Skid Manufacturer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) & Services Overview

Skid can have a broad definition but in industrial spaces generally refers to a self-contained unit with pre-installed equipment that can be shipped, installed and moved with minimal assembly or dis-assembly.  Common examples of industrial skids are: pump skids, water treatment skids, and modular process skids.

Other definitions of skids include:

• A type of single-deck loading platform that is an alternative to pallets
• A brake shoe that prevents a wheel from turning
• Plank(s) used to support boats during construction or protect cargo
• A group of planks or logs used to support a structure or form a slide-way
• A device used by airplanes during landing on special terrain
• Skid equipment, which has a rigid frame and turns by “skidding” across the ground

See additional information at Merriam Webster on general definitions, or see common types of process skids on our modular skid manufacturer page.

The main advantage to using a process skid manufacturer is the ability to have your process systems built off-site. This often creates the ability to compress project schedules, as on-site modifications at your facility can be completed simultaneously with process system design and assembly. The end result usually shaves months of the project schedule and gets your new systems running faster.

Additional top benefits of skid construction include:

• Minimal interruption to existing operations as modules are built off-site and installed within 3-7 days on average
• Higher quality fabrication and elimination of weather delays as skids are constructed under ideal conditions inside a production plant
• Superior safety is also achieved in production style environments where fabrication is completed by skilled craftsmen under ideal conditions with minimum OSHA exposure hours and none of the hazardous that exist in working manufacturing or refining plants.
• Lower fabrication costs are achieved through the use of highly optimized craftsmen teams, skid manufacturing facilities designed for process skid fabrication, and minimal field-crew requirements during installation
• Faster startup is achieved onsite because all skids can be fully FAT tested and checked-out before shipment. Skid design also optimizes for easy installation with features like gathered process connections for easy hookup, accessible design, and the ability to install all equipment in one or two skid units.

You can learn more about the benefits of modular process skid construction here, or contact EPIC to start your project today.

We are a full-service skid manufacturer offering turnkey engineering, design, automation & build services for a variety of process skid applications. Unlike many of our competitors, our team is more than just a skid fabrication shop. We employee top chemical/process, automation, and mechanical engineers under the same roof as skilled welders, craftsmen, and our State-of-the-Art skid fabrication plant.

A high level overview of the capabilities our EPIC team has includes:

• Process skid concept development & design services, including:
  • Project scope development
  • Material balances
  • Process Flow Diagrams (PFD’s)
  • Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID’s)
  • Modeling & simulation (2D & 3D)
  • Engineering & safety studies
  • Mechanical and physical design
  • Equipment & instrumentation selection & layout
  • Piping design
  • and more
• Quoting and estimating:
  • • ROM’s (Rough Order Magnitude Pricing)
    • RFQs/RFP’s (Request for Quote/Request for Pricing)
    • FEE’s (Front-End Engineering detailed quotes)
    • Fixed Bids (complete with FEE and fixed prices)
• Automation & controls development
  • Automation design & programming (PLC, PC, DCS, OI/HMI, and logic programming)
  • Panel fabrication and installation
  • Control system development and installation
  • Electrical design & drafting
  • Advanced plant networking
  • IIOT & Factory 4.0 capabilities
• Skid manufacturing capabilities
  • Structural fabrication and assembly including frame welding
  • Material control
  • Equipment selection, procurement, installation and testing
  • Piping fabrication and installation
  • Surface finishing
  • Electrical panel assembly and installation
  • FAT testing and equipment checkout
  • In-house quality assurance program
  • Onsite (your plant) upgrades, power distribution modifications, and subcontractor management
  • and more
• Shipping, installation, and commissioning
  • Shipping prep and management
  • Site  installation coordination
  • SAT testing
  • Controls integration
  • Utilities integration
  • Raw material integration
  • Packaging/downstream & upstream processes integration
  • Punch list resolution
  • Personnel training
  • Full testing & validation (sanitary projects)
  • etc.

To learn more or start designing your process skid today, contact EPIC.

There are a wide variety of process technologies that we can build custom process skids for. Our expertise is designing, scaling up, automating and fabricating process technologies into pilot or production scale systems that will work for years to come. Our process engineering experts work hand-in-hand with our automation and fabrication teams under the same roof to deliver high-quality, optimized process skids for our clients.

The EPIC skid manufacturing team has produced process modules across a wide variety of industries and applications. The most common industries we work with include chemical, refining, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, consumer products, and alternative energies. Typical applications include the following types of skids we design & manufacture:

• Pilot plants
• Mixing systems
  • Batch mixing systems
  • In-line (continuous) mixing modules
  • Emulsion systems
• Separation systems
  • Distillation systems
  • Solvent recovery systems
  • Steam stripping applications
  • Absorption skids
• Piping skids & systems
• Batch reactor skids
• Process intensification systems
• CIP Systems and other utility skids
• Raw material handling skids
• And more

You can see more about the typical process applications we work with here, or contact EPIC 314-714-1580 to start discussing your needs today.

