Instrumentation specialist, Endress+Hauser offers measurement solutions across a range of applications from flow and temperature to pressure, level, registration and liquid analysis. In addition, the company is heavily invested in providing comprehensive and professional services to customers. This is evident in its approach to the maintenance and after-sales service of flowmeters.

The purchase price of flowmeters could account for a mere 30% of their total cost of ownership (TCO). Process safety, dependability, and cost effectiveness are equally important, however, the selection of the correct flowmeter is only the first step in ensuring a balance of all three aspects.

In industries such as food and beverage, petrochemical and water / waste water, where safety and hygiene regulations require consistent testing of quality, or in applications where the measurement devices are exposed to harsh conditions, flowmeters are required to be calibrated on a regular basis to ensure optimum performance.

Internationally, Endress+Hauser has invested in extensive state of the art calibration facilities. These facilities can be found in the USA, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, India and China, with the largest in Cernay, France.

The flow measurement device, however, needs to be removed from service to be calibrated in a fully equipped calibration laboratory. This procedure is expensive, causes plant down time, delays in production and can be a lengthy process when transportation to and from the calibration facility is taken into consideration. Locally, there are few facilities capable of performing full calibration, especially when it involves flowmeters of nominal bore larger than 800 mm.

With this in mind, Endress+Hauser has developed an intermediate low cost alternative to full laboratory calibration.

According to Endress+Hauser Service Manager, Colin Malan, the company has developed a less complex and more cost effective method of calibration that takes place in the field. This is achieved with portable, but more importantly, traceable, equipment that is used at point of installation.

"The main difference between the field calibration and full laboratory calibration is that the field calibration does not check the integrity of the internal flow tube - mechanical damage. For the majority of applications this tube integrity check is not necessary. This can, however, be easily achieved if the inspector can open the line and carry out a physical inspection. 

"This portable equipment, the FieldCheck unit, allows the flowmeters to be checked without removing them from the field and incurring costly down time,” says Malan.

The FieldCheck device is connected to the electronics of the flowmeter via cables. It injects a signal into the flowmeter, takes a read out and then compares the result with an internationally accepted standard. It is capable of testing both signal inputs and process outputs, with the entire process taking no longer than fifteen minutes.

The FieldCheck unit is used in conjunction with a software package - FieldTool. Results from the tester are downloaded into the software, transferred to a database and printed out as a certificate. The FieldTool software is tamper proof. These results can, therefore, be submitted to, and are accepted by the relevant regulatory bodies. The verification process is fully traceable and includes an audit trail, by serial number, of each flowmeter. The software also offers audit trail management and printouts as well as full configuration and service options, when connected directly to flowmeters. These service options include full device configuration, configuration backup, and flowmeter trouble shooting. In certain cases predictive maintenance capability is also offered.

"The field calibration process is offered by Endress+Hauser as a value added service. The FieldCheck device is available for purchase, rental, or as integral part of a maintenance or calibration contract service offering.”

Malan notes that both the FieldCheck device and FieldTool software are fully compatible with the entire range of Endress+Hauser flowmeters including electromagnetic, coriolis, vortex, clamp-on ultrasonic, and thermal mass type.

"This is a huge differentiator in the marketplace. Similar competitive packages offered are compatible only with electromagnetic flowmeters.”