
Main Automation Contractor (MAC)
A comprehensive Project Management solution for Control System Builds.
What’s a Main Automation Contractor?
The Main Automation Contractor (MAC) provides project management, expertise, products, systems and services to manage the complete life cycle of a Control System build.
What’s the deliverable?
As a Main Automation Contractor, Keystone Controls takes total responsibility for the success of the project, from project selection, scope definition, to the management of automation and instrumentation selection, installation, commissioning, handover, and support.
Our client’s dedicated single point of contact for the project works with a steering committee consisting of senior members of the clients project team throughout the project. Through early definition of engineering requirements, we can optimize the scope, reduce both CAPEX and OPEX, optimize the project schedule, and eliminate down stream change requests.
Why use a MAC?
The power and complexity of industrial facility control systems is accelerating in stride with the general tech landscape. Identifying a requirement, defining the options, selecting the project, defending the budget, then procuring the contractors to make it all happen is a daunting task for any organization.
Having the right project management skills and experience available is often the difference between a successful project and a long, costly, and frustrating ordeal. Having a MAC on your side leverages decades of project management skills and experience in Control Systems projects, empowering you to effectively select, professionally manage and precisely execute safe, structured, and more successful projects.
A Main Automation Contractor helps you:
Manage the complete scope
We focus on working proactively with the client’s steering committee, project team, Project Management contractors (PMC) and Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractors (EPC) to deliver the complete solution in your best interest.
Front-End Engineering Design
We work closely with the clients steering committee and project team to develop the overall project concept and system specifications early on to ensure you get the optimal solution with no expensive surprises.
Single point of contact for all interactions
Through a single point of responsibility, we co-ordinate and interface between all project participants to ensure that the real requirements of the project are optimally implemented, and that the quality criteria is being achieved.
Interface Integration
Due to the multi-vendor and multi platform nature of most Control System requirements, the MAC takes integration responsibility for and between these packages, responsible for the integration of the entire turnkey result.
Commissioning and Startup
The Main Automation Contractor will manage acceptance of the total project scope from its multiple suppliers for commencement of commissioning and startup, and finally handover to operations.
Handover and Support
Through the project, client employees tasks with operation of the system will have been involved with the project to ease the transition into active operation. The MAC provides training and support for operations for initial startup period to ensure the acceptance of the system. Further training and support for the systems operations and maintenance, as well as any troubleshooting is available 24/7 via the Guardian support portal.

Reduced Risks
One company takes responsibility for all risk- supplying a functional system and not just products.

Integration
One company has complete responsibility and ownership for integrating all products and systems.

Experience
Keystone Controls has extensive expertise and experience in the complete life cycle of Control System builds.

Integrated Team
Keystone Controls operates as an integral part of the client’s design team, forming a single alliance for project success.

Full Support
A client partner commitment to 24/7/365 support through the life of the project, and into the operational life of the system with Keystone’s Control System Guardian.

Established Systems
Keystone Controls uses an established project execution environment (Keystone.XE), 24/7/365 Rapid breakdown support (Keystone.RBS), and Asset insight management system (Keystone.AIM) to deliver certainty.