Students who enjoy hands-on automation and process control will appreciate the strong training and technical foundation provided in the Instrumentation & Control Engineering Technology - Industrial Automation program.

Instrumentation, final control elements and process computer control systems in any manufacturing process environment are broken down into sequential logical steps, analyzed and control is implemented. In industry, measured variables are then monitored and controlled. Examples of these variables include pressure, flow, temperature, level, motion, force and chemical composition.

Topics of study include signal conditioning, transmitters, analyzers, controllers, control systems, and final control elements such as control valves, dampers, and electric motors. These are components of automated control loops. Typical process industries that utilize this technology include petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food processing, pulp and paper, automotive, and mining. Alongside the maintenance requirements of these industries there are other career options available including engineering, sales, and service providers/maintainers.

Students enrolled in this program will train in Lambton College’s newly renovated Centre of Excellence in Energy & Bio-Industrial Technologies. The Centre offers state-of-practice technology laboratories and infrastructure to support learning and research in next-generation technologies in collaboration with industry. Numerous hands-on laboratories are designed to enable participants to install, configure, calibrate, troubleshoot, and maintain instruments (pneumatic, analog, digital) and control systems in a variety of industrial-replicated settings.

Graduates of this program are eligible to receive credit for all three levels of Ontario's Instrumentation and Control Technician (447A) in-school apprenticeship training.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

Students in this program have a co-op. While co-ops are not guaranteed or required, they provide real life interviewing situations and opportunities to meet with industry leaders. There are often research opportunities within the college and capstone programs that highlights skills that are required in real life situations.

Employment Opportunities

Our graduates find employment in a wide variety of areas in the instrumentation and control field. Technologist opportunities for employment exist in the chemical, petroleum refining, food processing, automotive manufacturing, steel production, and pulp and paper industries. Typical positions include: process analyzer specialist, instrument designer, control systems technologist, instrument technologist, instrument technician, and process control.

Start date: Sarnia campus: September - Open.