Author Contributor: E Tech Group President, Fred Fontaine
As President of E Tech Group, I’m both proud and excited to shine a light on some of the differentiating features of our company. While this article discusses these concepts at a high level, their foundation lies in our team’s immense and diverse talent, collective energy, commitment, and excitement, which drive our ability to identify, design, and deliver innovative solutions to achieve excellence in every project. This energy permeates E Tech Group, and every day brings forth new opportunities for us to learn and grow. I’m both proud and humbled to do my part in contributing to the “E Tech Group Advantage.”
With more than 600 engineering and technical resources located throughout North America serving several diverse industries, E Tech Group is one of the largest industrial automation system integrators in North America. Through the hiring and development of top-tier talent as well as strategic acquisition of several leading system integrators, E Tech Group has grown significantly, doubling in size over the past five years. The result of this growth mindset is a phenomenally deep bench of talent, experience, and skill sets, including several newer areas of expertise.
While E Tech Group’s size and reach allows for the offering of a broad range of services and capabilities that smaller integrators may struggle to manage, the company’s strengths go far deeper. More than simply being a large integration company, E Tech Group’s culture fosters strong support for inquisitiveness, innovation, and perseverance, with an underlying deep commitment to excellence for every project and every client.
The intent of this article is not only to bring to light the wide-ranging capabilities within E Tech Group that may not be readily apparent to our historical clients who may know us for one specific area of expertise, but perhaps more significantly, to bring E Tech Group’s particular stand-out traits—the collective characteristics that have led to the growth and sustained success of the company—into focus. Together, they foster “The E Tech Group Advantage.”
Beyond Automation and Control: Wide-Ranging Core Competencies
Like many integrators, E Tech Group’s core competencies include interconnectivity and controls programming including for DCS/PLCs, HMIs and SCADA systems. However, E Tech Group’s skillsets range far beyond those of the typical industrial automation system integrator.
As a whole, E Tech Group focuses on delivering solutions that effectively address the client’s unique needs, often requiring highly-customized work. In addition, the team’s depth of core competencies can address long-standing industry inflexibilities head on with innovative, out of the box, and accessible solutions for multiple industry applications as listed below.
Main Automation Partner (MAP) – Partnering to Move Organizations Forward
With extensive capabilities and vast experience in automation and information solutions, E Tech Group is uniquely positioned to serve as the Main Automation Partner (MAP) for its clients, ensuring they safely and successfully achieve their objectives. In this role, E Tech Group works closely with clients to develop a strategic roadmap that aligns with their long-term goals, creating a foundation that supports and enables their growth. For some clients, this involves increasing automation levels to mitigate the impact of a shrinking workforce. For others, it involves facilitating digital transformation or advancing Industry 4.0 initiatives.
Complex Coordinated Drive Systems
E Tech Group has successfully implemented thousands of complex coordinated drive systems for rolling mills, coating lines, tension control, and other challenging applications. E Tech Group has designed, built, and installed DC drive systems up to 10,000 horsepower.
IT and OT Networking for Optimal Traffic Flow and Cybersecurity
E Tech Group’s networking team includes individuals with the professional training, knowledge, certifications, and experience to connect equipment and controls to the OT network to optimize communications and then securely connect the OT network to the broader enterprise network. Within E Tech Group’s IT/OT Solutions team, engineers hold a variety of certifications, including CCNA and CISSP. Notably, the CISSP certification is recognized as one of the most advanced and difficult-to-obtain cybersecurity certifications available.
Custom Software Development
E Tech Group’s dedicated software development team specializes in developing both fully custom applications as well as custom “middleware” applications that address shortcomings in commercially available software packages. The group’s priority is to ensure that the software delivered fully addresses the needs of the client in the most cost-effective and supportable manner. The team has experience in most common programming languages, including HTML, .Net, Python, and C#.
Some recent innovations developed by the E Tech Group software team include:
- Unity 3D game development environment to build digital twins
- Ignition to create a design that meets ISA-88 standards for batch control
MES and Business Intelligence
E Tech Group’s capabilities extend to MES application customization as well as business intelligence systems. The Manufacturing Intelligence team implements data interpretation applications used to draw insights from data stored in historians and other sources, utilizing tools like SEEK, Power BI, Tableau, FactoryTalk DataMosaix, and others.
In fact, many clients have found success by working with this team to turn their vast amounts of collected raw process data into actionable information that guides solid decision making.
FDA 21 CFR Part 11 Compliance
E Tech Group is the integrator of choice for many Life sciences companies, helping to bring to market some of today’s leading therapies that are improving the lives of millions. With a deep specialization in Biotech and Cell & Gene Therapy, E Tech frequently works with clients to bring early-stage therapies to full scale production. Assisting with everything from control system design & implementation, advanced ISA S88 Batch controls, information systems, validation, and more.
Process Optimization via Artificial Intelligence
Oden Technologies is a new strategic partner of E Tech Group. Oden Technologies’ Process AI application utilizes various types of artificial intelligence including machine learning and deep learning to draw actionable insights from large-scale manufacturing data. The results are measurable improvements through the optimization of the process, including cost and waste reductions, increased production rates, faster changeovers, etc., that deliver tangible results to the client’s bottom line.
Warehouse Management – Delivering Open Solutions
E Tech Group’s expertise in warehouse management includes Automated Storage and Retrieval Aystems (ASRS), conveyance, and associated robotics including Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs).
In addition, E Tech Group is leading a movement away from the closed, “black box” material handling control systems traditionally delivered by massive warehousing OEMs to a more open, vendor-agnostic Warehouse Execution System (WES). Clients can finally obtain what they require: a solution that fully addresses their needs while also giving them access to the data, information, and controls to allow them the freedom to make their own changes.
