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This article originally appeared in Automation World and features Melissa Bruno, Group Engineering Manager at E Tech Group. Click here to read the full article. During any technology assessment to determine the need for an upgrade, a direct line of communication from integrators to decision makers and maintenance and engineering teams can help them better understand how to evaluate potential solutions. When you’re working in a facility that has equipment reaching end of life or components on the verge of obsolescence, it would be nice to simply wave a wand and have everything be instantly updated. Unfortunately, because multiple installations and upgrades have been done over decades, this process tends to be a bit more involved. Before you can address obsolescence, breakdown, and security issues, you need to have a full picture of where your facility stands. To do this, we perform what we call an IT/OT (operations technology) assessment. While companies like ours perform this work, the client’s presence and cooperation plays a crucial role. Here’s how to get the most out of your assessment. Engage and understand Compounded fixes over time make it difficult to identify the main issues or where to start resolving them. Having an open line of communication with the decision makers and maintenance team, we can help them better understand what we’re assessing and what it will take to correct it. The goal is to take a large amount of material and truncate it into digestible pieces that will allow all parties to evaluate potential solutions. In many cases, maintenance technicians or other employees may not understand what we’re doing. They see an engineer walking the floor and assume we’re there to complete a particular task. In reality we’re performing an in-depth assessment that will be used to give them control over the optimizations … Continued
When is the best time to upgrade a decades-trusted PLC system? This was the challenge for a global supplier of spice ingredients. Their Allen Bradley PLC-5 system was commissioned over 25 years ago and, while it performed well for many years, the outdated platform began experiencing constraints. The obsolete equipment was limiting network connections. This urged the global spice supplier to seek a system integrator that could provide timely PLC migration support using the latest technology available. E Tech Group was recruited to modernize their obsolete PLC system to a more IIOT friendly platform.
Solution
The first step was reverse engineering the customer’s legacy system and well-documenting its current design to address potential risks and how to best program the new system. E Tech Group analyzed existing diagrams and worked extensively with the customer’s personnel to further detail device and wiring configurations. This step was crucial to improve system performance and have an accurate picture of their control environment before moving to the design phase.
As a leading Rockwell Automation system integrator, E Tech Group developed a simplified migration plan leveraging the latest Rockwell Automation technologies. The global spice supplier’s legacy Allen Bradley PLC-5 system was upgraded to the ControlLogix platform. An L82E processor was utilized and the old RIO and DH+ networks were changed to Ethernet/IP network communications. Outdated Allen Bradley 1336 variable frequency drives were also upgraded to Powerflex 525 variable frequency drives, offering a wide range of motor control. Additionally, the customer’s FactoryTalk View SE screens were updated and consolidated which made the system easier to understand and operate by plant personnel.
Results
The project was successfully executed to schedule. The global spice supplier’s focus was continue their journey to digital transformation and the PLC-5 to ControlLogix migration accomplished this goal, supporting improved performance, greater uptime, and a more user-friendly interface. E Tech Group staffed the project with four subject matter experts to provide comprehensive multidisciplinary engineering support in PLC programming, FTView SE application programming and networking, as well as drafting and design. The project team successfully upgraded the customer’s PLC system with trusted projected performance for decades to come.
Challenge
From decreased productivity to system downtime, legacy equipment can pose many challenges to operational efficiency. This was the case for a leading consumer packaged goods company who was relying on PLC-5 hardware to control most of their facility. The plant recently experienced a major disruption during peak production because of a network switch failure, and it was later discovered that the disruption could have been minimized if the facility had been separated into multiple virtual local area networks (VLANs). To support the creation of VLANs, the customer’s existing PLC-5 control system would need to be upgraded to the ControlLogix system which could handle multiple independent Ethernet connections. E Tech Group was called to support the project given their previous assistance with consolidating the company’s DH+ and ControlNet network communications in support of their industrial automation applications.
Solution
E Tech Group performed a comprehensive investigation to identify all PLC types and determine each PLC’s connection to other systems. After completing their analysis, E Tech Group presented which PLCs were deemed the most critical to upgrade and designed a VLAN separation plan to reduce the likelihood of connection loss given the vast amount of device communications. The customer’s personnel were initially surprised by the number of PLCs that needed to be upgraded to fulfill the VLAN implementation, which was about 21 PLCs. For the best implementation process, it was determined to perform the PLC upgrades in three phases with the first phase switching out the most critical PLCs.
