If you’re in need of resources to complete a controls project or to resolve an employee vacancy, the difficulty of looking for a control systems engineer is how you get the right person for your business.
Do you need a specific engineer to top up your breadth of skills within a large control systems engineering team? or are you simply in need of a single controls engineer with as wide a skillset as possible? Maybe one alternative is to work with a firm of control systems engineers who can meet every aspect of your engineering requirements from their own team of multi-disciplined control systems and software engineers.
And what is a control systems engineer?
The term ‘control systems engineer’ is just one job title. Yet, many people performing this role may have varying job titles from applications engineer, controls engineer, or software engineer amongst others. These titles will also mask several skillsets and aspirations. If we use the term control systems engineer as the generic title, you might find that these engineers have skills and experience from electrical design, PLC programming, SCADA system build, and some may even have automation network design skills as well as industrial digitalisation capabilities. Furthermore, engineers with many years under their toolbelts may have expert knowledge on specific processes (such as controlling fluids, robotics, or mechanical handling) or in specific vertical industries such as food & beverage, water & wastewater, minerals & mining or precision engineering.
Qualified control systems engineers, or experienced controls engineers?
Formal qualifications ensure that these engineers have a universally agreed level of competence and intellect. However, your demands and requests might require extended qualifications, such as functional safety, or the broad-based skills that come from a traditional engineering apprenticeship.
Most customers have a preferred supplier of PLC or SCADA systems, with engineers that demonstrate specific experience in your chosen hardware and software to hit the ground running. In short, a blend of formal qualifications and experience in what your business needs are where you need to start, but don’t be afraid to ask for demonstrable and auditable proof of skills.
How can you make sure you get the best control systems engineers in your business?
You may already have senior controls engineers who can interview and assess new employees or contractors, but if not, you will probably need help from an established control systems integration company. You’re more likely to find a range of qualifications and skills, with experience in a variety of PLCs and SCADA systems spread across all of their engineers. The benefit here is the cross-fertilisation of knowledge, peer support, and supervision. But we’d recommend checking their case studies, asking for specific references, checking their financial stability as well as any formal certifications in the platforms that are relevant to you.
What is InControl’s view on this?
We have a variety of control engineer types so that we can meet every aspect of an automation project, as we know it’s hard to find a single engineer that can excel in everything. For example, the best software engineers might not have the practical experience that is needed when commissioning the hardware aspects of a control system and vice versa. Furthermore, not every engineer will have deep knowledge of all PLC manufacturers, and sometimes it is helpful to have someone on hand that already has that knowledge and can support a colleague when needed. And even if you have your own highly competent control systems engineer, sometimes our customers just need to have an integrator like InControl Systems on hand for major projects or difficult resource challenges.
