Primarily Africa and MENA. Mobilization to any site is considered — travel and per diem are part of the engagement scope.

Can you deploy on short notice?

Rapid Response FDE engagements can mobilize within 5–10 business days from signed scope.

Do you work on systems you did not install?

Yes. Most FDE engagements involve systems installed by other parties. We bring system-agnostic expertise and learn the specific configuration on arrival.

What systems does Sbridge FDE cover?

FuelFACS TAS, SAP IS-Oil and Dynamics/Navision ERP integration, Siemens and Schneider Electric SCADA/PLC, Safety PLC and ESD systems, custody-transfer metering, BulkStock™, and tank gauging/ATG.

Industrial terminal gantry and control room at dusk, where an embedded engineer would work alongside the operator's team.

Forward Deployed Engineering · On-site technical engagement

Engineering on site, not just on call.

Sbridge offers embedded, on-site engineering engagement for terminals that need more than remote support can deliver. A Forward Deployed Engineer works directly inside your operation — in your control room, on your gantry, with your team — for a defined period with a defined objective.

Scope a Forward Deployed Engagement Book a discovery call

Talks to

CommissioningIntegrationPerformanceIncident

Operating chain view

1Commissioning

2Integration

3Performance

4Incident

When FDE is the right model

Some problems cannot be solved from a desk.

Commissioning and go-live support

A TAS, SCADA or Safety PLC installation is live — and the first real loadings reveal problems that the lab environment never surfaced. An FDE holds the go-live alongside your team, resolves issues in real time, and does not leave until the system is stable.

Integration debugging under load

ERP-to-TAS data flows that work in testing but fail in production. Stock postings that drop under concurrent bay operations. Meter reconciliation gaps that appear only during shift transitions. These require eyes and hands on the system while it runs.

Operational performance recovery

Gate-to-gate times have deteriorated. Stock variance has increased. Alarm rates are climbing. A Forward Deployed Engineer runs a structured performance investigation on site — observing operations, pulling event logs, interviewing operators — and delivers a root-cause analysis and remediation plan.

Knowledge transfer and team upskilling

The most effective knowledge transfer is not a classroom — it is working alongside your team on your system, on your real problems. An FDE engagement doubles as a structured upskilling period for your operations and maintenance staff.

Post-incident response

Following an overfill event, a meter discrepancy, a reconciliation failure, or a safety system activation — an FDE can be deployed rapidly to reconstruct the event, identify the root cause, and recommend corrective action.

Engagement formats

Scoped to the problem and the time it needs.

Rapid Response FDE

3–7 days

Post-incident, critical bug, go-live emergency

Commissioning FDE

2–8 weeks

TAS/SCADA/Safety PLC go-live and stabilization

Performance FDE

1–4 weeks

Gate-to-gate, variance, alarm rate recovery

Embedded Partnership

3–6 months rolling

Continuous on-site technical ownership for operators without in-house automation expertise

How an FDE engagement is structured

A defined objective, a defined period, a documented handover.

1Week 0
Scoping call
Define the specific objective, the site, the systems involved, the team Sbridge will work alongside, and the conditions for a successful outcome.
2Week 1
Mobilization
The FDE arrives on site with the tools, access credentials, and system documentation agreed during scoping. Day one begins with a structured walk-down of the relevant systems.
3Weeks 1–N
Embedded operation
The FDE works on site for the agreed period — typically 2 to 8 weeks for a commissioning engagement, 1 to 3 weeks for a performance or debugging engagement. Daily written update to the Sbridge project lead and the client's designated point of contact.
4Final week
Handover and documentation
All findings, configurations, resolutions, and recommendations documented. Operator sign-off on system stability. Knowledge transfer session with the client's technical team. Written handover report.

What makes Sbridge FDE different

The engineer who deploys has built it before.

The engineer who deploys is not a junior resource sent to manage a client relationship. Sbridge FDE engagements are led by senior engineers with direct prior implementation experience on the systems at your terminal — TAS, SCADA, ERP integration, Safety PLC, metering. The FDE understands what they are looking at because they have built it before.

Sbridge FDE engagements reference IEC 61511, IEC 62443, API 2350 and ISA-95 as engineering frameworks. Operator responsibility for safety, regulatory compliance and site access protocols remains with the terminal operator at all times.

FAQ

Questions to settle before scope hardens.

Talk to us

Put a senior engineer where the problem actually is.

Tell us the site, the systems, and the objective. We will scope a Forward Deployed engagement with a defined period and a defined outcome.

Scope a Forward Deployed Engagement Book a discovery call Meet the team

We reply within two business days.