Services

Panel Building

Panel building means much more than simply putting components in a box. Value is added through the expertise of the systems engineers and designers who keep up to date with all the latest developments in electrical and control technology, and are skilled at applying these to various industries.

Softstart UK combines an unparalleled understanding of the demands of modern industry, with an unrivalled capability in automation systems design and installation. This helps to raise productivity, reduce costs and ensure reliability.

We don’t simply fulfill orders: we form two-way partnerships with our customers so that we fully appreciate the subtleties and nuances of their particular industry, and develop solutions that increase the functional performance of the machinery or system.

Today’s panels are increasingly sophisticated, often combining many functions in a single cabinet. There is also the need for data communication between panels and to and from supervisory control systems. This predicates a need for panel builders who are multi skilled and able to work across many disciplines efficiently and accurately. Softstart UK is adept at meeting the panel requirements of the broadest spread of industries including:

• Manufacturing
• Utilities
• Oil and gas
• Minerals
• Refining
• Aerospace
• Processing
• Staging and theatre

Training

Softstart UK offers comprehensive training options to meet customer requirements. From on-site assistance to formal classroom training at our own facilities, the quality and standard of the courses and associated learning materials is first class.

Training covers installation and programming of variable speed drives, programming and commissioning of PLCs, the installation and use of soft starters, and the programming and use of panel PC and HMI products. Softstart UK also offers a dedicated training course that explores the fundamentals of variable speed drive technology.

On-site Training

Softstart UK supports its customers on site at times convenient to the user. Assistance during commissioning is extended to operator training and even assistance for design or controls engineers needing to understand how best to employ products in their machine or system designs.

On-site training is always practical and is formulated to get customers up and running fast and effectively – leaving staff with all the knowledge they need to program and run their products. The training is usually performed using the actual drives, PLCs, machines and programs the trainees will encounter in their daily routines, and as such is always relevant and useful.

Off-site Training

Off-site training is usually carried out at Softstart UK’s own facilities, but can be at the customer’s site if training rooms are available. The courses are more wide reaching than traditional on-site training and may include a certain amount of theoretical training as well as the practical aspects of the technology.

Most courses are semi-bespoke, so that exactly the training required by the customer or individual is catered for. Courses are supported by professional notes which have been designed to be easy to read, simple to understand and act both as a reinforcement for the course attended and as a quick reference source for the future.

Training is carried out by experienced and practising engineers form Softstart UK’s technical support team, so trainees are assured of up to date information from a true ‘hands on’ perspective.

Service and Support

Softstart UK is committed to offering the highest levels of service and technical support. We provide technical support by telephone and on-site, where necessary. We go to extraordinary lengths in support of the customer, including late night and weekend site visits when downtime is critical. We know that in many control applications, downtime simply is not an option.

Technical support is complemented by a full repair service, delivering repaired products back to the customer at a significantly reduced cost compared with replacement.

Technical Support

Users can call Softstart UK and get a fast response to their queries. Whether it is relatively simple procedural guidance that is needed, or a complicated programming or application headache, customers can be assured that they will get an answer quickly.

Where new applications are encountered, Softstart UK emulates the technical requirements of the application in our test laboratory to ensure correct product specification and configuration before shipment to the customer. If necessary, testing is also carried out at the customer’s site before commissioning the actual products to be used.

Repairs and Maintenance

Softstart UK also provides a full maintenance and repair service which delivers products back to the customer as good as new and with a full warranty covering the work completed.

Knowing that control products are usually needed in a hurry, our turnaround times on service and repairs are as short as possible. In some instances, replacement products can be loaned to customers to overcome short term problems.