Essentials of Modern Measurements and Final Elements in the Process Industry

The International Society of Automation (ISA) has just published Essentials of Modern Measurements and Final Elements in the Process Industry: A Guide to Design, Configuration, Installation, and Maintenance by Gregory K. McMillan.

Greg McMillan (right) being presented with an author's award by ISA Publications VP Vitor Finkel at the ISAExpo 2009 in October.

Gregory K. McMillan retired after a 33-year career as a specialist in modeling and process control
for Monsanto and its spinoff Solutia. His life is far from a model of process control. It was the unusual freedom and openness of his job in engineering technology that led to the series of humorous books on corporate life and process automation.
Greg has written too many to list totally serious technical books.
He taught at Washington University in Saint Louis (2001–2002) where he set up a virtual plant that was almost as fun as a video game and a good perquisite for students getting a real job in a real plant. Greg was inducted into the Process Automation Hall of Fame in 2001. He has been working leisurely as a consultant to Emerson Process Management since 2003 and spends his free time with fellow retirees and doing his best to help keep Austin (TX US) weird!

Dedicated to automation engineers and technicians, this comprehensive resource aims to increase awareness of the opportunities afforded by modern measurement instruments and final elements, and to show how to get maximum benefit from the revolution in smart technologies. It builds an understanding of the fundamental aspects of measurements, measurement instruments, and final elements for applications in the process industry. The terminology and ideas presented provide a firm foundation for subsequent chapters that focus on what is needed for lowest life-cycle cost and best automation system performance. The last chapter provides a comprehensive exploration of the technology that supports the rapidly expanding opportunities of WirelessHART instrumentation. Each chapter includes a set of questions designed to stimulate the thought process involved for a successful application.

No prior plant experience with industrial process instrumentation is required for the reader to understand this book. For students and new employees, the chapters on fundamentals can improve productivity on the job and form a basis for further study. For the seasoned veteran, the book offers insights and serves as a guide through today’s myriad automation products and application details. It provides a picture of the state-of-the-art for 95% of the field instrumentation and final elements used, or under consideration, in a modern process plant. The reader is encouraged to seek further information on particular types of measurement instruments and final elements, which is available from manufacturers via the internet and in instrumentation handbooks and ISA publications.