Instrument Ma
aintenan
nce
S
U
B
J
E
C
T
G
U
I
D
E Conteent This ssubject dealss with matteers related to keeping laaboratory insstruments an
nd equipmen
nt operatingg propeerly. It provvides the assessment fo
or the coursee unit MSL9
935004A Maaintain instru
uments and
d equip
pment. The theory component covers the followiing: performance testing  p
 m
maintenance  troubleshooting omponent involves: The laaboratory co
 in
nstrument performance checks  b
basic mainten
nance tasks  d
developing an
n operating p
procedure fo
or an assigneed instrumen
nt  u
using other p
people’s SOPss Assesssment Practtical tasks performance checks &
& maintenan
nce tasks – no report required Instru
ument documents associated
d with the op
perating procedure of yo
our assignmeent instrumen
portffolio nt Writtten exam restricted
d open‐book or take‐hom
me
This u
unit is graded
d with three levels of Competent as ffollows: To acchieve the baasic Compete
ent level – th
hese are the MINIMUM requirementts  pass the w
written exam
m (>50%)  submit a satisfactory instrument portfolio  complete
e the minimu
um number o
of practical tasks (see ove
er) To acchieve Comp
petent (Crediit) level, you must meet tthe minimum
m PLUS:  gain 70%+ in the written exam To acchieve Comp
petent (Distin
nction) level, you must m
meet the min
nimum PLUS:  gain 88%+ in the written exam v2015.1 INSTRUMENT MAINTENANCE Practical Work The laboratory work for this subject involves a sequence of tasks, most of which will only take 10‐20 minutes. They deal with various aspects of keeping laboratory instruments and equipment working properly and/or identifying when there is a problem. There are three categories of task:  performance check – running a standard to check the instrument’s performance, making adjustments to controls where possible, noting if the response is within acceptable limits or not  maintenance – routine tasks to restore optimum performance  operating procedure – the how‐to‐use instructions for an instrument Performance checks will be done first, followed by the maintenance tasks and the final weeks of the subject allocated to the operating procedure. While there will be a schedule for carrying out these tasks, most can be done at a later date if you miss a class. Requirements for subject completion The requirement for this component of the subject assessment is satisfactory completion of:  ALL tasks marked with an asterisk *  at least FOUR other maintenance tasks  at least TEN other performance checks To achieve a distinction grade in the unit requires that ALL tasks are completed satisfactorily. Maintenance M1. Balance * M2. Reference electrode refill M3. GC column change M4. HPLC suppressor cartridge replacement M5. GC septum change M6. ICP torch install Performance check P1. Balance (control chart) * P2. Balance calibration * P3. Thermometer P4. Volumetric flask P5. pH electrode calibration P6. Refractometer P7. ISE sensitivity P8. Fumehood flow P9. IR cell throughput P10. IR cell pathlength P11. UV/VIS wavelength accuracy P12. UV/VIS stray light P13. UV/VIS photometric accuracy P14. UV/VIS noise P15. GC column separation P16. GC flow rate check Operating procedure Instrument to be assigned * v2015.1