Abstract
Various Groups such as Certifying Agencies, Classification and Surveying Societies, Governmental and Regulatory Agencies, as well as Standards Writers all play roles in the sequence of events which are required in order that a particular piece of drilling instrumentation can be installed and operated in the jurisdiction of any particular country. The degree of involvement of each Group depends on the design of the drilling instrumentation being installed and the probability of hazardous mixtures of gases and air being present where the equipment is used.
This paper will describe, in general terms, the functions of each of the above Groups as well as locating each Group in the order in which they affect the design, manufacture, certification and installation of instrumentation. The difficulties encountered when attempting to design instrumentation which will comply with all national and international requirements is included, as well as some of the steps being proposed to lessen these problems.
It is necessary to understand the sequence of events in order to be in a position to offer products which are successful in the instrumentation market. Some basic instrumentation designs will be used as examples to depict the sequence of events from conception of design thru completion of installation.
