Control system migrations are a major undertaking. And as such, they need to be executed by highly-knowledgeable and specialized engineers.
In our last blog post, The Importance of Migrating Legacy Systems to Modern Solutions, we discussed the various risks associated with relying on outdated control systems, as well as the benefits that come with proactive maintenance and upgrades.
Today, we’ll be expanding on this topic and highlighting how Energy and Utility companies can find the best candidate to successfully migrate their legacy control systems.
It is our hope this post will serve as a resource for management teams and decision-makers who are aware of their need to migrate existing systems but aren’t exactly sure what to look for in a control engineering firm.
Knowing which qualifications and aptitudes to focus on as you search for an ideal partnership will significantly increase the likelihood of a favourable outcome and ensure you receive the best and most cost-effective solution.
So, let’s begin!
Tips for Finding a First-Class Engineering Company to Carry Out Your Migration Project
1.Efficiency
Control system migrations can take days, weeks, or months to complete depending on the size of your project, the interdependencies of your infrastructures and processes, and your preferred scheduling options. This is why it’s important to seek out an engineering firm with a proven track record for executing with maximum efficiency.
Your chosen control engineering experts should be able to provide you with a meticulous plan that details:
- The scope of your project
- The proposed schedule
- The reasoning behind their technical recommendations
- Their plan to mitigate risks
- A list of contingency resources
One of the primary considerations here is whether or not your company will experience downtime as a result of your legacy control system migration.
Most engineering firms offer phased migrations (strategically completed in stages over a longer period of time) and complete replacements (entire process executed at once during a shorter, planned shut down).
In some cases, specialized firms can even complete upgrades while operations continue.
Be sure to ask your potential control engineering team about which migration options they offer specifically to fit the clients needs.
2.End-To-End Services
There are multiple phases that must be completed throughout a legacy control system migration.
These phases include (but are not limited to):
- On-site investigation and testing
- Project scoping
- Financial analysis and estimation
- Creation of cutover plan
- Design review and audits
- Hazard and Risk identification
- Configuration and implementation
- Commissioning
- Employee training
In many cases, Energy and Utility companies hire multiple vendors to complete these projects, which can lead to increased confusion and communication breakdown, among other problems.
At Catch Engineering, we give our clients the benefit of end-to-end services— meaning we can manage and execute entire control system migrations from start to finish.
Our clients appreciate the convenience and efficiency of having one point of contact for the entire duration of their project and enjoy the reduced costs and efficiencies that come with paying a single service rate.
3.Automation Expertise
Automation is one of the most efficient methods of optimizing operations for Energy and Utility companies. In a nutshell, automation allows businesses to rely on machinery and systems to complete essential operational tasks automatically.
At Catch, we have a team of experts who specialize in this area of control engineering who use their specific knowledge and skillset to program and configure automated systems that:
- Increase throughput
- Reduce human labour costs
- Improve safety
- Eliminate productivity gaps
- Increase accuracy
Plus much more.
Seeking out an engineering firm with particular expertise in the area of automation is a must if you want to maximize the results of your control system migration and ensure you are able to operate with the highest degree of efficiency moving forward.
We highly encourage industrial companies to keep each of these factors foremost in their thoughts as they seek out the ideal engineering team for their project.
Would you like to learn more about why Catch Engineering is an industry-leading Alberta control engineering firm?
Contact us today. We’d be happy to review your legacy control systems and create a customized plan of action.
