DPS Engineering Services
Process Engineering & Design
Design · Build · Manage
A useful process design connects what you make with how the facility will operate. DPS develops PFDs, P&IDs, layouts, equipment requirements, utility calculations, and control narratives around actual production conditions. The engineering package can support a standalone design assignment or a wider Design-Build-Manage project, with construction, compliance responsibilities, and acceptance requirements defined for the engagement. Field verification and supplier information inform both existing-plant and new-facility work.
The Service
Equipment placement, piping, utilities, sanitation, controls, and maintenance access need a common design basis. DPS brings process requirements into coordination with structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and controls engineering, using its core team and specialist partners as required. Existing-condition surveys and field verification inform expansion work, while production schedules, product requirements, and future phases shape the new systems.
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Separately developed layouts, equipment specifications, and utilities can leave pipe routes conflicting with steel, panels blocking maintenance access, and drainage sized for the wrong operating conditions. Coordination must happen before these interfaces reach the field.
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Thermal, electrical, refrigeration, compressed-air, and water demand need to reflect simultaneous production and cleaning schedules. Undersized services constrain output, while excessive capacity can add avoidable capital and operating cost.
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Sanitary finishes, drainage, zoning, and cleaning coverage are costly to change after construction. Applicable FDA, USDA, SQF, and BRC requirements need to be identified with the responsible parties during design.
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P&IDs, equipment data, utility diagrams, and control narratives developed in separate scopes can describe different assumptions. The project needs a coordinated record of the process and clear ownership of the interfaces between disciplines.
The DPS Approach
DPS starts with the product, operating sequence, and site conditions, then coordinates P&IDs, equipment duties, utility demands, facility layouts, and controls requirements. Process engineering is connected with the people responsible for fabrication, piping, installation, and automation so that the package addresses constructability and the way the line will be operated and maintained.
The design also considers investment priorities and phased growth. Capacity modelling, probable cost, and operating assumptions help compare a new asset with an operating or controls improvement. Deliverables and construction responsibilities are agreed at the outset; clients can retain DPS for engineering alone and use another qualified contractor to execute the completed design.
Expansion planning checks shared preparation, utilities, sanitation and access alongside the proposed line. Capacity and energy improvements start with measured interruptions, changeovers and simultaneous loads, followed by an agreed performance review. For pasteurization, aseptic or retort work, coordinate product and package requirements, heat and cool duties, instruments, records and deviation response with the specialist suppliers. Assign product-specific process approval and validation to the qualified parties before equipment or operating changes are accepted.
Capabilities
Connect the product, production sequence, facility layout, utilities, and controls through a coordinated engineering package. DPS supports new plants, expansions, and retrofits with process diagrams, equipment requirements, load analysis, hygienic design, and an agreed basis for construction, whether delivered by DPS or another qualified contractor.
Develop PFDs, P&IDs, equipment data sheets, line lists, and instrument indexes around the required operating sequence and defined documentation conventions.
Coordinate equipment positions, personnel routes, utility corridors, maintenance clearances, and reserved expansion areas within a dimensioned facility layout.
Calculate coincident demand for steam, refrigeration, compressed air, electrical supply, process water, and wastewater using the production and cleaning schedule.
Map sanitary zones, finishes, drainage, CIP coverage, and allergen separation against the product and applicable regulatory or customer requirements.
Define the control architecture, I/O requirements, network interfaces, PLC/SCADA hardware basis, and narratives for automated sequences.
Connect probable installed cost, phased expenditure, capacity assumptions, labour needs, and investment modelling with the technical design basis.
Follow the food plant design process from owner requirements and concept options to coordinated drawings, bid packages and controlled design reviews.
Plan a food processing plant layout around product, people, packaging and waste flows, then test space, access, storage and future expansion.
Connect ingredients, blending, fermentation, preservation and packaging around the beverage you want to make.
Scope & Deliverables
Use this scope framework to discuss the outputs, interfaces, and acceptance requirements for your project. The engagement defines the work and responsibilities to be included.
| Engineering Discipline | Deliverables |
|---|---|
| Process Flow & P&ID Package |
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| Facility Layout |
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| Utility Load Analysis |
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| Sanitary & Compliance Design |
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| Controls & Automation Specification |
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| Capital Budget & ROI Model |
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| Project Coverage |
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Begin while production goals and investment alternatives are still being defined, before equipment selection, building design, and construction bids become fixed commitments. The process package establishes the requirements other disciplines work from: product flow, equipment duties, utilities, hygiene, controls, and acceptance expectations. Early coordination helps the owner identify scope gaps before drawings and purchases become difficult to change.
Yes. Expansion work can include an existing-condition survey, verification of as-built documents against field installations, and assessment of remaining utility capacity. The design should identify existing and proposed systems together, showing equipment, piping, controls, and infrastructure interfaces. Phasing and access are then coordinated with the operating plant and its production constraints.
Identify the product categories, process steps, and responsible authorities before defining the design requirements. For a facility combining USDA-regulated meat and FDA-regulated products, the engineering package can document jurisdiction boundaries, sanitary zoning, finishes, drainage, and cleaning coverage, with applicable SQF or BRC requirements considered in the same review. Final approvals and certification responsibilities remain with the designated authorities and qualified project parties.
Programme the work around the facility complexity, number of lines, existing information, and regulatory scope. Six to twelve weeks is a preliminary scheduling reference for some engineering packages. The engagement schedule must be confirmed after the design scope and review milestones are agreed, including site verification, owner decisions, supplier information, and coordination with construction.
No. A standalone engineering assignment can provide a defined package for another qualified contractor to execute. The contract should state the level of design completion, issue status, construction support, and responsibility for changes. If DPS also delivers installation and commissioning, those scopes can be coordinated within the wider Design-Build-Manage engagement, with the same design intent carried into field execution.
Project Experience
Golden West Food Group
Explore the Golden West Food Group relocation from Los Angeles to Fort Worth, including facility buildout, equipment logistics, utilities, and commissioning.
Confidential Client
See how DPS coordinated a ground beef line project in an operating Los Angeles facility, with phased installation and early lower-rate production.
Evaluate production demand, utility requirements, total installed cost, investment scenarios, risks, and phased expansion before committing food plant capital.
Define PLC logic, SCADA and HMI architecture, batch and recipe control, cleaning sequences, utility monitoring, and automation turnover for food and beverage systems.
Coordinate process piping, equipment setting, utilities, power, instrumentation, controls, CIP, commissioning, and turnover for food and beverage facilities.
The Next Conversation
Share the product, current drawings, site conditions, production objectives, and planned changes. The next step is to agree the engineering deliverables, discipline interfaces, and construction support required for your project.
Discuss Your Project