WHAT DOES A CONTROLS SYSTEMS ENGINEER DO?
Updated: Jan 01, 2025 - The Controls Systems Engineer provides control system engineering technical support in chemical manufacturing plants, and focuses on process optimization and reliability through control strategies and system configuration. This role involves ensuring seamless industrial communication and system interconnectivity while managing hardware and software upgrades for capital projects. The engineer also collaborates with the DCS Group to implement best practices and provides on-call support for operations and maintenance.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Controls Systems Engineer
1. Controls Systems Engineer Tasks
- Asset Register Compilation: Compile the asset register
- Network Diagrams Development: Develop the Network diagrams
- Risk Assessment Leadership and Collaboration: Lead and collaborate for the risk assessment
- Checklist Compilation and Remediation Support: Compile the checklist, and develop remediation support
- Mitigations Development and Implementation: Develop and implement the mitigations
- Security Accreditation Collaboration: Work with Security as part of the accreditation application via DART
- Safe Electrical Control Work: Work safely within electrical control panels and systems
- Control Systems Assessment and Recording: Assess and record the control systems in detail to confirm the data/LAN structure, assess/investigate computer and network intrusions
- Control System/PLC Vulnerability Review: Perform comprehensive control system/plc reviews, identifying vulnerabilities
- Secure Network Design and Protection Strategies: Develop secure network designs and protection strategies, and audits of information security infrastructure
2. Lead Controls Systems Engineer Overview
- Signaling Control Systems Independent Check: Carry out independent checking on signaling control systems as instructed by senior engineers.
- Control Systems Technical Preparation: Prepare technical details, specifications, and tenders for Control Systems projects.
- Control Systems Technical and Safety Standards: Ensure technical and safety standards are maintained in all aspects of Control Systems work.
- Staff Performance Appraisal and Management: Conduct regular performance appraisals of key staff and manage their performance.
- Engineering Mentorship and Development: Act as a mentor to the engineering community and promote personal development via Continuous Professional Development and Personal Development Plans.
- Safety Responsibilities Discharge: Discharge safety responsibilities in line with CDM Regulations, Health and Safety legislation, company procedures, and standards.
- Resource Requirements Forecast Management: Manage the forecast of resource requirements necessary for allocated projects in sufficient time to ensure they can be provided.
- Budget Monitoring and Control: Monitor and control budgets for allocated work packages.
- Contractors' Responsible Engineer Role: Act in the role of Contractors' Responsible Engineer where appropriate.
- Signaling Control Systems Testing and Commissioning Assistance: Assist with testing and commissioning of signaling control systems as instructed.
3. Controls Systems Engineer Job Description
- Documentation Uploading: Uploading all documentation, technical information, PLC backups, and VMs onto the company system in the correct location
- FDS and Site Audit Documentation: Up front project functional design specification (FDS) documentation required together with site audit reports, system design architectures, Testing and As-Built documentation
- Software Development and Equipment Maintenance: Software development, commissioning, troubleshooting, and maintaining many kinds of automatic equipment
- Technical Drawings Understanding and Creation: Understanding layouts and technical drawings, and producing technical drawings (Visio/AutoCAD)
- Project Software Preparation and Validation: Preparing software, commissioning, and validating projects for the pharmaceutical, waste management, food manufacturing, aerospace, energy, and utilities industries
- Customer and Technical Support: Providing customer support by phone and technical support on Customer sites (various locations in the UK)
- Production Assistance and Troubleshooting: Provision of production assistance and troubleshooting at Customer sites
- PLC Software Commissioning and Hardware Installation: Commissioning PLC Software and installation of Hardware on Customer Sites
- Safety-Focused Work Practices: Performing duties with attention to safety in both work practices and design
- Teamwork and Customer Satisfaction: Performing duties with a focus on teamwork and customer satisfaction
4. Controls Systems Engineer Functions
- Automation and Standardization: Automation and standardization for creating HVAC, Water Purification, and Waste Water Treatment processes and operator interfaces for operating facilities systems safely
- Online Operator Safety Documentation: Create online operator safety documentation to provide additional guidance and system information to the operators, available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week
- Control Systems Ownership: Take ownership of one or more control systems to operate and maintain all control equipment from the field devices through the control and monitoring equipment
- Logic Diagrams Comprehension: Comprehension of logic diagrams in the International Automation format for complex logic devices such as Programmable Logical Controller and Distributed Control System
- Control Panels and Systems Improvement: Identify, develop, and design control panels, improvements, and upgrades to control systems for enhanced system functionality and reliability
- Engineering System Collaboration: Work with engineering system owners, as clients, to improve control of their systems or solve control issues
- Performance Reporting and Solutions: Report performance trends/issues to management and recommend solutions
- SOP Development and Personnel Training: Develop standard operating procedures and train Facilities Control personnel on all new systems
- Maintenance Requirements Definition: Define control system and instrumentation maintenance requirements and procedures
- Instrumentation Deficiency Identification: Identify instrumentation deficiencies and suggest alternatives
- Alarm Rationalization Support: Assist multi-discipline engineering team in creating meaningful alarms and support continuous alarm rationalization to ensure alarming is effective
5. Controls Systems Engineer Job Summary
- Control System Engineering Support: Provide control system engineering technical support in a chemical manufacturing plant, primarily at the Longview, Texas site, but for other sites
- Control Strategies Implementation: Implement control strategies to optimize process reliability and throughput, including loop analysis, loop tuning, feedforward/override control, automated sequences, machine control, and alarm management
- Industrial Communication Design: Provide industrial communication support and design, including networking and system interconnectivity, primarily leveraging Modbus and other protocols
- Control System Configuration and Checkout: Perform control system configuration and checkout activities to support capital projects
- Software and Hardware Upgrades Coordination: Coordinate software and hardware upgrades
- Scope Determination for Control Systems: Determine the scope of work for the control systems portion of projects
- Control System Equipment Specifications: Provide control system equipment specifications and bills of materials to support procurement and construction activities for projects
- DCS Group Collaboration: Participate with DCS Group team members on improvement projects, standards, and best practices related to control system applications
- On-Call Control System Support: Provide on-call control system support for operations and plant maintenance on a rotating schedule
- Control Technologies Awareness: Stay abreast of new control technologies and other industry practices through attendance at user symposiums, meetings with vendors, vendor training, and review of industry literature
- Work Assignment Prioritization: Prioritize work assignments based on the safety, environmental, regulatory, and economic value to Eastman