The Management of Control Systems : Justification and Technical Auditing

Ideal for a company instituting quality management guidelines, this book provides a how-to guide to preparing system justification reports and conducting technical audits. It explains their value both for managing new construction or plant upgrades and supervising existing systems. The author gives step-by-step guidance in evaluating plant needs, selecting systems and vendors, and showing cost justification in terms of play back on investment. The elements of a complete audit are spelled out, including comparing plant requirements with plant performance, auditing control systems (e.g. field and control room, computer-based systems, trip and alarm systems), and auditing support functions (e.g. management, documents, maintenance). (Volume in ILM Series). Contents: Purpose of Control Systems Justification; Benefits of an Automatic Control System; Evaluation of Plant Needs; System Specification and Vendor Selection; Decision Analysis; Cost Justification; Justification Follow-Up; Purpose of Auditing; Control System Functionality; Management; Engineering Records; Maintenance; Instruments and Control Rooms; Microcomputers; Alarm and Trip Systems.