Sub-contracting the design and manufacture of valve controls can lower costs, speed installation and maximise engineering resources

摘要

With the process industry facing serious skills shortages that are compromising the industry's ability to complete upgrades and expansion projects, Tom Holemans of ASCO Numatics explains the benefits of using specialist companies to design, engineer and assemble valve control panels and systems. Sub-contracting the valve controls part of process automation projects relieves the pressure on in-house engineering resources, lowering costs, and speeding installation and commissioning. In a time of global recession, one might imagine that economic issues were the biggest problems facing the process industry. However; for many companies, their greatest concern is a skills shortage that is affecting their ability to complete upgrades and expansion projects. Companies are losing skills in areas that include mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and electronics. Rather than this situation improving over the next few years, demographic data would indicate that many more knowledgeable and experienced engineers will be retiring, taking their valuable skills with them. Engineers are becoming a scarce resource and careful consideration needs to be given to ensure they are deployed in the most effective way.