Integration Project 911
E Tech Group is often the integrator of choice for meeting emergency service requirements. These services can range from addressing the immediate needs of down equipment to adopting and finishing another vendor’s struggling project. When assistance is requested, E Tech Group will even support other integrators (regardless of whether they are competitors). When it’s the right thing to do for the client, it’s also the right decision for E Tech Group.
Size and Scale: E Tech Group Handles Large-Scale Projects
One of the advantages of E Tech Group’s scale and size is the ability to partner with clients globally to help them develop and drive consistent standards throughout their organization. A project completed at a facility in Boston is delivered to identical standards as a project in Chicago, Los Angeles, and even beyond American borders like Mexico.
In addition, E Tech Group has both the experience and the financial capacity to complete large-scale greenfield or brownfield projects, which are typically multi-phase, multi-year, and require a diverse range of committed professionals over a long period of time. When E Tech Group completes a project, all stages are handled and coordinated by the company, including, but not limited to:
- Initial planning and design
- Specification and procurement of required equipment
- Hiring and managing of subcontractors (electrical, mechanical, etc.)
- Panel design and build
- Software development
- Equipment Installation
- Overall commissioning and testing
Financial Capability
In addition to strong leadership, planning, organization, management, problem-solving, and communication skills, large-scale projects require significant front-facing investment by the integrator. When E Tech Group has undertaken projects in the 20 to 40 million dollar range, an initial equipment investment on the order of 12 to 15 million dollars is a common requirement. E Tech Group has the financial capability to handle this magnitude of initial investment, and more, to deliver these larger projects on schedule and on budget.
One Point of Contact – the Project Manager
As previously mentioned, large projects require significant leadership, management and strong communication skills. Clients prefer a single project manager; one central point of contact who is up to date on all facets of the current state of the project. This singular project manager streamlines communication, reducing the potential for uncertainty and confusion that can come from multiple parallel leadership voices. E Tech Group provides that one individual for projects of any and every size.
E Tech Group Includes Talent for Non-Traditional Roles
To handle the broad range of tasks associated with larger-scale projects, E Tech Group employs a full-time staff in addition to our wide-ranging engineering talent pool. These individuals are onsite, focusing on their specific area of expertise, including:
- Construction management
- Purchasing management
- Warehouse management
- Safety management
Land and Expand: E Tech Group Completes Projects Anywhere
E Tech Group has completed greenfield projects at multiple sites, each lasting several years. To handle this scale of project, E Tech Group utilizes a ‘Land and Expand’ strategy. Largely stated, this strategy means that E Tech Group can take on projects in any location, starting with a core corporate team and rapidly growing a local team.
The staffing plan for large-scale projects generally proceeds as shown:
- Pre-construction
A pre-construction team is identified and selected. They complete the initial project setup, determine the engineering support resources required, and establish communication channels and expectations with all stakeholders.
- Establish on-site management
The onsite management team become the leaders who ultimately drive the project. This team plays a key role in the project’s success, and E Tech Group selects these individuals very carefully. The onsite management team relocates to the site prior to construction and immediately begins growing their local team.
- Grow a local team
Developing a local team keeps the project cost competitive while maintaining E Tech Group’s quality of work. The local team consists of internal candidates who relocate to the site, as well as new employees hired either from within the immediate area or nationwide who relocate.
- Programmatic project support
The individuals identified as the programmatic support team ensure consistency and quality across multiple sites for various facets of the project, including project management, engineering, accounting, communications, and safety.
- Travelers
With over 600 engineers and technicians, E Tech Group utilizes employees who travel to the site to help support project surges as needed without overstaffing at the local level.
The ‘Land and Expand’strategy was successfully used by E Tech Group to grow a team from zero to 34 local employees at a site in Huntsville, AL. The project spanned five years and involved building a hyperscale data center complex. The ‘Land and Expand’ strategy has also been used recently to grow teams for large projects in both Columbus, Ohio, and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Internal Recruiters
Foundational to team growth is E Tech Group’s ability to attract and retain talent. To that end, the company employs five internal full-time recruiters. These individuals are crucial in supporting the capability to rapidly grow teams with the right skill sets in the locations where they are needed.
Proven Excellence – Zero Defect Methodology
E Tech Group has developed a robust, ongoing, and proven internal process for quality assurance and quality control. A global client who employed several large system integrators across North America utilizes an independent third party to audit all vendors every six months. E Tech Group consistently ranked first for delivery quality compared to its major competitors.
Learning Management System for Rapid Onboarding
Another enabling aspect to E Tech Group’s successful team expansion strategy while upholding quality standards is a robust onboarding process for new associates. E Tech Group uses an advanced learning management system for training all new associates. New engineers are trained on essential tasks ranging from timesheet completion to utilizing the company’s code library. The onboarding training process focuses on E Tech Group’s standards and best practices. The training culminates with a comprehensive project where the individual must program a complete PLC/HMI system in compliance with E Tech Group standards. The project is overseen and judged by a senior member of the engineering team. This training is completed before an engineer is assigned to their first project.
Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Compliance
E Tech Group has earned the distinction of CSIA Certified System Integrator. The process requires regular third-party audits for compliance with the CSIA Best Practices and Benchmarks Manual, considered the industry standard for wide-ranging business and engineering best practices. For those who may not be familiar with CSIA, this would be like an ISO 9000 audit.
Throughout this article, I have tried to convey the excitement I feel in my role as President of E Tech Group. I want our current and prospective clients to know the full scale of the diversity of talent and work that this company can, and does complete. We are so much more than the sum of our individual contributions. Together, we are poised and excited to take on nearly any challenge and continue delivering the excellence our clients expect.
For further information on any aspect of the E Tech Group Differentiators, please don’t hesitate to contact us below.
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