Collaborative Automation Solutions

Transforming Your Business with Expert Automation Solutions

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Tailored Solutions

How can we apply automation to enhance your business?

Safety & Compliance

Protect your people and your company.

Precision Programming

Make your systems work at target rates, or better.

About Us

CAS is a small firm of industrial automation professionals. We provide industrial programming, project management, and automation engineering services. We focus on returning business value for our customers with industrial automation technology. CAS helps customers use automation to solve production problems and improve processes. We believe it is crucial to collaborate with our customers to identify where and when automation can deliver this value.

As a customer focused firm with low overhead, we find that we can usually perform at a lower cost than other automation solution providers. Our customers leverage our skills on small and large projects. We deliver results working alone or as part of project teams with multiple integrators and contractors.

Companies We Work With

These are some of the world class companies we have collaborated with to provide automation solutions to business challenges:

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Our Services

CAS partners with our customers to successfully meet challenges. Below are summaries of some of our areas of service. Please contact us and let us know how we can help you.

Automated Systems Safety Services

The OSHA General Duty Clause states that “the Employer” is responsible for maintaining a safe workspace. This responsibility cannot be transferred or delegated to any OEM, integrator, consultant, or anybody else. Industrial automated systems have specific requirements to be OSHA compliant. Many machine systems are manufactured outside the United States and simply miss these requirements. Assessing compliance requires an understanding of how to apply standards and regulations like OSHA LOTO (29 CFR 1910.147), NEC, NFPA 79, UL 508A, ANSI/RIA R15.06, and others. CAS can help employers navigate the applicable safety standards and regulations and perform safety risk analyses and compliance assessments on existing systems, or as part of system initial design.

Automation Project Management

Industrial automation projects run smoother when experienced automation engineering professionals are part of the project team. CAS can provide these experienced professionals and PMP certified project managers who can help. Whether you need complete project management services, or consulting services to augment or assist your project team, CAS can provide the resources you need.

Automated Systems Layout and Design

The design phase is critical for industrial automation systems to have successful commissioning and to realize ROI goals once in operation. Our team of experienced professionals can provide these design services or assist your current design team. We can also help with re-designing and improving existing systems. With our experience designing, commissioning, and managing operations, CAS personnel can provide design insights that account not only for engineering considerations, but also OT/IT Networking, control interfaces, operations, maintenance, and actionable data reporting.

Controls Drawing and Documentation Services

Whether new systems, or old existing systems, automation equipment needs accurate and easily readable drawings and documentation. We can provide drawing and documentation services in AutoCAD and PDF formats for new system design and to augment or correct documentation for existing systems. Projects can miss integration drawings and documentation for different OEM systems in the same line. Sometimes, in a rush, existing equipment is modified without documentation change management. Original drawings can even be lost. CAS can examine and trace out existing systems like this and generate accurate drawings and documentation.

Automation Standards and Specification Services

More and more, companies in many industries are trying to realize the advantages of automated equipment systems. However, it can be hard to define exactly what is needed. CAS has the experience to help you write standards and specifications that you can use as templates and send out as part of RFP bid packages. We are experienced at specifying mechanical, electrical, controls, network, server, and automation safety systems. We can draft up standards and specifications for you, or work with you throughout the bid process of your project.

Industrial Controls Programming

CAS has expert experience programming all major brands of PLCs and HMIs to include Rockwell/Allen Bradley, Siemens, Schneider Electric/Modicon, Automation Direct, and many others. We are also experienced at changing and/or upgrading PLC and HMI systems. For example, upgrading old Allen Bradley SLC or PLC 5 systems to CompactLogix or ControlLogix. We can work closely with your Maintenance staff to help them learn about the PLC systems in their site. If you have older PLCs, smaller unfamiliar brands, or unusual applications, we can help you figure it out. PLCs can be challenging enough, but many clients also need help with peripheral systems like vision systems, bar code scanners, load cells, or labeling systems, to name a few. CAS has experience with all these important automation systems as well and we can help you configure, commission, program and optimize them to allow smooth operation.

