Capabilities

A reference sheet for the person vetting us as a vendor. Scope, standards, how we contract, and where we will tell you no. If something you need is missing, ask — we would rather answer than have you guess.

Who you would be contracting with

Black Box Engineering operates as one brand across two entities.

Which entity holds the contract depends on where the work is performed, not on where it is sold. We will tell you at quotation which one appears on the agreement, and we do not move it afterwards.

Disciplines

• Controls engineering — basis of design, control system architecture, P&ID development, instrumentation specification, I/O lists, loop diagrams
• Systems implementation — PLC and DCS programming, HMI and SCADA development, network configuration, I/O checkout
• Electrical — power distribution, grounding, conduit and cable tray, load calculations, short-circuit and arc-flash study support
• Control panel fabrication — in-house build, standalone or as part of a larger scope
• Industrial networks — architecture, segmentation and modernisation for OT environments
• Commissioning and startup — FAT, SAT, pre-functional and functional testing, punch closure
• Documentation and turnover — as-builts, tag databases, alarm registers, operator documentation
• BIM and electrical modelling — 3D coordination, clash detection, coordinated 2D extraction
• Project management support — scope, schedule, change and interface management

Sectors

Mission-critical infrastructure · Industrial manufacturing · Materials handling and logistics · Process facilities · Food and beverage · Oil and gas

Standards and codes we work to

• Electrical — NEC, NFPA 70E, and Mexican NOM / ANCE requirements
• Panels — built to UL 508A requirements, with UL-listed components and documented short-circuit current rating. We are not yet a UL 508A listed panel shop; that authorization is in progress, and per-panel NRTL field evaluation is the interim route.
• OT security — IEC 62443 as the reference frame for network architecture and segmentation
• Protocols — EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Modbus, OPC UA
• Client standards — where you have a corporate specification, we build to yours, not ours

How we engage

Scope owned. We hold the scope end to end — design, implementation, panels, commissioning — and we sign for it. Priced lump-sum or by objective.

Engineers embedded. Our engineers join your programme or your integrator's, working to the prime's design and standards. The prime holds the contract and signs the certificate. Priced on time and materials.

Both are real service lines and we will say which one a given enquiry is, before anyone signs.

Commercial and administrative

• Payment terms — Net 30
• Mobilisation — 10 business days' notice for field deployment
• Expenses, materials and subcontracts — billed at cost plus a disclosed handling fee. We do not describe a marked-up cost as "at actual cost."
• Languages — we work, document and deliver in Spanish and English
• Vendor onboarding — we complete prequalification and onboarding paperwork on request. Tell us which platform you use and what evidence you need.

Where we will tell you no

The useful half of a capability statement.

• Scope we cannot sign for. If a project needs a certification we do not hold or a discipline we do not staff, we will say so at the enquiry rather than subcontract around it quietly.
• A listed panel shop today. See the standards note above. If your inspector requires it now, we will tell you honestly whether to wait for us or use someone else.
• Client work we cannot name. Our engineers work under confidentiality agreements on other companies' programmes. We will arrange references within what those agreements allow, which is a better answer than a logo wall assembled from other people's projects.

Start a conversation

Mexico City based, working across North America. Send the scope, the drawings, or the problem, and we will tell you what it takes — including when the answer is that we are not the right firm.