Specialist Services

When designing a manufacturing / production facility it is extremely important that the facility is designed to:

1. complement the manufacturing process it contains.
2. Utilise the most efficient use of available space.

Geoghegan Engineering Consulting will combine the internal (client), external (regulatory), best practice (cGMP/Lean) requirements to develop a facility/ manufacturing process.  This will facilitate a factory design which will be optimized for space, capacity, material and people flow.

Factory layouts, production lines and finished products change and evolve over time. As a result, the supporting services and utility pipework should change to suit the new factory requirements. 

Our utilities and pipework design offering is focused on developing solutions that reduce energy usage, reduce waste, improve cleanability, allow optimal maintainability of the system and maximise all the benefits, you as a client should be able to achieve.

Our thorough knowledge of the industry as well as processes allow us to effectively specify, identify and source the optimal equipment for the client application. We are also able to assist the client in identifying any gaps in the services and equipment supplied. In doing so we provide the client with sound impartial technical advice to ensure that expectations are fully met when the equipment is installed and commissioned.  

Whether we are responsible for the design or the design is a service supplied by others, we offer a suite of design reviews developed in order to optimise plant productivity while reducing project and manufacturing risk. We can provide services to review:

• Suitability to local conditions
• Constructability
• Maintainability 
• Operability

During implementation it is important to ensure that the design is being implemented in accordance with the Engineer’s intent and specification. Part of our service offering is monitoring the design / fabrication / construction / installation / commissioning and validation process. This includes: 

• Review of the contractor’s Quality Control Plans (QCP’s)
• Review of the contractor’s design 
• Supervision of Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT’s)
• Supervision of Site Acceptance Tests (SAT’s)
• Managing the Commissioning / Validation Process
• Snagging of the final installation
• Issue of completion certificates

One of the key metrics in assessing project success is the return on capital investment of a project. We provide a full suite of project life cycle costing and analysis tools, which allow the client to rapidly determine the project’s financial viability at any time during the project life cycle. If the project at the outset is deemed feasible we also offer a service in developing a project business case, both for projects that will be funded internally and for projects that are funded by a 3rd party. 

The project execution strategy governs the methods on how to execute, monitor, and control the project. The strategy is used in communication with all the stakeholders ensuring that everyone is aware and knowledgeable of project objectives and how they will be accomplished. Our integrated knowledge of light industrial / manufacturing projects allows us to provide the client with experienced input into their project execution strategies. 

In order to be able to manage the project correctly and to deliver the project in the most economical manner the procurement strategy needs to be customized around the particulars of the project. In order to reduce project risk, GEng-Consulting, having a detailed understanding of the process, is able to advise the client on how to best to divide work packages and appoint the various contractors. 

We have extensive experience in advising clients on the technical aspects and structure of contracts, for equipment procurement. This guarantees contractor performance and streamlines the project management aspects of the project. 

Our Project Management skill set is based on a detailed understanding of a manufacturing environment and the challenges of keeping a Brownfield’s site operational in order to maintain predefined outputs and meet production targets whilst effectively expediting the project. Our implementation methodologies are based on the specific drivers of the project, in order to achieve the most value-added outcome for our clients. 

In projects for which we are not appointed for the design aspects we can offer the client a service as an independent technical advisor to ensure that the technical and building contractors are adhering to the project specification. 

A principal agent is an arrangement in which one entity legally appoints another to act on its behalf. In a typical contract between a client and contractor, it is often important that a third party is appointed to act impartially in dealing with contract disputes and payment. GEng-Consulting has the experience to fulfill this role both in terms of the FIDIC suite of contracts and the JBCC suite of contracts.

When designing a new product, designers tend to focus on meeting functional / regulatory requirements initially and manufacturability of the product can sometimes not be considered until several design iterations have been completed or a functional milestone has been achieved. Our philosophy is to partner with the product design XFT, from initial concepts through each project design phase until design freeze, to rapid prototype, develop, de-risk, cost and provide DFM/DFA feedback from a manufacturing point of view.

The process is the heart of any manufacturing facility. It is important that the process is designed effectively. GEng-Consulting specializes in the detailed design of processes that provide the client with the optimal blend of flexibly, product quality, reduced conversion costs and manufacturing repeatability. Linked to product development project phases, we will develop and test, a right sized process to facilitate feedback from a DFM/ DFA, manufacturability, project risk, MRL (Manufacturing Readiness Level), CoGs point of view for each iteration. Our designs apply lean manufacturing principles as well as international current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), and optimize the operability and maintainability of the process as a whole. 

The product conversion cost and raw material cost are instrumental in the product’s market competitiveness.  Understanding the CoG of manufacture and the effect of any process / facility improvement on it, provides a powerful tool for the client to quickly decide on the viability of the project. GEng-Consulting provides the capability to derive, understand and analyse the current CoG of products as well as predict the affect of a given project on the product CoG. 

One of the most important decisions a client needs to make is whether to make a product in-house or to buy it externally. We can provide analysis of the variable data  from a business portfolio, technology capability, financial, core competency and others point of view and provide a comparison which will contribute to this decision,

Based on the nature of a project there are a variety of project incentive mechanisms available. We have a sound knowledge of these mechanisms and are available to identify and advise on mechanisms that might be suitable to the client’s application. 

What do you validate and what do you verify? These questions are generally answered by knowing and understanding documents such as your functional specification, regulatory requirements, business requirements among others. Our value add comes from years of NPI product and process development, a deep understanding of validation requirements and how to make the decision wether to verify or validate a process.

We will liaise with your design engineers and stakeholders to combine the required inputs to develop DQ, IQ OQ and PQ protocols, including test plan, sampling plans and acceptability criteria for your process. Our service offering also includes auditable technical review process for each protocol we provide. This can be a stand alone offering or ideally linked to a process development activity.

We can aid with the execution of validation protocols and generate the necessary validation reports as required.

We understand that hiring full time team members can be a challenge for new or recently started enterprises. We can offer our full suite of specialist services on a negotiated scope, time or fee basis to ensure your business requirements are not compromised.

We can post a specific team member to your project at your facility so you can utilize the full range of technical skills as you require.

Projects such as:

 - Initial manufcturing process development.

 - Manufacturing cost etimates from prototypes.

 - Process improvement

 - Process reliability

 - CoGs analysis

 - Capacity planning