Project Consultant Services
Our engineering skills focus on industrial applications across all sectors. We have completed many project consultant tasks on behalf of our clients.
Aughton Automation have great experience in providing businesses with our consultancy services. These range from the design, installation, and commissioning of gas facilities, to ongoing maintenance works. Our services cover such facilities as natural and bio gas integration. We can also advise you on solutions for the transmission, distribution, and storage of propane gas.
Gas Consultancy Case Study
The transmission arm of a major gas utility provider recently commissioned Aughton’s project consultants to investigate the cause of a false shutdown signal on a large compressor site feeding the national distribution system
The signal kept causing an emergency stop signal, forcing the station into a pressurised shutdown ( PSD ). However, this was only the case when the jet engine that turned the compressor was not running.
The setup of the shutdown systems also meant that the alarm would spread to upstream and downstream compressor stations, taking them offline. This caused major disruption because the reset process takes many hours to reset and bring all stations back online.
We surveyed all of the records kept relating to previous incidents. What our consultants discovered
was that the signals were being generated by an oil mist detector mounted in one of the air extraction systems
The detector manufacturer was called in to inspect the devices. After a thorough check, everything proved to be working as it should, with no hardware faults found. The control system software was also functioning properly.
Further investigation found that the oil mist detection system was still active when the engine and its ventilators were not running. When the local weather conditions were just right, fog and dust would then form in the extract duct. This vapour would collect in the air plenums due to the lack of ventilation, and the detectors saw it as oil mist. They would then send the emergency shutdown signal to the station’s control system. We conducted a HAZOP study into changing the configuration of the emergency shutdown. After this, we produced a report outlining the best way to prevent any further ‘nuisance’ trips to the gas distribution system.
Firearms Consultancy Case Study
A large police force commissioned us as a specialist M&E project consultant to examine and test a firearms training facility for conformity to JSP403 – a military standard for building and maintaining firing ranges
A police force in east England were having problems with the airflow in their current 50m firearms training facility
The force believed that the airflow on the range did not comply with requirements. As such, they had stopped using 4 out of the 8 lanes within their facility. This then caused considerable disruption to the ability of the force to train adequate numbers of AFOs ( Approved Firearms Officers ). The original system designers/installers and the police force had reached an impasse on whether or not the range was compliant.
Aughton Automation project consultants conducted a survey and ‘map’ the airflow within the range. Our survey would therefore prove or disprove whether the facility met the requirements for ventilation. Smoke tests and air mapping results that we provided were proof that the existing system was largely inadequate by JSP403 standards. Further investigation also showed that the existing design of the air plenum was unsuitable for redesign to meet the requirements. This meant that the force would now have to install an entirely new system.
Based on our vast experience in the design and installation of specialist M&E systems, Aughton provided a consultant’s report of our findings. Our report included a design that we believed would provide a solution to the problem. Along with this, we included a budget pricing for the removal of the existing build, as well as the design, manufacture and installation of a new system to meet the requirements of JSP403.
Pharmaceutical Consultancy Case Study
Aughton have a long history within the pharmaceutical industry, working to rigid standards set by the FDA
A major part of gaining FDA approval focuses on the way in which a manufacturer provides and maintains minimum standards and procedures. This is to ensure the accurate measurement and control of automated manufacturing systems.
A local manufacturer called upon us to be their project consultant. We then created a set of procedures to be put in place in order to gain FDA approval for their product – a new drug for the North American market. The factory successfully implemented these procedures by carrying out Measurement of Uncertainty calculations on bio copy.
FDA approval is globally accepted as the highest mark to achieve for a company’s product.
Aughton implemented the following procedure on each critical control loop in the manufacturing
process, therefore enabling the client to receive FDA approval for their product
The Validation Process
The uncertainty calculations form part of the overall validation process.
A company submits these calculations to the MCA and/or FDA for approval, and this data consequently proves whether the product is fit for purpose and market release.
In order to determine the uncertainty, we carry out a data gathering exercise for each critical loop. We do this by:
- Obtaining the accuracy specification for each item in the loop
- Assessing the process’s acceptable range
- Collecting the critical operating data
- Gathering the accuracy requirements of the secondary standard/equipment
- Realising the preventative maintenance procedure used to carry out the verification and deciding if the best methodology has been adopted
After we gather the data, we can perform the calculations by:
- Calculating the loop measurement accuracy
- Entering the data from the Measurement of Uncertainty calculation sheet
Analysis of the calculations will indicate :
- The secondary standard IS or IS NOT accurate enough to verify the loop accuracy (Pass/Fail)
- The accuracy of the measurement loop IS or IS NOT suitable for meeting the process requirements (Pass/Fail)
If there is a failure in any of the above, our project consultant team will correct it, or replace the secondary standard/equipment in the loop. Once we complete the procedures for all critical control loops, we create a set of procedures to put in place.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about our project consultant services, or would like to book an appointment, please contact us by clicking here.