Solon Consulting
Industrial automation consulting pays for itself in the bid phase: a vendor-neutral specification makes integrator quotes comparable and keeps scope gaps from surfacing later as change orders. Solon writes those specifications and stays through startup, following ISA practice for controls documentation.
Industrial Automation Consulting
Solon Consulting evaluates industrial automation systems including PLC, HMI, SCADA, instrumentation, networks, interlocks, alarms, historian data, commissioning, and operator-interface mechanisms. We coordinate technical specifications for modernization buyers and engineering leaders seeking to define clear project bases for automation updates. This process supports the identification of system gaps prior to procurement activities.
consequences
Technical Mismatch Risks
When input definitions remain unclear, algebraic conflicts can arise within interlocks or alarm structures. We identify these potential mismatches by reviewing control narratives and testing protocols against stated requirements without predicting operational delays or claiming prevention of future issues. Our work focuses on mapping signal paths to resolve undefined variables.
Logic Conflicts
Undefined variables in PLC code can create conflicts with HMI display states, requiring a detailed map of signal paths to resolve.
Data Gaps
Missing tags in historian configurations may result in incomplete records, necessitating a review of network topology and instrument lists.
Interface Errors
Mismatched protocols between SCADA systems and field devices can interrupt data flow, calling for a coordinated specification of communication standards.
capabilities
Industrial Automation Capabilities
Our team can specify and coordinate equipment procurement, installation support, parts, and startup activities. We can develop functional test protocols and configure operator interfaces based on verified project inputs and approved bases for industrial automation systems. This structured approach aligns technical needs with available assets to define a clear basis for design and implementation work.
System Mapping
We map existing control architectures to identify gaps in instrumentation, networks, and interlocks before specifying new components.
Procurement Support
Solon can specify and coordinate equipment procurement, installation support, parts, and startup to align with technical project needs.
Protocol Configuration
We can configure communication protocols for historian data and alarm systems to match compatibility requirements across diverse hardware platforms in the facility.
process
Review and Specification Process
A typical process can begin with an assessment of current PLC and HMI states, followed by mapping network topologies. We may then develop specifications for instrumentation and coordinate testing against stated requirements before commissioning activities begin. Each step can rely on verified inputs to define the scope of work accurately.
Initial Assessment
We assess the current state of PLC logic, HMI screens, and SCADA configurations to establish a baseline for modernization.
Requirement Mapping
Our team maps technical requirements to specific layers including interlocks, alarms, and historian data structures.
Testing Coordination
We coordinate functional tests against approved bases to verify that configured systems meet the specified design criteria.
proof
Neutral Work-Product Examples
These artifacts illustrate the type of documentation Solon develops, such as utility-load matrices and interface schedules. Each example supports specific engineering decisions by mapping requirements and specifying configurations. The documents serve as decision artifacts for planning and specification phases within industrial automation contexts, providing a reviewable basis for coordination and testing activities.
Utility-Load Matrix
A matrix detailing power and air requirements for various automation components to support infrastructure planning decisions.
Work-product example; actual project scope depends on verified inputs.
Interface Schedule
A schedule listing all digital and analog signals between PLCs and HMIs to facilitate coordinated integration efforts.
Work-product example; actual project scope depends on verified inputs.
Controls Narrative
A written description of sequence logic and interlock conditions used to guide programming and testing activities.
Work-product example; actual project scope depends on verified inputs.
faq
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers below clarify how Solon approaches automation projects, focusing on technical mechanisms like assessment, mapping, specification, coordination, configuration, testing, and commissioning. The information describes reviewable work products and decision artifacts that support engineering planning without promising operating outcomes or specific vendor relationships in the industry.
Does Solon sell automation equipment?
Solon can specify and coordinate equipment procurement, installation support, parts, and startup as part of technical project support. We do not act as a universal vendor or hold inventory, but we assist in selecting appropriate assets.
What systems do you assess?
We assess concrete system layers such as PLC, HMI, SCADA, instrumentation, networks, interlocks, alarms, historian data, commissioning, and operator interfaces to map their current state and requirements.
How do you handle testing?
Our team develops functional-test protocols and configures systems to test against a stated requirement or approved basis, examining whether the mechanism operates as specified without promising operating results or success metrics for the client.
Can you work with existing hardware?
Yes, we map and specify upgrades for existing hardware by reviewing interface schedules and controls narratives to coordinate integration with new components within your current infrastructure and operational constraints.
How much does industrial automation consulting cost?
Advisory and review work is typically hourly, and owner-side project roles are scoped as a percentage of the automation package they govern. The comparison that matters is against the change orders and rework an unspecified project generates, which routinely exceed the consulting fee many times over.
