Process Control Engineer at AB InBev

The key purpose of this role involves reporting to the Manufacturing Systems Manager, ensures the integrity of Control and Automation (C&A):​

Responsible for the designing, coordinating and implementing the installations of new process control systems within the plant in accordance with standards (2) ensures sustainable integrity and stability of the C&A infrastructure (3) proactively recommends best practices within the control and automation space (4) assesses business continuity risk and associated equipment obsolescence's in the assigned area and (5) testing and executing disaster recovery procedures​.

Key roles and responsibilities​

Governance & Standards​

• Support plant with C&A project implementation and ensure that they adhere to the C&A standards within the project​
• To support the plant with control and automation project implementations by ensuring correct control and automation standards are followed and advising on technologies where applicable​
• Assist with technology selection by providing the plant with insight into new technologies and making recommendations around these technologies​
• Provide the plant with Global Technical Specifications (GTS) and Zone Technical Specifications (ZTS) where they exist or assist the plant in developing new standards in conjunction with the regions​
• Provide the plant with advice of technology implementation during design and commissioning of projects​
• Lead design and architecture workshops and ensure that a sound design and architecture solution is developed​
• Ensure that the correct technologies are selected to deliver the solution​
• Co-ordinate with System Integrators to ensure our C&A standards are adhered to during divisional control and automation projects​
• Review, update and specify C&A standards​
• To be the custodians of all manufacturing standards by reviewing standards, updating these standards and developing new standards​
• Understand current standards and know why and how to implement these​
• Coach plant staff on current standards​
• Review standards and make recommendations to improve standards​
• Create new standards for new technologies and get plant manager approval​
• Train systems staff in new standards​
• Audit plant against C&A standards and ensuring compliance​
• Conduct an unbiased audit on specified systems and process within the manufacturing system’s environment​
• Document findings of the audit and assist the plant in creating action plans and to close out gaps​
• Assist with implementation of standards and processes where applicable and having follow-up meetings​

Maintenance & Support​

• Resolve issues that have been escalated or assigned as quickly as possible​
• Log issues that have been escalated and report on these on a weekly basis​
• Communicate root cause and resolution details​
• Interact with vendor to ensure quick resolution of issues escalated​
• Escalating issues to vendors where required by logging the call with them and keeping track of root cause and resolution.​
• Provide vendors with feedback on software tested and work with them to resolve any issues.​
• Escalate issues that cannot be resolved, to vendors.​
• Keep track of vendor escalated issues
• Support the change control process at the plant to ensure that approved changes are made in accordance with approved procedures and vendor recommendations to the control and automation system as specified by the plant manager and site engineers​
• Follow-up on the effectiveness and sustainability of changes made​
• Ensure plant efficiency by maintaining C&A systems uptime and resolution of C&A breakdowns in as short a time period as possible​
• Attending to and resolving C&A breakdowns both during and after office hours either remotely or by coming to site​
• Conducting after action reviews to engineer, design and execute sustainable preventative measures​
• Support plant with problems experienced in the Control and Automation layer that has been escalated to Tech Supply, ZBS Maintenance or Solutions​
• To support plant with operational control and automation issues that have been escalated to  Tech Supply, ZBS Maintenance or Solutions​
• Audio visual support for projectors, zoom rooms, auditoriums, training rooms and boardrooms​
• Escalation point for all help desk issues​
• Ensure that manufacturing server checks are being done including Avmar backup checks – part of workflow verification to ensure backups are done - hardware, cluster health, server operating system, server application, time sync, SQL, anti-virus, SCCM, SCOM, incidents being driven to closure and deviations are being resolved or incidents logged by manufacturing systems resources or Solutions​
• Ensure that Inter plc network maintenance – switches for inter plc network not managed by the network team but by region – is being done​
• Act as single point of contact for outsourced Solutions services: Cameras, IT generators, IT UPS, IT networks

Continuity & Risk: ​

• To ensure and maintain control and automation systems uptime by continuously assessing and mitigating risks, resolving breakdowns and instituting sustainable prevention measures​
• Conducting C&A risk assessments and recommending mitigation as per the site risk assessment process​
• Executing mitigation efforts in reduction of the risks identified​
• Developing and Testing Disaster Recovery Procedures including ensuring data and configuration back-ups can be successfully restored​
• In the event of a disaster or unforeseen event - executing the disaster recovery procedures in accordance with the Business Continuity Plan​
• Correctly scope project and CAPEX to reduce or eliminate high risk items including but not limited only to hardware and software obsolescence and operational technology (OT)​
• Assist identifying and resolving security vulnerabilities in partnership with Security Operations Centre and Solutions​
• Ensure antivirus and anti-malware systems are up-to-date and functioning correctly​

Skills:​

•  Improve control and automation knowledge at the plant to ensure faster escalation of issues​
• Prepare material for and participate in weekly knowledge sharing sessions​
• Develop own and close Skills Acquisition Process (SKAP) training plan​
• Supports the pipeline development of apprentices, instrument artisans and Technicians​

Projects (Investments):​

• Provide input to the Business Case by reviewing business cases and making recommendations to the plant​
• Provide the plant with advice of technology implementation during design and commissioning of projects​
• Provide technical leadership for divisional control and automation projects in a timely manner​
• Assist with determining scope of the project through communication session with the business, stakeholders and users and documenting the requirements​
• Manage development and testing of solution​
• Lead commissioning of the solution at the plant​
• Execute small optimization projects, hence adding value in terms of cost saving​
• Coordination of Control and Automation aspects of CAPEX projects​

Optimize:​

• Support plant process optimisation in terms of Quality, Cost and Speed improvements​
• To support the plant with process optimisation efforts in terms of improving quality, cost and speed of plant processes​
• Provide insight and feedback on how processes are controlled to plant management team so that optimisation proposals can be engineered​
• Analyse and resolve long-term operational issues experienced in the plant

Education: ​

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Electronics, Mechatronic Engineering or Computer Science​
• In-depth knowledge of Process Control​
• Specialisation in Industrial Control & Automation ​

Experience:​

• At least 3 years in industrial control and automation or completion of Control and Automation technical traineeship​
• FMCG or beverages experience in industrial control and automation​