Factories, power plants, and refineries can all be homes to different types of instrumentation technician jobs. These professionals are often responsible for making sure that equipment is functioning properly and that the environmental conditions are safe. Other types of instrumentation technician jobs may focus on the maintenance of existing equipment or on the invention and creation of new equipment. Though the role of an instrumentation technician may be similar in different companies, the technology that the technician is responsible for is often unique to each workplace.
One of the more common types of instrumentation technician jobs is one that centers around monitoring environmental conditions within a factory or plant. Many industries require that precise temperatures and pressures be maintained in order to function properly. The instrumentation technician helps to ensure that pressures and temperatures do not climb too high, which could damage equipment and cost the industry a great deal of time and money. Depending on the nature of the industry, other environmental factors, such as humidity or salinity, may also be monitored by an instrumentation technician.
Air and water quality can also be monitored by instrumentation technicians. In these instrumentation technician jobs, air and water is monitored to make sure it is free of pollutants as it moves through a factory. Factories that process food products often employ these professionals. The technician may also monitor waste air and water in other types of factories or plants to ensure that harmful pollutants are not released into the environment.
Within these same settings, there are also instrumentation technician jobs that focus on the installation or maintenance of the equipment that monitors the plant's environmental conditions. Many of the machines used in factories and plants are quite sensitive and require precise calibration. The instrumentation technician may physically examine equipment to ensure that it is working properly. It is also possible for the technician to design tests and experiments to check on the functionality of equipment.
Instrumentation technician jobs can also be found in laboratories and universities. These technicians are often involved in the creation and testing of new equipment that can be used to monitor environmental conditions. They may design, build, maintain and develop experiments in order to determine how well a piece of equipment will hold up when it is used in a factory or plant. Technicians may also be employed by schools as teachers.