Six PLC-5s needed to be upgraded in the first phase. E Tech Group considered several factors to include local and other server racks, a labor-saving conversion kit, the maintenance of other communications protocols, and ways to thoroughly test the success of the conversion. The customer also requested the migration and testing be completed within 72 hours. With these considerations in mind, E Tech Group worked closely with the customer to determine the best conversion process within the short timeframe. This included the use of only replacing local racks, using DH+/RIO and ControlNet communication modules to support existing networks, complete I/O list development, and spot testing plans. A PLC-5 to ControlLogix conversion tool was utilized to migrate logic from the old hardware to the new hardware, and all drivers were updated in the Wonderware system to allow for proper communication to the new PLCs. DH+/RIO ControlLogix cards were also used to connect into existing DH+ networks and allow ControlLogix PLCs to talk to existing PLC-5 Remote I/O racks.
Results
The project was commissioned on a Friday of a holiday weekend and was completed that Monday. Committed to the success of the project, E Tech Group had two teams supporting the project throughout the entire weekend in 12-hour shifts. In a few short days, E Tech Group was able to have the six PLCs successfully migrated by the customer’s requested timeframe and resolved numerous pre-existing issues within the logic by the time the PLC’s remote monitoring was completed. Using the knowledge gained during the first phase, the next two phases were completed with much smaller teams and the customer had the ability to improve their operational efficiency with a control system platform.
Providing Expertise for a Control System Evaluation
E Tech Group, being a trusted system integrator for this biotech client, was asked to consult on the analysis of their current control system and evaluate potential new platforms. Our automation team helped them bring an aging control system up to current needs with future growth in mind.
The Project: Determine the Scope & Execution of a Control System Upgrade
An American biotechnology company was dealing with an aging control system. The vintage installation of GE iFix, iBatch and CompactLogix were approaching end-of-life, making an upgrade essential for multiple locations in California. Understanding intervention by an automation company was necessary.
The client grappled with key questions such as: What is the best control system platform to meet their business needs? Do they upgrade their current system or install a new system altogether? The company approached E Tech Group with this problem, interested in learning about the different platform options and working with a control system integrator to make the right choice based on their needs.
For a project of this magnitude, creating a strong partnership between client and integrator was crucial. Fortunately, the E Tech Group automation team included seasoned engineers who have been through large-scale control system platform selection and conversion projects before and supported similar decisions for other clients.
The Solution: Evaluate, Collaborate, Integrate
E Tech Group went through a process of user requirements definition and user group meetings, assessing the company’s site and global needs. E Tech Group control system engineers participated in workshops with all stakeholders within the company:
Automation
Environmental Health &Safety
Facilities/Maintenance
Instrumentation
IT
Production/Manufacturing
Process Engineering/Development
Procurement/Finance
Quality
System Integration Partners
Based on experience in providing countless custom controls upgrades, the E Tech Group team challenged the client to think beyond basic requirements from a technical and business perspective. Engaging the team together in workshops enabled each group to learn about how others in the company would be using the system.
At the conclusion of the process, the control platform vendors considered were evaluated against the newly-defined requirements. E Tech Group worked with all of the internal stakeholders at the company to evaluate the options and assess how the different platforms could best support the business’ current and future needs.
Using a scoring system and working with the decision analysis team at the biotechnology company, E Tech Group supported efforts to develop financial and statistical models to help the client determine the best option from a financial and risk perspective.
After deep analysis and evaluation, it was unanimously decided that the proposed DeltaV control system would best help reduce the risk that obsolescence and instability will disrupt the supply of critical patient therapies, help enable agile expansion of future capacity through a thoughtfully-designed automation system, provide flexibility and self-sufficiency for production needs, and ensure delivery of quality product in a compliant manner.
The client and all stakeholders, having been provided with control system software options and educated on the pros and cons of each, reached a unanimous decision on the future platform for the site, landing with DeltaV.
The Result: Long-Term Plans for Long-Term Growth
Understanding what a large financial undertaking this would be, the client, the platform vendor, and E Tech Group continue to collaborate on a long-term roadmap to support the upgrade/conversion of the site to the new platform.