Robotics Systems

CAS can help design, commission, or optimize your industrial robotic systems. We can also help you perform safety assessments of robotic work cells. CAS personnel are familiar with the challenges of programming robot cells and integrating them with line PLCs and safety sensors. We are familiar with all major brands of robots like Yaskawa Motoman, Fanuc, Kuka, and others. Whether your system is a simply X-Y-Z pick and place, or more complex 6-axis robots on slides with custom End of Arm Tooling, CAS can help.

SCADA Systems and MES/WES Programming

We can install, configure, and program all major SCADA systems to include Rockwell FactoryTalk View SE, Inductive Automation’s Ignition, GE iFIX, Siemens WinCC, AVEVA/WonderWare, and others. In addition, CAS can program and deploy Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Warehouse Execution Systems (WES). These middleware systems are the crucial link between site floor controls (like PLCs and SCADA systems) and the company’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and/or Supply Chain Management (SCM) software systems (like SAP, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, JDA/Blue Yonder, etc.). CAS can also RE-program these software systems to correct, enhance, or optimize their function for your business.

Industrial OT/IT Networking and Security

The Information Technology (IT) and the Operational Technology (OT) areas of industrial controls networking and computing are key to successful enterprise systems integration. Designing effective and secure industrial controls network architectures can be challenging. Robust and consistent data communications are crucial to today’s automated systems. CAS has expert experience designing and implementing industrial Ethernet networks, including wireless networks. We can specify hardware, software, and which protocols will work best. We can help you determine which kind of network or bus system will be most effective. We are also experts at configuring and implementing vSphere virtual server systems, industrial thin clients, video camera NVR and DVR systems, and control room systems. Once all these OT systems are running, CAS knows how to protect them from malicious cyber attacks.

Data Analytics

Accurate and robust data collection from automated systems is required to provide the information that operators, managers, and executive leadership need to make informed operational and business decisions. Methodologies like Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) are all dependent on this data reporting. CAS can specify, configure, and implement enterprise databases like MS SQL Server and integrate them with automated control systems to generate dashboards and usable, configurable data reports.

Machine Learning and AI

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence have many possibilities in industrial controls. But these control algorithms are not always applicable or helpful. “Machine Learning” has actually been around in one form or another for a long time. From the simple PID feedback loop to Fuzzy Logic and Neural Networks. CAS can review your application and help you determine where and when these kind of controls can help. We can then help specify what kind of machine learning will deliver results and implement it.

Maintenance Support

At CAS, we have all worked in Operations and Maintenance during our technical journey through industrial controls. We understand the requirements and the challenges of building and maintaining world class Maintenance Teams. We can provide maintenance support from optimizing your procedures and CMMS systems, to simply providing experienced contract Maintenance Techs to augment your staff when needed. CAS can also help your Maintenance Teams by documenting and implementing required OSHA systems, helping to implement Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) systems, generate or optimize PM procedures and processes, and providing Root Cause Analysis (RCA) assistance and/or training.

Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS)

CAS has extensive experience with ASRS systems. We are familiar with large pallet stacking systems and smaller case and bin systems. We have commissioned and optimized ASRS systems from Dambach, Swisslog, Viastore, and we have reprogrammed and optimized old systems from vendors who are no longer in business. If you are working with ASRS systems and you need help designing, specifying, commissioning, programming, establishing automation safety, establishing OSHA fall protection, or performing maintenance, CAS can deliver solutions for you.

Automated Frozen Warehousing

CAS personnel have worked for years supporting automated frozen warehousing systems. We are familiar with the unique challenges automated systems must overcome to function smoothly in freezing environments. CAS has commissioned and optimized auto loaders, auto unloaders, AGV systems, rail guided trolleys, palletizers, de-palletizers, layer pickers, case sortation systems, and order release systems. From specifying materials and lubricants to programming sequences and design layouts, CAS can help deliver world class automated systems for your frozen storage environment.