Controls Technician 1st Shift

Description

POSITION PURPOSE 

The primary role of the Controls Electrician is to provide leadership within the engineering department in the areas of electrical, mechanical, and control systems design and documentation. The successful Controls Electrician will also recommend and implement process improvements, assist engineering management in project development, planning, and installation, and be a resource to all floor engineers and operations personnel. 

Qualifications

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (Other duties may be assigned):

1. Design and install:  PLC control systems and operator interfaces on major projects as well as smaller scale projects. Effectively maintain programming, hardware networking and communication; troubleshoot, determine causes of failure and perform corrective actions; oversee full industrial control system project implementation on both hardware and software problems

2. Project support: Support internal projects to include plant control system upgrades. Ability to read and interpret mechanical blueprints, electrical schematics and parts specifications. 

3. Preventative Maintenance and troubleshooting: Support predictive and preventative maintenance programs. Will be using electro-mechanical knowledge to troubleshoot, repair and perform PM's on conveyors, blenders, and other equipment used in the manufacturing process

4. Safety in the workplace: Promote a safe and clean working environment by following clean as you go procedures. Ensure that all safety procedures and guidelines are properly adhered to. Inform appropriate management and floor engineers of potential electrical/mechanical problems and inherent dangers involved. Attend and participate in all safety, staff, etc. meetings and activities.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

· Indirect supervision of contractor work on projects and floor engineers when troubleshooting equipment

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

· Extensive hands-on PLC programming experience including new design and installation startups

·  Must thoroughly understand and have experience interfacing PLC’s with: AC/DC and servo drives, instrumentation, sensors, bar code readers, and HMI. 

· Experience programming and replacing various operator interfaces including: Panel View/ Panel View

· Thorough understanding of drive parameters and how to apply them on the plant floor: Entering basic motor nameplate data, 2-wire/3-wire control, dynamic braking, DC Hold, drive tuning, scaling analog inputs and outputs.

· Ability to interpret existing drive wiring and parameters from one brand and retrofit with another

· Ability to develop HMI applications beyond simple buttons and data entry boxes. Examples of this include but are not limited to: utilizing parameter files and a single screen to operate duplicate devices, macro’s, VBA, and various proprietary scripting 

· Extensive background with Controls networking: DeviceNet, Ethernet/IP, Serial-over-Ethernet, Hart, DH , RS232, DH485

· Ability to troubleshoot Multi-PLC messaging between different classes of PLC’s: SLC 5/03-4-5, PLC5/40, ControlLogix

· Through knowledge of communications software: RSlinx Classic, RSlinx Enterprise, and RSNetWorx products

· Basic understanding of DCOM and computer security

· Ability to provide network troubleshooting using: BOOTP, ARP, PING, ROUTE, IPCONFIG, DHCP, and SNMP

· Good understanding of Ethernet managed switches in a controls environment and basic understanding of routers

· Ability to support SCADA data collection systems used to collect plant floor information.

· Ability to write simple SQL queries against a database within Excel 

· Working knowledge of implementing and tuning PID loops to control industrial processes 

· Must be able to work well with all levels of personnel from equipment operators to upper management, both individually and in a team environment 

· This position requires an organized individual, who is self-motivated and can work independently

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: 

· 1 to 2 years of previous experience with troubleshooting and programming PLC's (preferably Allen Bradley)

· Prior experience in a protein/dairy manufacturing facility  

· Ability to interpret blueprints and schematics 

· Must have own set of tools (non-negotiable)

· Training with PLC, HMI, Visual Basic, etc.

· Strong background in industrial communication with the ability to design, install, and troubleshoot Ethernet/IP, DeviceNet, DH , Hart, RS232, and DH485 etc.

· Ability to install operating systems and Industrial applications on Microsoft Windows XP, 2000-2003 server, Windows 7 

· AutoCAD Mechanical, Electrical, and Inventor drawing skills preferred

· Experience with Client/Server architecture, VM’s, SQL databases, RSSQL, and Ignition by Inductive Automation is a plus

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: 

· RSLogic 500 and RSLogix 5000 Programming 

· Fanuc Handling Tool or Pallet Tool 

· RSview Supervisory Edition

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/ WORK ENVIRONMENT: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

· Ability to work in overhead structures, work beneath machines and in close quarters performing analysis and repair work.

· Must be highly safety conscious

· Exposed to high voltage electricity

· Ability to lift in-excess of 50lbs