Skip to content
EDWartens UK

Free course · Instrumentation

P&ID Reading and Instrumentation Design Documents

Read any P&ID like an EPC engineer, then produce the instrument design documents design offices hire for: ISA 5.1 symbols and tags, loops, interlocks and trips, line numbers and spec breaks, the instrument index and I/O list, datasheets, loop diagrams, hook-ups, junction box and cable schedules, layouts, vendor review and an overview of Intergraph Smart Instrumentation (SPI).

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Beginner
Modules
13
Video
15 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Tell a BFD, a PFD and a P&ID apart and know who issues each; decode any ISA 5.1 tag and symbol; trace control loops, interlocks, SIS trips and alarms on a P&ID; decode line numbers and place spec breaks; build an instrument index and an I/O list with the DCS, SIS and fire and gas split; fill an instrument datasheet and select ranges; draw a loop diagram to ISA 5.4 and check its voltage budget; draw a hook-up and its bill of materials; group junction boxes and fill cable and JB schedules; estimate cable lengths from a layout; review vendor documents through IFR to IFC; and explain what Intergraph Smart Instrumentation (SPI) does with the same data.

  • Tell a BFD, a PFD and a P&ID apart and read a P&ID sheet in the right order
  • Decode any ISA 5.1 tag and symbol, including location and signal lines
  • Trace control loops, interlocks, SIS trips and alarm settings on a P&ID
  • Decode line numbers, read piping classes and place spec breaks
  • Build an instrument index and an I/O list with the DCS, SIS and fire and gas split
  • Fill an instrument datasheet, choose ranges and check DP flow figures
  • Draw a loop diagram to ISA 5.4, a hook-up with its BOM, and JB and cable schedules
  • Review vendor documents through IFR to IFC and explain what SPI does with the data

Software

A spreadsheet and a drawing tool. draw.io (diagrams.net) and LibreOffice are free; QElectroTech or LibreCAD suit loop diagrams. AutoCAD or Intergraph Smart Instrumentation (SPI) are useful but not required.

Hardware

None.

Syllabus

13 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1BFD, PFD and P&ID: who makes each and when5 lessons
  2. 2ISA 5.1 symbols and tag numbers3 lessonsLab
  3. 3Reading control loops, interlocks, SIS and alarms on a P&ID2 lessonsLab
  4. 4Valves, line numbers, piping specifications and spec breaks3 lessons
  5. 5Instrument index and I/O list, with the DCS, SIS and fire and gas split3 lessons
  6. 6Instrument datasheets: ISA 20 and IEC 60534 style forms3 lessons
  7. 7Loop diagrams (ISA 5.4)3 lessonsLab
  8. 8Hook-up drawings and the bill of materials2 lessons
  9. 9Junction box, marshalling and cable schedules2 lessons
  10. 10Instrument location layouts and cable routing1 lesson
  11. 11Vendor document review and the EPC deliverable flow (IFR, IFC)3 lessons
  12. 12Smart Instrumentation (SPI): what the design database does, an overview6 lessons
  13. 13Final Assessment1 lesson

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Calibrate a 4 to 20 mA transmitter, tune a level or flow loop and read the trend in the Lab's process simulator.

Works alongside P&ID Reading and Instrumentation Design Documents. The Lab is process control practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
Process control: Tune a real process loop.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for P&ID Reading and Instrumentation Design Documents

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • InstruNexus

    the lessons on ISA 5.1 symbols, the instrument index, I/O lists, loop diagrams and hook-up drawings, and the Module 2 training sessions on reading P&IDs, cause and effect matrices, I/O lists, control valve datasheets, loop diagrams, hook-ups, termination drawings, cable routing layouts and material requisitions

  • ProLytX

    the SPI Boot Camp episodes on spec sheets, process data sheets, loop and tag creation, I/O loading, cables, wire connections and index reporting in Smart Instrumentation

  • RealPars

    the lessons on how to read a P&ID and how to interpret DCS and PLC symbols on it

  • Piping Technology

    the three-part series How to Read P&ID Diagrams: what a P&ID is, equipment and valve symbols, and a worked example

  • LearnChemE

    the short lesson on the basics of BFDs, PFDs and P&IDs

  • Kimray Inc

    the lesson on reading an oil and gas P&ID with control valve symbols to ANSI/ISA 5.1

  • HardHat Engineer

    the guide to pipe classes and piping specifications

  • Asad (I&C Engineer)

    the lesson on decoding a line number on a P&ID

  • Amr Balbaa | Instrumentation & Control

    the lesson on ISA-5.1 symbols, tag numbers and instrument identification

  • Deanna Eldred

    the detailed walkthrough of instrumentation loop diagrams

  • WOIN - World of Instrumentation

    the practical design guidelines for junction box grouping

  • Offshore Engineering Academy

    the lesson on vendor data and the inspection release certificate in EPCI procurement

  • eFunda Engineers

    the lessons on engineering discipline deliverables from basic design and FEED to detailed design, and the overview of SmartPlant Instrumentation

Questions

About this course

Who is this P&ID and instrument design course for?
It is for instrumentation, electrical and chemical engineering graduates, EPC design freshers, plant engineers and E&I designers who need to read P&IDs and produce instrument design documents, wherever EPC work is done.
What do I need to know before starting?
You need to know what a transmitter and a control valve are. The course explains the 4 to 20 mA signal where it is needed; if instruments are new to you, the Industrial Instrumentation and Process Control course is a good first step.
Which standards does the course follow?
It follows ANSI/ISA-5.1 for symbols and tags, ANSI/ISA-5.4 for loop diagrams, ISA-TR20.00.01 and IEC 60534-7 for datasheets, and refers to ISA-18.2, IEC 61511 and ASME B16.5 where they matter. Standard text is paraphrased; use the editions your project names.
Do I need SmartPlant Instrumentation (SPI) or AutoCAD?
No. Every exercise works in a spreadsheet and a free drawing tool such as draw.io. One module gives an overview of Intergraph Smart Instrumentation, formerly SmartPlant Instrumentation, which is licensed Hexagon software; the course is not SPI training.
How long does the course take?
About 11.6 hours of video lessons and about 15 hours with the notes, worked problems and practice tasks, taken at your own pace. The optional project takes about 16 hours more.
Is the course free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the practice tasks, the project and the final assessment are free to learn. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate do I get?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you finish the modules and pass the 15-question final assessment at 60 percent, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not an ISA certification or a Hexagon SPI qualification.
What job does this lead to?
It prepares you for junior instrumentation design engineer and E&I designer roles in EPC companies and design offices, where the instrument index, I/O list, datasheets, loop diagrams, hook-ups and JB schedules are daily work. Go on to Instrument Calibration, Loop Checks and Commissioning for the site side.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module