Can you work with the integrator we already use?
Yes, and that is the normal arrangement. We write or tighten the specification, review code and panel submittals, and witness acceptance testing while your integrator builds. Good integrators prefer working against a clear specification.
Do we have to replace our existing PLCs?
Usually not. Most plants have serviceable hardware running poorly structured code. We evaluate what the installed controllers, network, and instrumentation can support before recommending any replacement, and reuse is the default position.
platforms and standards
Platforms and Standards Behind Our Industrial Automation Consulting
Vendor neutrality only means something if the consultant can actually read the code and the drawings on whatever platform the plant already owns. This is the toolset our industrial automation consulting work runs on, and the published standards we hold designs against.
CODESYS and IEC 61131-3
We program and review controller logic in Structured Text and Ladder under IEC 61131-3, including CODESYS 3.5 runtimes on IFM and compatible controllers. Code reviews cover state machines, interlock coverage, fault handling, and whether the program can be maintained by someone who did not write it.
IO-Link and Field Instrumentation
Sensor selection, IO-Link master layout, and instrument datasheet review for temperature, pressure, level, flow, and conductivity in hygienic service. We specify measurement points from the process need first, then match hardware, not the other way around.
Industrial Networks
EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP and RTU, and IO-Link network architecture, with segmentation between controls and business traffic. We document address maps and interface schedules so integration boundaries are contractual, not tribal.
SCADA and HMI Design
Operator screens developed to ISA-101 practice: navigation depth, color used for state rather than decoration, and alarm displays an operator can act on at 2 a.m. We build interface schedules that make PLC, HMI, and SCADA scope divisible across vendors.
Alarm Management
Alarm rationalization against ISA-18.2 principles: every alarm needs an operator action, a priority earned by consequence, and a documented cause. Nuisance alarm floods are a design defect, and we treat them as one.
Electrical and Area Classification
Coordination with NEC (NFPA 70) requirements, panel layout review, and hazardous-area boundaries for distillery and extraction service, aligned with NFPA 30 and 497 documentation before electrical design money is spent.
scope in practice
What the Controls Scope Actually Covers
These are the systems we specify, program, review, and commission inside food, beverage, and process facilities. Each one is also where an under-scoped automation project fails first.
Batch and Recipe Sequencing
Recipe parameters, phase logic, and permissives structured so a new product is a parameter set, not a reprogramming project. Sequence design includes hold states and safe abort paths, not just the happy path.
Fermentation and Temperature Control
Per-vessel control with deadbands and loop tuning appropriate to jacket dynamics, plus setpoint scheduling and crash-cool staging that respects glycol plant capacity instead of fighting it.
CIP Sequencing and Interlocks
Step sequencing with proof of flow, temperature and conductivity verification, and hard interlocks between cleaning and production paths. The logic must prove the clean happened, not assume it.
Utility and Glycol Staging
Compressor and pump staging, load shedding priorities, and demand smoothing so utility systems track production load. Poorly staged utilities show up as an electric bill nobody can explain.
Packaging and Line Integration
Line control, accumulation logic, and machine-to-machine handshakes between filler, labeler, and end-of-line equipment from different vendors, with the interface schedule owned by the plant rather than any one OEM.
Data, Historians, and Reporting
Tag structure, historian configuration, and production reporting designed so quality and management get numbers from the same source the operators run on. Data nobody trusts is worse than no data.
choosing help
Consultant, Integrator, or Panel Shop
Industrial automation consulting is not the same purchase as systems integration, and buying the wrong one first is the most common way plants overspend.
Systems Integrator
Builds and delivers the working system: panels, code, screens, startup labor. The right choice once scope is defined. Without an owner-side specification, the integrator defines their own scope, and change orders price the difference.
OEM or Panel Shop
Delivers a machine or enclosure to its own standard. Strong inside its equipment boundary, blind outside it. Somebody still has to own the interfaces between machines, and that somebody should not have a stake in any one of them.
Owner-Side Automation Consultant
Works for the plant. Writes the specification integrators bid against, reviews their code and panel designs, witnesses testing, and commissions with the owner’s interests in the room. Fees are a fraction of the integration contract they keep honest.
Before requesting integration bids, run our automation scope checklist and the automation ROI guide. For sector-specific depth, see our work on PLC programming for breweries, distillery automation systems, winery automation systems, and our controls engineering services.
conversion
Start Your System Review
Contact us to request an automation system review where we assess your PLC, HMI, and network layers. We map your requirements and coordinate the next steps for specification and testing based on verified inputs. This initiates a structured path for defining your project scope and aligning technical needs.