Our ICS team has tackled instrumentation and automation challenges in the industrial world for over 30 years. From catalyst slide valves to gas custody transfer meters, DCS modernization to SIS implementation, brownfield refinery instrument migrations to green field semiconductor facilities, fieldbus networks to wireless infrastructure, if you have an ICS problem, our team provides clients with safe, reliable, and robust solutions.
We know that the discipline of Control Systems has evolved faster than any other. Our team has been solving ICS challenges since the days of pneumatic control loops and chart recorders. Our modern portfolio of ICS projects from the past 10 years totals over 400,000 hours and spans multiple industries. Specializing in brownfield modifications, some of our most recent niche ICS projects have focused on:
• Plant-wide DCS and PLC modernization and migrations
• Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS)
• Process and emissions analyzer systems
• Plant-wide wireless infrastructure
• Burner Management Systems (BMS)
• Compressor electronic governors, vibration and overspeed trips, and surge control
PLCs control automated industrial operations, but they don’t last forever, and industrial facilities often find themselves reactively upgrading obsolete systems. Clients often upgrade their PLCs because of the risk of unplanned shutdowns, PLC reliability, or the inability to obtain critical spare PLC parts. That’s why it’s crucial to know when a PLC is nearing its end of life, will become obsolete, or is likely to malfunction and to replace it in a proactive, well-planned approach.
With facilities often understaffed and focused on day-to-day operations, finding the time and resources to evaluate PLCs can be a challenge. Our experts evaluate plant-wide PLC systems and investigate everything from system security to safety interlocks, HMI designs, and control panel layouts. Only then can they improve PLC reliability and recommend options for repairing, replacing, or upgrading aging or malfunctioning PLCs.
Details matter, which is why every deliverable we issue goes through an independent quality check process. Our experts work with almost every PLC brand on the market, including Trident, Allen Bradley, Modicon, Siemens, Triconnex, and HIMA.
Our team of SIS engineering and design experts works with clients to create Safety Requirements Specification (SRS), perform Functional Safety Assessments (FSA), and determines the Safety Integrity Functions (SIFs) that impact reliability (e.g., testing intervals, common cause failure rates, and achieved Risk Reduction Factors (RFF)). Our experts can perform the required SIL calculations by hand or by working in our client’s preferred systems (i.e., ExSilentia or SILSolver).
Services include:
Certified in and adhering to industry practices (i.e., IEC61511 and ISA 84), our SIS specialists help clients identify Safety Integrity Level (SIL) gaps in their automated systems and conduct PHA, HazOP, and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) studies and analyses to design compliant Safety Instrumented Systems. Our team provide clients with safety lifecycle documentation, working with them to develop the proper, compliant application of the Safety Lifecycle for their application.
