Engineering Services
Design Engineering and Detailed Engineering Services
Design engineering services turn an intent into something buildable. The gap between 'we want a 2 MW solar plant' and a set of drawings a contractor can price, procure against and construct from is where most project risk is created or eliminated — and it is almost entirely a documentation problem.
Trivonix produces detailed engineering for renewable generation, EV charging infrastructure and industrial electrical systems: the calculations that justify the design, the drawings that describe it, and the schedules that let someone build it without ringing the designer every afternoon.
What this service covers
- Calculations behind every drawing
- Sizing, voltage drop, fault level, structural and thermal calculations retained and issued, not implied.
- Buildable, not just correct
- Designs developed with construction sequence, access and tolerances in mind.
- Revision-controlled
- Clear revision status and change history, so the site is never building from a superseded sheet.
The deliverables we produce
Detailed engineering is a defined document set. What follows is a typical scope for an electrical or renewable energy project, adjusted to the project's size and contracting route.
Calculations and studies
Load calculations and diversity assessment, cable sizing with voltage drop and derating, short circuit and fault level calculations, protection coordination, earthing system design, lightning risk assessment, energy yield modelling for generation projects, and structural loading calculations for mounting systems.
Schematics and diagrams
Single line diagrams, protection and metering schematics, control and interlock schematics, panel general arrangements and internal wiring diagrams, and interconnection diagrams between packages.
Layouts and general arrangements
Site and equipment layouts, array and string layouts, cable routing and containment drawings, trench and duct sections, earthing layouts, and civil and foundation drawings where these are in scope.
Schedules and specifications
Cable schedules, equipment and load schedules, technical specifications for procurement, bill of quantities, and installation method statements where the construction method is design-critical.
Design stages and what each is for
Design is issued in stages so decisions are made — and money is committed — at the right level of certainty.
- Concept design establishes feasibility and approximate capacity, sufficient for a budget estimate and a go/no-go decision.
- Basic design fixes the technology selection, main equipment ratings and layout principles, sufficient to begin procurement of long-lead items and lodge approval applications.
- Detailed design produces the complete construction document set: every cable sized, every termination defined, every clearance checked.
- Issued for construction is the controlled release that site actually builds from, with revision status explicit on every sheet.
- As-built records the installation as completed, capturing the field changes that always occur and that nobody remembers three years later.
Designing something that can be built
A design can be technically correct and still be a poor design, if it ignores how it will be constructed. Constructability is a discipline, not a courtesy.
- Access for installation and, more importantly, for future maintenance — a cable route nobody can reach is a maintenance liability for decades.
- Realistic bending radii, pulling tensions and containment fill factors, rather than routes that only work on a drawing.
- Clearances around switchgear that satisfy both the standard and the person who has to work on it.
- Standard components and repeated details, so the same connection is not made three different ways across one site.
- Construction sequence considered in the design, so packages can be built and tested progressively rather than all at the end.
- Tolerances stated explicitly where fit matters, instead of assumed.
Design review and third-party verification
We also review designs produced by others — for owners taking on a contractor's design, lenders assessing technical risk before financing, or clients who want a second opinion before committing to construction.
A design review is most valuable before procurement and least valuable after commissioning, which is unfortunately when it is most often requested. Our reviews are specific: what is wrong, what standard or calculation it conflicts with, what the consequence is, and what the fix costs. Reviews that merely list observations without consequence or remedy are not much use to anyone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between basic design and detailed design?
Basic design fixes the major decisions — technology, main equipment ratings, layout principles, single line topology — to the level needed to procure long-lead items and lodge approvals. Detailed design completes everything a contractor needs to build from: every cable sized, every schematic drawn, every schedule issued.
Do I need detailed design if I am awarding a turnkey EPC contract?
Not necessarily as a separate exercise, since the EPC contractor's scope includes it. But you do need a clear employer's requirements document defining performance, standards and interfaces — otherwise you are comparing tenders that have each assumed a different scope, and the cheapest bid is usually the one that assumed the least.
Which calculations should a proper design package include?
At minimum: load and diversity, cable sizing with voltage drop and derating, fault level, protection coordination, and earthing design. Generation projects add yield modelling and structural loading; sites with non-linear loads add harmonic assessment. Any calculation whose result is used in a drawing should be retained and issuable on request.
Can you review a design produced by another engineer?
Yes, and the earlier the better — a review before procurement can still change outcomes, while a review after commissioning mostly documents what it now costs to fix. We report specifically: what is wrong, which standard or calculation it conflicts with, the practical consequence, and the recommended remedy.
How do you control drawing revisions on a live project?
Every drawing carries an explicit revision status and change history, superseded revisions are withdrawn from site, and construction issues are controlled releases rather than emailed files. Most costly rework we encounter traces back to a section of a site being built from a superseded sheet that was never withdrawn.
Related services
- engineering consultancy servicesIndependent technical advice — energy audits, feasibility studies, technical due diligence and owner's engineer support on live projects.
- industrial engineering servicesElectrical and utility engineering for operating plants — power distribution, load studies, protection coordination, upgrades and expansions.
- industrial EPC contractorTurnkey industrial EPC delivery — one contract covering engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning, with defined milestones and liabilities.
- solar EPC companySingle-point engineering, procurement and construction for solar plants — from yield modelling and detailed design through installation, commissioning and handover.
Browse the full range of Trivonix engineering and clean energy services.
Need a design package someone can build from?
Tell us the project and where it currently sits. We will propose a deliverable list and a stage plan, so you know exactly what you get at each release.