calibration company. “We are the first company to inquire about and adapt fieldbus calibration in India. We introduced the Beamex MC5 in the world’s most expansively installed base of fieldbus instruments, at that time, the flagship of refinery expansion projects”, he says proudly.
At first, the request was denied internally with the claim that fieldbus transmitters do not need to be calibrated. After several discussions and meetings, L-Tech was allowed to test the transmitters. After testing more than two thousand transmitters, several issues related to configuration and accuracy, which did not match the datasheet were found. According to the datasheet, the accuracy specified for transmitters was a 0.025 % span. The same was reported to the client, and the As Left accuracy level was from a 0.1 % to 0.4 % span. The client conducted an inspection of the transmitter and more than 100 transmitters were tested. The client was extremely active and conducted close inspections. Several transmitters of different ranges were tested in different conditions; with a/c, without a/c, different room temperatures and different times in our lab. All of the aspects related to the calibration procedure, master equipment, room temperature, data sheets and recorded video, photos, etc. were also checked. All required
documents were submitted to the principal manufacturer.
“We claimed that with the Beamex calibrator we understand that the transmitter accuracy does not meet the specifications given by the transmitter manufacturer. Some sample transmitters from the US were tested in front of the customer and these performed perfectly within Beamex’s error limit. The customer finally admitted that we were right. Thanks to the Beamex MC5 multifunction calibrator, we could achieve this prestigious moment because of the consistent repeatability attained through each transmitter which has been tested in various temperature and humidity conditions”, Mr. Nair remembers.
Bonded to Beamex
In early 2008, a senior person from one of the instrument manufacturers from the US came to the L-Tech site and all of the calibration performances were repeated for 5 days, 12 hours a day. After hundreds of trials, the vendor finally accepted, advised to recalibrate and appreciated L-Tech as well as the performance of the Beamex MC5.
“One of the important challenges for any calibration technician/engineer after calibration of instruments is to test and show the same reading in front of a witnessing inspector at the time of random checking, as the random checking may take place either the same day or even after 2 to 3 weeks. For this the calibration technician needs both good skills and calibration equipment and with Beamex it is very easy to prove it”, Mr. Nair notifies.
From this moment L-Tech started using Beamex calibrators for all of the major projects. L-tech is obtaining more and more practical experience which is shared with all of the sites and customers. This experience has also changed the common attitude regarding the importance for calibration of fieldbus transmitters.
Since November 2007, L-tech has used Beamex calibrators for more than 1 million instrument calibrations and loop checking jobs. During this time, we have not come across any maintenance requirements for the calibrator and we have been able to use Beamex calibrators without any interruption in our work. We have also reduced costs and been able to complete the jobs within the scheduled time and with hardly any complaints from our staff or customers.
