Your instrumentation supplier plays a significant role in providing the right equipment, support, and expertise to help control and optimise your process. We've put together six questions to ask your current (or new) viscosity supplier to help you assess their capabilities and get the most out of your instrumentation.
1. What is the range and accuracy of the viscometers?
In a process environment it is common for a viscometer to need a wide viscosity range with a good turndown ratio. Many process fluids show a high degree of non-Newtonian or shear-dependent behaviour, so making sure the sensor can cover the required range is important.
2. Is technical support included?
Technical support is important to help optimise performance, minimise risk, and maximise uptime. But sometimes this comes at an additional cost. Ask your supplier what level of support is included with purchase and what is covered by additional service contracts.
3. What are the care and maintenance requirements?
An inline viscometer should not need regular calibration or maintenance for day-to-day operation. Enquire with your supplier whether frequent calibration or maintenance programs are required. Maintenance requirements should be minimal as viscosity sensors should contain no exposed bearings, seals or moving parts.
4. How do you ensure the build quality of your instruments?
Instrument design and manufacture is an intricate process. State-of-the-art equipment and facilities are often needed to deliver the required precision and instrument performance. Ask your supplier about their build process and machining facilities to check it aligns with expectations.
5. Can you assist in customisation and integration?
Every industrial process has unique requirements. Ask your supplier if they can customise their viscometry solutions to suit your specific application. Whether it's a difficulty in accessing the fluid from the top of a tank, or the unfortunate presence of a stirring arm, there should be a way to work around it without requiring modifications to site or pipework.
6. Can you provide customer references or case studies?
Asking for customer references or case studies allows you to gain insights from other businesses that have worked with the supplier. Enquire if your supplier can provide references or success stories related to viscosity measurement in industries similar to yours. This information can help you assess their expertise and track record.