Process Automation

Process automation and control is at the core of MAVERICK’s business. MAVERICK has experience working with every major DCS and PLC available in the marketplace today, enabling I/O optimization. We leverage your existing infrastructure to implement process automation solutions designed for your manufacturing and processing needs. Our process automation expertise spans all manufacturing industries, including oil and gas (upstream, midstream and refining), chemical processing, pharmaceutical, power and utilities.

MAVERICK’s business systems and operational consultants analyze your business processes and provide actionable insights for streamlining the flow of business information to realize measurable benefits. The key to success lies in the combination of people, processes and technology. We work with you to ensure that the requirements for your targeted process automation technology implementation produce the desired results — connecting your enterprise from the plant floor to the boardroom — and that the business and operational processes are in place to support the implementation.

Collecting, storing and distributing real-time production data as part of a process automation system allows identification of the causes of operational problems and quality issues. MAVERICK works with its customers to implement data management systems and historians as part of continuous improvement with initiatives, helping managers use these tools to analyze their production data and make smarter decisions for increased productivity, quality and compliance.

Business continuity and disaster recovery (BC / DR) refers to the process of bringing a facility or business back online following a disaster, and how to manage the operation of the business in light of new challenges that may exist. A natural disaster would cause problems, such as damage to facilities, diminished availability of power and utilities, supply chain and transportation problems, and reduced staff. A large-scale cyber attack would yield different destructive results, which may include damage to equipment and facility management operation. Catastrophic loss of data, servers, process automation technologies and network infrastructure are also highly likely.

Whether you are recovering from a fire, explosion, flood, hurricane or other disaster, MAVERICK is there for you. We understand that it can be a while before you will be able to focus on your discrete process control areas. After first caring for your personnel’s safety, your other concerns will most likely include reestablishing your infrastructure and stabilizing your equipment and process automation technologies.

MAVERICK’s team of business solution consultants, operational consultants and process automation experts mobilize quickly and assess your existing and planned network infrastructure, control systems and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems with an emphasis on security and survivability. For example, we provide instrument / control device investigation, instrument calibration, control system validation and remediation, re-engineering and recommissioning of facility and business systems, and supplemental in-house support as long as you need it.

Front-end engineering design (FEED), also called detailed design, is the second phase of an engineering project. FEED follows the feasibility study and often happens prior to final process automation project approval. The phase is useful because it can be used to generate bid tabs, which can then be used to develop an investment-quality cost estimate. Revision 0 piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) are usually generated during FEED for process automation projects that involve the instrumentation and control system — for example, for grassroots projects, major unit revamps and control system upgrades. MAVERICK engineers have taken responsibility for FEED generation on many process automation projects over a wide variety of industries, ensuring projects stay within the approved scope and budget.

A facility’s instrument and electrical (I&E) systems are critical to process automation. MAVERICK provides design, engineering and troubleshooting services for these systems to ensure the quality and proper integration of the system components, motor control circuits, power supplies and PLCs.

A clear understanding of plant or mill processes is critical to developing a sound process automation system design with improved operation and productivity. The key to this understanding is process analysis, which includes reviewing the P&IDs and operating data and then gathering input from operations personnel through key interviews. This analysis uncovers the key operating goals and targets and the important product quality variables, as well as the constraints, limitations and bottlenecks that challenge operators. The best process automation system designs create the tools that empower operators to overcome the challenges and meet key goals and targets. MAVERICK’s process control engineers apply sound process analysis on all process automation projects.

Programming and configuration brings to life the detailed design of the instrumentation and control system that is developed during the FEED phase of process automation. MAVERICK’s control engineers have extensive experience working with every major DCS and PLC system. They apply this process automation knowledge in using the latest engineering tools to convert logic diagrams into PLC ladder logic, to write generic and custom code and to build I/O and control applications using standard system function blocks and other features. With the features available in modern control systems, even complex advanced control strategies can be configured and programmed in these systems.

Project management is one of the most important factors in the success of a process automation project. MAVERICK employs the Project Complete^® approach to project management, in which our project managers execute at every stage in the process automation project lifecycle: definition, design, development, deployment, direction and documentation. This eliminates many of the problems that can keep a process automation project from meeting its scheduled requirements.

MAVERICK understands that in today’s business world of enterprise-wide facility integration, many companies are concerned about the risk of exposing process control systems to networks that have connectivity beyond the facility’s boundaries. MAVERICK works with each process automation customer to ensure that every network is sufficiently armored to mitigate the risk of unwanted intrusion.

During process automation, MAVERICK provides top-to-bottom design of integrated control, MES and business systems. Our design expertise spans the spectrum, including electrical and instrumentation, DCS, PLC, HMI and SCADA implementations; I/O point configuration; advanced process control; and control and business networks.

MAVERICK’s Project Complete methodology is the basis for our systems development service offering. This applied methodology ensures that our team follows good engineering practices during all phases of development, including system configuration and setup; control, HMI and SCADA programming and configuration; historian configuration and database programming; business interface development; and documented testing. All phases of software development are subject to revision control and documentation.

Our breadth of process automation services allows us to provide comprehensive implementation of our engineered solutions, including technical services to support the electrical and instrumentation installation and calibration, engineering to support the control system commissioning and startup and post-startup support.