Course Overview

Technician Training Boot Camp (TTBC) is an intensive, hands-on technical training program designed for experienced control systems and instrumentation technicians. The course emphasizes practical, plant-floor skills with more than 75% of the time dedicated to hands-on equipment labs.

TTBC refreshes core instrumentation knowledge while introducing modern smart devices, calibration techniques, control valves, and troubleshooting methods essential for today’s industrial facilities.

Course Details

Course #: TTBC

Dates: June 8–12

Length: 4.5 days

Hours:

• Monday–Thursday: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

• Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

CEUs: 3.6

Location: Houston, TX

Certificate: Certificate of completion provided

Who Should Take TTBC

– Instrument and control technicians with maintenance responsibilities

– Instrument supervisors evaluating technician skill sets

– Reliability and maintenance engineers

– Technicians with a solid understanding of instrumentation fundamentals

Course Learning Objectives

– Communicate effectively using industrial measurement and control terminology

– Tune control loops using structured methods

– Troubleshoot and start up single- and multi-loop control systems

– Install, calibrate, and maintain electronic and pneumatic instruments- Apply smart field device technologies

– Understand control valve operation and diagnostics

Daily Course Structure

Day 1 – Instrumentation Basics

Day 2 – Calibration and Maintenance

Day 3 – Digital (Smart) Transmitters

Day 4 – Control Valves, Positioners, and DVCs

Day 5 – Tuning and Troubleshooting Control Systems

Day One – Instrumentation Basics

Topics include pneumatic and electronic transmitters, 4–20 mA current loops, smart device configuration, and

hands-on calibration of measurement devices.

Day Two – Calibration and Maintenance

Focuses on level, flow, and temperature measurements, differential pressure applications, and calibration of RTD

and thermocouple transmitters.

Day Three – Digital (Smart) Transmitters

Covers analog vs. digital instruments, HART communication, sensor trimming, and configuration of smart field

devices using software tools.

Day Four – Control Valves, Positioners, and DVCs

Includes valve types, sizing, calibration, split-ranging, digital valve controllers, and diagnostic testing of smart

control valves.

Day Five – Tuning and Troubleshooting Control Systems

Explores PID control concepts, loop tuning methods, systematic troubleshooting approaches, and diagnosing

single-loop control problems.

Hands-On Exercises

– Calibration of process measurement devices

– Current loop construction and measurement

– Configuration of smart transmitters and DVCs

– Control loop tuning using simulation software

– Troubleshooting real-world control loop problems

Resources Included

Measurement and Control Basics, Fifth Edition by Thomas A. Hughes (Electronic version)

Recommended Reading

Calibration: A Technician’s Guide by Mike Cable

Fundamentals of Process Control: Principles and Concepts by Patrick F. Bouwman

Troubleshooting: A Technician’s Guide, Second Edition by William L. Mostia, Jr., P.E.