Online Course
Wastewater Instrumentation, SCADA, and Process Control Fundamentals
Learn how plant instruments turn conditions into information, how control loops and SCADA use it, and how operators check readings, answer alarms and keep instruments reliable.
Course Details
- Certificate
- 1.0 hour
- Time
- About 75 minutes
- To pass
- 80% or better on the final
- Price
- For credit: $20, or $150 for the Course Pass. To learn with no credit: Included with Premium Pay for this course
For You
Pick your state or province to see if this course counts.
Your progress
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What You'll Learn
- Explain what plant instruments measure, and how accuracy, range, units and trends affect a reading.
- Describe analog and digital signals, open and closed loops, setpoints, deadbands, interlocks and fail-safe design.
- Explain open-channel, magnetic and ultrasonic flow measurement, meter location, totalizers and flow checks.
- Describe level, pressure and temperature measurement, float switches, radar and ultrasonic level, and high and low alarms.
- Explain online analyzers for pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity and chlorine residual, sample systems and calibration.
- Use SCADA screens, alarm priorities, alarm floods, the historian, remote sites and cyber awareness.
- Inspect, clean and check instruments, record as-found values, spot common failures and write useful work orders.
- Read the whole process: cause and effect, control loop response, bad data, peak flows and shift handoff.
What's Inside 8 parts, 72 pages
Understanding Plant Instruments 9 pages
- Why Instruments Matter
- Measure, Display, Control
- Common Measurements
- Local and Remote Readings
- Accuracy and Repeatability
- Range and Units
- Trends, Not Snapshots
- Operator Responsibility
- Checkpoint
Signals and Basic Control 9 pages
- From Sensor to Screen
- Analog Signals
- Digital Signals
- Open and Closed Loops
- Setpoints and Deadbands
- Manual and Automatic
- Interlocks and Permissives
- Fail-Safe Thinking
- Checkpoint
Flow Measurement 9 pages
- Why Measure Flow
- Open-Channel Flow
- Magnetic Flowmeters
- Ultrasonic Flow
- Meter Location
- Totalizers and Rates
- Flow Checks
- Flow Data Use
- Checkpoint
Level, Pressure, and Temperature 9 pages
- Level Basics
- Float Switches
- Ultrasonic Level
- Radar Level
- Pressure Basics
- Differential Pressure
- Temperature
- High and Low Alarms
- Checkpoint
Water-Quality Instruments 9 pages
- What Online Analyzers Do
- pH Measurement
- Dissolved Oxygen
- Turbidity
- Conductivity
- Chlorine Residual
- Sample Systems
- Cleaning and Calibration
- Checkpoint
SCADA, Alarms, and Records 9 pages
- What SCADA Means
- Screens and Symbols
- Alarm Priorities
- Acknowledge Is Not Fix
- Alarm Floods
- Historian and Trends
- Remote Sites
- Cyber Awareness
- Checkpoint
Maintenance and Troubleshooting 9 pages
- Routine Inspection
- Cleaning Sensors
- Calibration Checks
- As-Found Records
- Common Failure Clues
- Check the Simple Things
- Work Orders and Spares
- After Maintenance
- Checkpoint
Process Control and Good Decisions 9 pages
- Reading the Whole Process
- Cause and Effect
- Control Loop Response
- Bad Data Decisions
- Storm and Peak Flow
- Shift Handoff
- Building Skill
- Final Review
- Checkpoint
More Details
Who It's For
Wastewater operators at any level and people studying to become operators. No experience needed.
The reading supports an operator; it does not replace observation.
Format
72 narrated pages with short checks and a final. Built by a working wastewater operator (Washington Group III).
Where Does This Course Count?
A course counts toward your continuing education credit only once your state or province accepts it. Today Minnesota and Montana have approved our courses, they count in Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, South Carolina, where courses need no pre-approval, and we are asking more states. Ask us to add your state or province.
Do I Need an Account?
Yes, to take the course. Signing in lets us record your time and issue your certificate. This page, the topic pages and the practice questions need no account.
Can I Skip Ahead?
No. Each page has a minimum time before the next one opens, and your time is recorded.
What Do I Get When I Finish?
A certificate of completion from Operator Master for 1.0 hour, once you pass the final with 80% or better. Your operator certificate or license always comes from your state, not from Operator Master.