Battikha-3rd.

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PREFACE

This is the third edition of The Condensed Handbook of Measurement and Control. Thanks to
its readers, the first and second editions were a huge success. In 1997, its first year of publica-
tion, the book was awarded ISA’s Raymond D. Molloy award as the best-selling book in that
year. I sincerely hope that its success will continue—an indication that it is well accepted by
the public at large.

The book is directed toward all practitioners in process measurement and control as well as
other technical personnel such as project managers, process engineers, and mechanical engi-
neers. I wrote it for specialists in process measurement and control and also to help people with
little knowledge of process measurement and control to understand that specialty. Readers can
find additional detailed information beyond the level of this book in specialized publications
available from ISA, other organizations, and major vendors (whose valuable experience and
knowledge is readily available to users).

I wrote this book because I wanted to concentrate the knowledge I learned over the years in a
book format and because I felt there is a need for a condensed source that presents information
on measurement and control in a clear and concise form. Its condensed format is ideal for
everyday use. To the best of my knowledge, there is no other book quite like this one. One of
the main difficulties I faced in creating this book was deciding how much detail is required – a
task I hope I accomplished successfully. Several books provide a great deal more detail but do
not actually provide any more substantial information than this text. Because this is a con-
densed handbook, readers seeking more information should refer to vendor publications and
detailed textbooks (refer to the Bibliography at the end of this handbook).

It may be helpful to describe how the reader can use this book. First, it can be read by anyone
seeking to understand the field of process measurement and control, or it can be used as a ref-
erence book to be consulted whenever information is required on a certain topic. I have used
the content of this book as the basis for teaching courses in these subject areas at a few univer-
sities across North America.

I hope that this third edition, like the first two, will guide you in selecting and implementing
process measurement and control devices as well as contribute to improving this field of tech-
nology. The third edition updates most of the chapters of the first and second editions while
adding sections on maintenance, calibration, project implementation and management, con-
sulting, and tools for decision making. In addition, a companion CD is included to facilitate the
implementation of this technology.

I have made every effort to ensure that this book is accurate and clear. I would appreciate hear-
ing your comments and suggestions for improving this handbook—they may be used in the
next edition.

N. E. Battikha
2006

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