Orion Technical Solutions, LLC

09/06/2024

Houston Techies - please repost and share with those who need a boost in their career in the Electrical / Instrument / Automation areas. Current openings in our November courses in Houston. Seating is limited - Register soon to reserve your seat.

06/05/2024

Taught by expert instructors with decades of experience, Orion Technical Solutions ControlLogix course will get you or your staff ready to troubleshoot and edit these complex systems. Invest in your workforce - Sign up today!

Orion Technical Solutions Public Course in Ontario, CA. Combination of our 2-day Basic Electricity course and our 2-day Electrical Troubleshooting course

05/22/2024

Some helpful tip to those who are learning, teaching, or mentoring personnel in technical roles (such as instrumentation, automation, electrical, etc.)... Please share.

05/17/2024

Invest in yourself with the Orion Technical Solutions BELTS Course! Learn the basics of electrical concepts and troubleshooting with 75% hands-on exercises and real-world examples that solidify knowledge for lasting results. Spots are limited!

Orion Technical Solutions Public Course in Arlington, TX. This public course is a full 4-day combination of our 2-day Basic Electricity course followed by our 2-day Electrical Troubleshooting course.

04/24/2024

Only (6) seats remaining for our June electrical combination course (in Dallas area) - Gain a practical understanding of how electricity works and learn to troubleshoot quickly and effectively. Register your seat today! https://orion-technical.com/course-schedule/

Please share / repost if you know of folks who could benefit from this. Thanks :)

03/14/2024

Somone asked me recently for the background story to my banner image in social media. Here goes:

For many years I worked with a major Oil & Gas company in the Gulf of Mexico doing a combination of training and assessments for their Automation and Instrument Technicians. I truly loved many parts of that job and the people. I especially enjoyed helping folks grow and succeed.

This image was taken while I was working with a gentleman named Vinny on an Automation Simulation System for the offshore platform he worked on. In the photo, we are working on real DCS, PLC, and HMI software tied to a live running physics model of the process.

This memory (and this photo) is special to me for several reasons:

1) Anyone who has met or who knows Vinny, loves working with him. He is one of the kindest, friendliest, and most humble people I have ever worked with, and he is super skilled and a fantastic worker and team-mate. He truly shines a light in any room he enters.

2) Vinny's career story is incredibly inspirational. You cannot help but to root for this guy. He started his career as a pipe fitter, but through hard work and constant learning, he has worked his way up to become one of the best automation specialists around, on one of the most modern and complex platforms and control systems anywhere.

3) Vinny loves learning and does so at an incredible pace. In this photo, we were going over some detailed logic issues for his platform. Watching Vinny apply and demonstrate what he had learned over the years was extremely enjoyable.

4) Nerd-Factor: Teaching and assessing on a live process simulator is one of the coolest and most mentally stimulating things I've had the pleasure of doing in Automation. Talk about making it real! Planting bugs, simulating various field faults and problems, and watching talented folks like Vinny diagnose, troubleshoot, tune, and find solutions was a blast.

For all those reasons, this photo reminds me of, and represents the fun stuff I get to teach and help people learn, and it also reminds me of the wonderful people I get to work with.

03/13/2024

https://orion-technical.com/blog/posts/brain-teaser-instrument-techs-4to20-ma-faults/

In the diagram shown, which of the following scenarios would cause the HMI value to indicate LOWER than the associated transmitter PV value?*For this problem, assume that the negative side of power supply is common/grounded.

02/28/2024

We still have (4) seats in our Houston Instrumentation & Controls course March 25-28, and (2) seats available for our Houston Control Logix course from April 1-4.

These are both heavily hands-on courses with live instruction.

The courses will be held at the Hampton Inn Turquoise meeting room in Pasadena TX. Course hours are from 8am to 4:30pm daily with open lab time from 4:30-6pm each day.

Course pricing is $2495 per student for each course.

Call or text me today at (208) 715-1590; or email [email protected]; or visit my website for more info.

Note - Responses are delayed and often missed on messenger due to excess spam. Please contact me directly per above for timely responses.

02/23/2024

I&C Nerds and Gurus, and those currently 'under development':

See my post & video on troubleshooting 4-20mA instrumentation shorts on the Orion Technical Solutions, LLC Facebook site.

https://fb.watch/qnIoh3hjpg/

02/23/2024

Caution! - - Only for I&C Nerds (or Aspiring I&C Nerds...)

Here is the answer and related discussion to a blog I posted on LinkedIn a while back regarding partial shorts in 4-20mA instrumentation loops. This is a super common issue in the I&C world that many folks (and plants) struggle with...

QUESTION: In the diagram shown, which of the following scenarios would cause the HMI value to indicate LOWER than the associated transmitter PV value?
*For this problem, assume that the negative side of power supply is common/grounded.

A) Approximately 10KΩ short between transmitter housing between Points D & E (assume transmitter case is properly grounded) due to moisture buildup in the transmitter housing.

B) Approximately 10KΩ short in conduit run between Point C & ground due to a conduit run filling with water and insulation damage on the instrument cable caused by poor installation practices.

C) Approximately 10KΩ short in conduit run between point F & ground due to a conduit run filling with water and insulation damage on the instrument cable caused by poor installation practices.

For an additional challenge, try to approximate the transmitter PV and HMI EU value under the fault scenario of answer B, if the transmitter was calibrated for 0-5000 psig = 4-20mA, and is currently at 2000 psig.

The video quality is not tops, but I think I&E folks will find thet content spot on and helpful. Reach out if you'd like more info on this or visit the Orion Technical blog site.

02/21/2024

Hey Gas & Oil friends - Let me know if any of you are interested in our upcoming Houston courses.

We are offering a 2-for-1 discount for the I&C course (March 25-28) for anyone working in a major Oil/Gas/Chem/Energy company. We only have (6) discounted seats remaining and the offer expires at the end of this week. More info is available on LinkedIn.

You can also find more info on our website (shown on flyer image).

Contact me directly for the discount or with any questions.

***Please reshare / repost if you have connections that may be interested. We can use all the help we can get to spread the word. ;)

Thanks!

Comprehensive industrial training and instrumentation programs at Orion Technical Solutions. Enhance your skills with expert guidance.