Instrument mechanic

Instrument mechanics in engineering are tradesmen who specialize in installing, troubleshooting, and repairing instrumentation, automation and control systems.

Instrumentation has existed for hundreds of years in one form or another. The oldest manometer was invented by Evangelista Torricelli in 1643. The thermometer has been credited to many scientists of about the same period. Over that time, small and large scale industrial plants have always had use for measurements. For the most part, these were passive measuring devices. If a process needed a control, they'd hire someone at a low wage to control the process manually.

World War II brought about a revolution in the use of instrumentation. Advanced processes requires tighter control than people could provide, and advanced instruments were required to provide measurements in modern processes. Also, the war left industry with a substantially reduced workforce. Industrial instrumentation solved both problems, leading to a rise in its use. Pipe fitters had to learn more about instrumentation and control theory, and a new trade was born.

Today, instrument mechanics have more to do with electricians than pipe fitters. Almost all new instrumentation is electronic, using either 4-20mA control signals or digital signalling standards.

In Canada, journeyman tradesmen who work with instrumentation are called "Instrument Mechanics". In the United States, Australia and elsewhere, they can be called "Instrument fitters". The term may have originated from earlier instrument-qualified people being originally mechanically trained Machinists (also known as a fitter and turner) rather than electricians or "pure" instrument fitters (No secondary trade) as is now the norm.

In most countries, the job of an instrument mechanic is a regulated trade for safety reasons due to the many hazards of working with electricity, as well as the dangers posed by incorrectly installed or calibrated instrumentation, requiring testing, registration, or licensing. Licensing of instrument mechanics is controlled through government and/or professional societies.

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