As a process skid manufacturer, we take full responsibility for your process skid design & manufacturing project. Typically, design progresses through the following stages guided by experienced EPIC project managers and process design experts:

1. Concept Development – Every client comes to us at various stages of concept development. We help you complete the full scope of your skid, including Process Flow Diagrams (PFD’s), Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID’s), basic equipment and instrumentation lists, and full project specification.
2. Quoting & Estimating – Quoting goes hand-in-hand with concept development. Sometimes you need a quick ROM (rough order magnitude quote) that is +/- 50% project cost to get an idea of the price range, and later you may want a +/-10% or exact bid quote. As quoting needs get more refined, we progress through basic engineering design in order to deliver more accurate cost estimates.
3. Front-End Engineering Design – This design effort thoroughly plans out your project from mass & energy balances to detailed equipment and instrumentation lists. It is a design process that results in a detailed quote. FEED is used to develop fixed bid quotes with exact pricing, and relies on several weeks of design work to make sure all aspects of your projects design have been considered and included in the quote.
4. Detailed Design – After you have decided to move forward with EPIC on your project, we complete detailed design. This includes any modeling, simulation (2D and 3D), structural design, electrical design, programming and controls design, and other details that need to be completed to progress fabrication and assembly efforts. At the conclusion of detailed design, all designs, plans, models, diagrams and drawings are peer reviewed by EPIC and your team to ensure nothing has been missed.

At the conclusion of design efforts, fabrication and assembly in our on-site skid fabrication plant begins.

Skid fabrication encompasses the following steps. At EPIC, all of these steps are completed in our on-site, dedicated skid manufacturing plant. One of the advantages to working with our team is the engineering team designing and supervising your skid construction is located in the same building as the skilled craftsmen and programmers bringing your skid to life. These teams work together to complete:

1. Automation and controls – Our in-house controls experts complete controls programming (PC, PLC, DCS, HMI, OI, etc.) while custom control panels are built on-site and electrical wiring is completed on your skid. Most projects we build include some form of automated controls. Automation solutions we install are designed to balance efficiency and accuracy with budget and are fully customized for your project. Controls and instrumentation testing is also performed on-site at EPIC before shipment.
2. Fabrication & assembly – Production style fabrication and assembly of your system happens in our skid manufacturing plant. The plant offers superior safety benefits, protection from weather and prying eyes, and a fully optimized set-up for process module assembly. Our skilled craftsmen include welders, pipe fitters, and machinists who work year-round exclusively building process plant skids. All fabrication and assembly is overseen by your engineering team.
3. Factory Acceptance Testing, Quality Assurance & Shipping – Before your skids leave our facility, they undergo both a thorough quality assurance (QA) review and documentation process from our in-house QA team and full Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) with you. This ensures all equipment and controls function as desired and are ready for installation and production use once onsite at your facility. After successful checkout, we prepare all modules for shipment and handle shipping arrangements to your site.
4. On-site installation & commissioning at your facility – Our goal with on-site installation is to minimize interruption to your current operations through fast install of plug-and-play skids. Typical installation and startup takes between 4-7 days, depending on the system complexity.  Skids are designed for fast install, gathering all equipment onto a single lift-able unit. Process connections are located together on skids for easy hookup, and our controls team will be onsite to integrate the new system into your network. Our team remains onsite through the completion of SAT (Site Acceptance Testing), punch-list resolution, and full system startup. We will also train your plant personnel on operation of the new systems, and provide on-going support as needed.

Learn more about our proven skid design/build process or contact EPIC today to start designing or fabricating your modules.

Every process skid is unique depending on where it is getting installed, the unit operations involved, and other factors. To get pricing for your process skid design/build project, please contact EPIC or 314-714-1580. Our engineering team will extract a spec from you and can provide back rough pricing, formal quotes, or detailed Front-End Engineering Design for fixed bid pricing depending on your needs.

You don’t need a ton of information to start figuring out some rough pricing from your process skid manufacturer. The starter information we typically need includes basic versions of the following, although we can help you develop these if you don’t have them:

• A basic mass and energy balance
• A licensed or finalized technology with clear processing steps
• A basic process flow diagram

If you are further along in the project scoping process, you can use our process skid planner to start outlining the details we will go over with you. These include things like project commercial factors (timeline, desired Return-On-Investment (ROI), important process operating parameters, utility needs, etc.). Again, you don’t need all the details on that sheet to get pricing, but it is a useful tool to start outlining the details you have.