What Is the Relationship between Process Control and Instrumentation?

The relationship between process control and instrumentation is derived from the fact that process control is a part of the greater field of practice that is known as instrumentation. Process control and instrumentation are linked by the fact that application of the knowledge gained from instrumentation will help make use of process control in an organization a success. Considering that the various instruments used in the activation of process control, such as valves and other components, require a knowledge of instrumentation, a further connection between process control and instrumentation can be drawn.

An understanding of process control and instrumentation will further clarify the link between these two concepts. The term process control is used in reference to the various measures put in place in a company to help ensure that desired outcomes are achieved. Instrumentation refers to the manner in which scientific principles are applied toward the utilization of different types of instruments that are aimed toward the realization of process control goals or objectives. When a company, usually a production plant or a manufacturing factory, is trying to implement process control, it has certain aims in mind, including the achievement of uniformity of output and the attainment of a certain desired type of output. This can only be realized if the manufacturing process is closely monitored and regulated through the implementation of process control.

This implementation of process control involves the use of instruments that include circuit breakers and regulators, which serve the purpose of acting like mechanical process checkers. In this sense, the connection between process control and instrumentation can be seen since the breakers and circuit breakers are instruments that make the process control possible. Without such instruments, the procedure of process control would be manual and tedious, leading to increased costs for the manufacturing company.

Assuming the company under consideration is one that manufactures body lotion, the process of manufacturing the lotion will be divided into steps that require different procedures and applications. For instance, the exact mixture of the different ingredients used in the production of a batch of lotion will require precise measurements, something that is part of the process control to achieve the same type of result every time. Instrumentation can be applied toward achieving this aim in the sense that objects like the valves can regulate the measurement of the various ingredients by shutting off the feeding of such individual ingredients into a general mixing vat as soon as the desired quantity has been reached.