SYNOPSIS

The pool of highly experienced automation design engineers that get it right the first time, all the time is shrinking in the Malaysian engineering scenario. There is no platform for highly experienced designers to discuss issues that are relevant and that directly impacts them in their daily work activities. This talk  intends to provide an opportunity to compare and contrast ideas, opinions and value judgements in the automation design industry. Unfortunately, design work is specific to the very experienced or very specific duty bound engineers. Hence, the young automation design engineers must be thought to think correctly
and appropriately within their scope of expectations.

The is a vast difference between how design is carried out in Malaysia and elsewhere. However, just knowing the differences and acknowledging their similarities and differences, will add a world of wealth to the Malaysian engineering capabilities. Taking either the ‘forest’ or the ‘tree’ view has its limitations in the real-time on-line automation design. It has become very much more imperative that the ‘trees’ be addressed with foresight with the ‘forest’ in hindsight. This talk will give some insight on how to achieve this in the present and future automation design undertakings.

The talk addresses issues in automation design engineering management, design approaches and design activities taken in the Malaysian environment. Though there is no right or wrong in the design decisions taken here, but taking a contextually appropriate approach or decision will have a greater positive impact on the design outcome and Client expectations.


BIODATA OF SPEAKERS

Ir. S. Vignaeswaran has a wide area of experience in the Oil & Gas, Building Services, Utility, and Mining electrical & automation engineering. He has a passion for cross-discipline applications, automation, advanced information systems and project management. He has experience in real-time on-line system design, which he pursues to refine and provide even more advanced functionality and features, for industries across the board. He has published a number of automation papers, both locally and internationally.

He has worked overseas in a USD 3 billion-dollar Saudi Arabian King Saud Girls’ University project. In that project, he was the Client’s Engineer heading the Electrical & Automation Department, undertaking all works from the 132kV incoming power supply to the 5Vdc power signalling for the BMS. The entire project automation with medical facilities, and building services for over 50 buildings were under his scope of works.

He started work in TNB’s Telecontrol Department, which maintains the NLDC Grid Computer that monitors the entire Peninsular Malaysia’s electrical power supply. He was then posted to BRCC and assisted in providing the PC-based passive backup system to the SCADA system there. He went on to assist in the development of the Papan Control Centre, which included the electrical instrumentation signalling from the various transmission substations. TNB then posted him to Paka Phase II power plant project where he was the Client’s Control & Instrumentation engineer.

He went on to undertake the Automation and Instrumentation works at the Oil & Gas Kemaman Bitumin Plant in Terengganu and the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) project in Kolkatta, India. The Australian Mt. Isa Xstrata mining instrumentation works was subsequent to that, before returning to Malaysia for continued professional  development.