The Indicator: December 2015

The Indicator - Your Instrumentation Insider
Issue #11 • DECEMBER 2015


Bridging The Gap – Considering Ease-of-Use for Industrial Products


Simon Paonessa, Technical Writer at Precision Digital

Products created and marketed for use in manufacturing and industry often do not receive the same attention to ease-of-use as consumer products. Imagine if a consumer was to buy a new smartphone and, upon opening the box, realize that not only do they have to assemble the phone from its base components, but the instruction manual was written by an electrical engineer and is as thick as the dictionary. What would a typical consumer do in this situation? Reading the manual and meticulously following each step would eventually get them to the desired end result (with about thirty "extra screws" and that one component that probably isn't important). However, the smartphone will probably not get very much use even after it is assembled because the software menus are nearly as convoluted as the instruction manual!


News & Information


Alarming Possibilities: ISA Alarm Sequencing in a Nutshell

The ideal industrial facility is one in which all process variables remain consistently within normal operating parameters. Such facilities are few and far between, however, so it is necessary that personnel are quickly and effectively notified of abnormal process conditions so that they may be dealt with accordingly. In industrial facilities where there are a multitude of process variables at play, such as automated manufacturing plants, waste water treatment facilities, and the oil and natural gas industries, implementing a successful alarm indication protocol can quickly become frustratingly complex.



An In-Depth Look at the New Predig.com

The new predig.com is a huge step forward for Precision Digital Corporation, taking us fully into modern e-commerce. Everything about the new site, from its mobile-friendly design to its enhanced security, was designed to make your interactions with us quicker and easier. You will still be able to utilize all of the old content you are used to from our previous website, just packaged in a more easy-to-use interface. This article will go over some of the bigger changes going from the old website to the new and should help you to utilize the new website to its fullest potential.


Case Study: Boosting Efficiency in a Natural Gas Flow Application

In any industrial plant or operation, one of the main goals to cutting cost should be to boost efficiency. In the following case study, a natural gas transportation and storage service provider is faced with the challenge of monitoring and relaying critical information to the control room without local display capabilities. The application: The end user is a natural gas transportation and storage service provider in the USA with a natural gas storage well flow application. The customer's primary concern when considering a system upgrade was to track flow rate and display the rate locally. The plant contains 180 Class I, Div 2 hazardous area stations in total. The locations are spread out over a five-mile radius and are controlled and monitored from a single control room. The system turnaround was completed over three years.




Precision Digital 2015 Year in Review

As 2015 comes to an end, many people take the opportunity to reflect upon the events that have occurred over the past year. Here at Precision Digital Corporation, 2015 has afforded us the opportunity to look back upon many and more changes. Precision Digital has accomplished a lot over the past year, both internally for its employees and externally for its customers, including the development of new products, launch of a new website, and relocation to a new, state-of-the-art headquarters.





Sneak Peek at the PD2 Dual Line Large Display Meters & Controllers
Something Big Is Coming in Q1 2016

Precision Digital is getting ready to release something big in the first quarter of 2016! The PD2 series of process and control meters has the power of the ProVu with superluminous sunlight readable display, 3X the digit height, and visible from over 100 feet away. So keep an eye out, you don't want to miss this!


Featured Product
PD6800 ProtEx-Pro Explosion-Proof Loop-Powered Process & Level Meter


Featured Video


Vigilante II Annunciator Video

The Vigilante II annunciators are compact, panel-space saving, four and eight channel annunciators loaded with features found previously in annunciators three or four times their size. Yet despite all the traditional annunciator features that are included in the Vigilantes, they are still very much low-cost, easy to use alarm annunciators perfect for replacing stand-alone lights! Watch a demo video of the Vigilante II.

In The Next Issue...


  • PD2 Large Display Meters & Controllers
  • The Current Quandary: Reducing Signal Noise in Practice
  • New Webinars in 2016