Instrumentation Technician Brewery Job

[raif281]

Hello all my first post on this site so I'm not sure if this is the right place or even right forum but I'm gong to ask anyway. So in about 2 years or so I'll be moving out to Colorado, I'll be graduating college in May or the fall with an associates degree in industrial instrumentation. I plan on working and saving until then, as i saw its alittle expensive out there. What I'm wanting to do is try to get an instrumentation job at the Miller Coors Plant in golden Colorado, I have only started to research the company. I had a few questions about the brewery field, specifically the instrumentation part of it. What I'm wanting to know is


1) Does anyone know if they do internships/co-op or anything similar at that specific plant?

2) Have any of you had any experience specifically with that plant? If so please tell me how you liked it, why you liked it or vice verse if you didn't.

3) How much can I expect to make starting out and what kind of pay can I expect later on down the line once i have been there for awhile?

4) As an instrument technician what would my responsibilities be specifically in the brewery industry? Any other responsibilities I might have to do besides my own job sometimes? Such as do an operators job or anything like that.

5) What's your current job in the field, how do you like it, how long have you been in the field?


Any more info you guys can give me on instrument techs in the brewery field would be much appreciated.


I couldn't find much on the instrument in the brewery field with the little research I've done so far. I'm sure I will have some more questions down the line and will ask them on here. Thanks for the help and replies guys.

[BeerBred]

Having worked in a large brewery, I don't think there is such a job. Reading any instrumentation would likely be the job of the brewers or plant engineers. Since your objective is so narrow as to location and company, it seems it would make the most sense to call them and ask them directly.

[Scott M]

You should look to broaden your experience to encompass perhaps AC&R, Industrial electrical systems and equipment, Complex electromechanical systems and controls, Variable frequency drives, and Bottling equipment logic controls. You will find that those with the most skills have the most opportunity of employment in the brewing industry.

I doesn't hurt to be able to operate a fork lift either.

[nohandslance]

PLC Programming

You most likely will be slotted in a position much like what I had several years ago. Maintenance on all the process equipment, Pipefence (proximity sensor, valve replacement, repair) Glycol system PM. Boiler/Steam system PM, Packaging hall maintenance. And wires running miles and miles of wires and compressed air lines.
And on the over night shift. $20.00 - $30.00/hr. Benefits Plus.
Wish I would have learned PLC programming at the time. And there is the the automation systems to learn as well. reach out to the the Head Electrician at New Belgium, let him know your goals and maybe he can offer some advice (see video) Just a thought.

http://www.novatechweb.com/process-control/craft-brewery-automation/

Also research Anheuser-Busch brewery, O'Dell and Fort Collins Brewery.

Good luck in your pursuits.

Lance
Rebel Malting Co
Reno, Nevada USA

[raif281]

Having worked in a large brewery, I don't think there is such a job. Reading any instrumentation would likely be the job of the brewers or plant engineers. Since your objective is so narrow as to location and company, it seems it would make the most sense to call them and ask them directly.

I think you may not fully understand what an instrument tech does, yes the brewer or operator or whoever reads the instrument but the instrument tech is the one who goes an fixes it (recalibrates, or replaces if bad) if the operator thinks it is reading wrong. A typical instrument techs job goes something like this.

Say the tank is reading 500 degrees but it should be reading 700, they would send me to check the temperature sensor on the tank. I would test the sensor device and recalibrate if needed, if that's not the problem and it tested good then I have to help the operator figure out what the problem is. If it tested bad then I would recalibrate and see if the problem persists, if it persists then I would take out and replace with another temp sensor to see if it was the sensor. Stuff like that, mainly maintenance on the sensors and analyzers.

Like i said I have only done alittle research with them so far an will be doing some more soon.

You should look to broaden your experience to encompass perhaps AC&R, Industrial electrical systems and equipment, Complex electromechanical systems and controls, Variable frequency drives, and Bottling equipment logic controls. You will find that those with the most skills have the most opportunity of employment in the brewing industry.

I doesn't hurt to be able to operate a fork lift either.

With an instrument degree I am very similar to an electrician, in most chemical plants down here were grouped together in the i&e (instrument & electrical) department. thanks for that info I will look into those.

You most likely will be slotted in a position much like what I had several years ago. Maintenance on all the process equipment, Pipefence (proximity sensor, valve replacement, repair) Glycol system PM. Boiler/Steam system PM, Packaging hall maintenance. And wires running miles and miles of wires and compressed air lines.
And on the over night shift. $20.00 - $30.00/hr. Benefits Plus.
Wish I would have learned PLC programming at the time. And there is the the automation systems to learn as well. reach out to the the Head Electrician at New Belgium, let him know your goals and maybe he can offer some advice (see video) Just a thought.

http://www.novatechweb.com/process-control/craft-brewery-automation/

Also research Anheuser-Busch brewery, O'Dell and Fort Collins Brewery.

Good luck in your pursuits.

Lance
Rebel Malting Co
Reno, Nevada USA

Probably so in the petroleum and chemical plants down here in south east Louisiana we work maintenance (4, 10 hour days). I was not sure what the position was called in the brewery field, down here it is just instrument tech on the maintenance schedule. What your describing sounds pretty similar to the job description down here, recalibrate temp sensors on 4-20mA system an similar stuff like that. Hope that's enough to survive out in Colorado. I took a class that taught us alittle about the PLC and we had to write code for it and make lights come on in sequence while some had to stay on and others didn't.


I'll try to get in touch with him and I'll look into those places thanks a bunch Lance!

Matt

[raif281]

Can anybody tell me what a typical day as an instrument technician is like in the brewery field?

[gbrower]

Generally all repair and calibration in smaller breweries is done by brewers. It should be mentioned that there really isn't a lot of calibration that needs to be done in a brewery outside of what the user would do. Larger breweries do have repair and tech staff and as mentioned earlier this is most likely where you will find yourself. Your typical day will be wiring pumps and working with the bottling line.

[raif281]

Generally all repair and calibration in smaller breweries is done by brewers. It should be mentioned that there really isn't a lot of calibration that needs to be done in a brewery outside of what the user would do. Larger breweries do have repair and tech staff and as mentioned earlier this is most likely where you will find yourself. Your typical day will be wiring pumps and working with the bottling line.

thanks for the input, that doesn't sound to bad!