Upgrading your obsolete control system is a helpful 7-part blog series addressing the important technical aspects of upgrades and written by an industry professional with over 25 years of experience.
Here are links to the other blogs in this series:
6 Questions to Ask When Upgrading an Obsolete Control System While Keeping Your Plant RunningKISS and 5 Other Items to Consider when Choosing to Upgrade Your PLC Platform
Replacing Your Obsolete Control System. Step 1 – Replace the SCADA
Replacing Your Obsolete Control System. Step 2 – Upgrade the PLC Hardware
Replacing Your Obsolete Control System. Step 3 – Key Considerations when choosing the new SCADA/HMI.
How can your operators effectively run your plant during an automation system conversion with a mix of old and new hardware and software?
When you plan and implement a complete automation system upgrade, the hardest part is keeping the plant running during the conversion. In most cases this is a multi-year project. It is fine to have a valve manually manipulated by a human over one night while the folks upgrading the control system get some sleep, but in general the system needs to be fully functional at the end of each step along the way.
You need to make the system operators happy and as comfortable as possible. As you upgrade the control system on their equipment you are going to create all kinds of havoc. Your project will not be successful without their help.
Assuming your control system upgrade will include a front end (SCADA or HMI) upgrade, there are two ways that this upgrade can happen:
The control system front end (SCADA or HMI) is the most visible window into the workings of the plant. If you screw with this, it makes people uncomfortable. Again, your operators should be comfortable with each step you take. If your new control system needs a new front end, then I advocate for you to upgrade the front end first. The system operators can adjust to a new front end, completely controlling the obsolete control system, before you even start the hardware upgrade. This way the operators will be minimally affected during the hardware conversion.
There are many software tools available to make a new front end communicate with an obsolete control system. These are some options that you could consider:
Our customer couldn’t believe we could get it all put back together:
Read the next blog in this series
There is a good chance that we have already helped a customer with your exact problem figure out how to upgrade their front end software. For advice on upgrading your front end (SCADA or HMI) you can contact us via
About the Author
Julie has left Hallam-ICS to pursue other endeavors, but her contributions to the company continue to be valued.
About Hallam-ICS
Hallam-ICS is an engineering and automation company that designs MEP systems for facilities and plants, engineers control and automation solutions, and ensures safety and regulatory compliance through arc flash studies, commissioning, and validation. Our offices are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont and North Carolina and our projects take us world-wide.