“The upgrade process was painless, fast and had little to no risk.”

Background

The end user is a well-established supplier of cement in Queensland which is the major supplier to a wide area consisting of domestic, industrial and commercial sectors.

Project Scope

The now obsolete Emerson 90-30 Series PLC system coupled to a GE Automation Cimplicty SCADA system was the original site configuration. Due to age, both needed to be upgraded to allow for a concurrent control system which would be compatible on current operating systems.

Solution

After preliminary discussions, certified GE Automation solution provider J&P Richardson, in conjunction with Control Logic, which is now an IPD business, were able to formulate the upgrade requirements for new servers and installation time.

The upgrade process to the latest SCADA was very straightforward as the existing project could easily be copied to, opened, and run-on new servers using the latest version of Cimplicity SCADA and Microsoft operating systems.

The original code from the Emerson 90-30 controller along with the hardware configuration was simply converted inside of Proficy Machine Edition. This saved time by not having to code and configure including associated risks of recommissioning.

Hardware changes involved a simple replacement of 90-30 parts with an RX3i power supply, processor, and rack, therefore maintaining the same footprint, mounting holes, and existing I/O modules.

Benefits

In addition to benefiting from higher speeds, performance and efficiency, the upgrade process was painless, fast, and had little to no risk. By being able to re-use the existing coding, configuration, and a vast majority of existing hardware the investment was minimal. Plug-and-play connection and precision network-based data management tools ensure it is built to stand the test of time.

The upgrade process was done on a scheduled site maintenance day and took less than four hours with a first run operation with no defects and flawless operation since implementation.

Contact

For more information on the range of Emerson PLCs or GE Digital software please contact IPD by clicking here.