Automation & MES Project Execution

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Engineering is the process of discovery, and we endeavor to uncover innovative solutions for each customer. However, innovation needn’t be sweeping or expensive. Seemingly small changes can simplify existing systems while improving performance. No matter the project’s scope, we focus on how our solutions enhance the customer’s day-to-day productivity and experience. Upon a project’s completion, we want to have made the customer’s job easier and the facility as a whole run more smoothly.

We approach each project inclusively, keeping customers in the loop through every step, soliciting their input and prioritizing their comfort. Avanceon applies thirty years of industry experience to anticipate customers’ needs, and will actively uncover and coordinate all the essential information for a successful project. We troubleshoot so our clients don’t have to. Customers can count on our support beyond a project’s completion and expect Avanceon’s responsive service for as long as needed. We don’t consider a project complete until the customer does.
 

Requirements Definition – MES or Automation with ROI
 

Documentation Standards

Fast paced projects don’t often allow for elaborate documentation, but Avanceon’s standard design documentation provides a roadmap for asking all the right questions and ensuring that the project has the ability to be supported long term. Typically our documentation packages includes a majority of the following:

User Requirements Specification (URS)
Functional Requirements Specification (FRS)
Detailed Design Specification (DDS) and / or Design Memorials
Factory Acceptance Test Plan (FAT)
Site Acceptance Test Plan (SAT)
User Manual
Maintenance Manual
 
 

Agile and Waterfall Project Execution

Traditional project execution follows the waterfall model from design to implementation, testing and commissioning. In waterfall each of these activities are discrete, and a prerequisite for the start of the next step. The traditional waterfall model has advantages (structure and gates) but sometimes adoption and ownership suffers at the expense of a rigid plan. Agile project execution recognizes that sometimes project constraints and the customer people’s bandwidth do not allow for a comprehensive set of design documents to be drafted prior to developing software. In the interest of driving to an outcome that allows for more inclusion, ownership, and ultimate success, we begin software and system development almost immediately, with frequent checkpoints at which the client can review the completed work. Avanceon engineers and project managers are trained to determine and adhere to the best approach on a case by case basis whether leveraging Waterfall or Avanceon Agile.
 

Testing

Measure twice, cut once. Testing and simulation are critical for every system. As a result Avanceon drives to ensure that before implementation occurs, the complete system is tested to assure interoperability and conformance to requirements. When appropriate the system is tested against the functional specifications to guarantee strong quality, identifying any potential problems. If a functional specification does not exist on a project, the test is conducted based on a separate test plan. All testing includes a complete plan with any needed specification generation and summary reports. Once Avanceon internal testing is complete, the customer is invited into our office (or web meeting) for a formal review and demonstration of the system operations.
 

Startup, Commissioning and Site Management

Avanceon transitions design and a successful FAT into a successful Site implementation through the management and planning of the startup activities and close coordination with the customer. At the completion of the in house portion of a project, Avanceon provides the correct resources to assist and implement start up activities ranging from installation, I/O check out, network configuration, device calibration and qualification, dry testing, wet testing, SAT execution, and production support.
 

System Enhancements – Did you ever come back from vacation and find things working better?
Project Execution Rock Star Moment
It had been a complex install, and when it was done, the customer’s lead engineer went on a well-deserved vacation. While he was gone, we buttoned up the system and added a ton of extra functionality that the operators had been asking for. He was one happy man when he returned – and he looked like the Rock Star. And as a result of our tweaks and tunes, his company was able to squeeze in an extra batch per day that they couldn’t produce with the old system. More moments