Every industrial process on Earth relies on an instrumentation technician to keep things on track. And with Northern’s two-year Instrumentation & Control Engineering Technician diploma, your job prospects will include them all.
You’ll master the complex equations used to tune controllers to a particular process. And you’ll learn to install, maintain, test and calibrate the critical equipment that measures and controls temperature, level, pressure and flow.
Along the way, you’ll hone your math, science and problem-solving skills. You’ll cover the fundamentals of electricity and electronics. You’ll learn troubleshooting techniques and how to interpret drawings.
And – from furnaces and boilers to pulp mills and power plants – you’ll master the safety protocols that keep everything running smoothly.
In all process industries, quantities such as temperature, pressure, level and flow need to be measured and controlled. Control and measurement are done by various means including electronic, pneumatic, and hydraulic equipment and computers. The instrumentation technician installs, maintains, tests and calibrates the equipment used to control and measure. The technician works with the process designers and the work includes troubleshooting control loops, adjusting controllers and systems and programming and troubleshooting computers.
Career Opportunities
Graduates may be employed in electrical power generation (including nuclear), mineral processing, petrochemical, pulp and paper, car manufacturing plants, pharmaceuticals, or natural gas compressor stations, or water and wastewater treatment facilities (amongst many others).