Modernise Your Legacy Control System Without Losing What Works
Ageing control systems can become a risk to reliability, maintenance and production, but replacing them doesn’t always mean starting again.BONNER helps manufacturers across Ireland upgrade and modernise legacy control systems, PLCs and SCADA systems, providing a practical route from ageing automation infrastructure to a more reliable and maintainable system. We start by understanding your existing equipment, process and operational requirements. From there, we can design a modernisation strategy that addresses the immediate risks while providing a platform for future development.
Whether you need a legacy PLC upgrade, PLC replacement, SCADA upgrade or wider control system modernisation, our automation team can support the project from design and engineering through to installation, commissioning and ongoing support. The objective isn’t simply to replace old hardware but to improve how your operation works.
When Does a Legacy Control System Become a Problem?
Many manufacturing facilities continue to rely on control systems that have been operating for 15, 20 or even more years. If the system is still running, replacement can easily move down the priority list.
However, ageing automation infrastructure can create increasing challenges. Obsolete PLCs and components may become difficult to source. Engineers can spend longer diagnosing faults. Original documentation may no longer reflect modifications made over the years, while older SCADA and HMI platforms may limit the visibility and information available to operators and management. A failure can also become more difficult to recover from when replacement components, software knowledge or specialist support are no longer readily available.
Modernisation gives you the opportunity to address these issues before they become a production problem.
What Can a Legacy Control System Upgrade Deliver?
- Improved reliability and maintainability
- Replacement of obsolete PLC hardware
- Modern PLC and control architecture
- Improved HMI and operator visibility
- SCADA system upgrades
- Better alarm management
- Improved diagnostics and fault finding
- Modern functional safety systems
- Secure remote engineering access
- Improved production and process data
- Greater scope for future expansion
- Updated system documentation
Replacing a legacy PLC is rarely just a case of removing one controller and installing another.
The existing PLC is connected to the wider control system, including field instrumentation, drives, HMI, safety systems and other equipment. A successful PLC replacement in Ireland therefore needs to consider the complete control environment.
BONNER can assess the existing system and develop a migration approach that considers:
- Existing PLC hardware and software
- I/O architecture
- Instrumentation
- Drives and motors
- HMI and SCADA
- Communications networks
- Safety systems
- Existing control logic
- Production requirements
- Future expansion
Where appropriate, we can develop a phased approach to help minimise disruption to production.
SCADA Upgrade & Legacy SCADA Modernisation
Your SCADA system should give your teams useful information about what is happening across the plant.
Older SCADA systems can become difficult to maintain or restrict the way production data is collected, viewed and used. BONNER can help manufacturers assess their existing SCADA infrastructure and develop a modern solution that improves operational visibility. This can include:
- SCADA system replacement
- Legacy SCADA upgrades
- HMI modernisation
- Production monitoring
- Process visualisation
- Alarm management
- Historical data and trending
- OEE and performance reporting
- Energy monitoring
- Production reporting
Where appropriate, we can use modern industrial software solutions such as Ignition to build on existing automation infrastructure rather than replacing everything unnecessarily. BONNER’s Ignition solutions are designed to connect existing equipment, PLCs, SCADA systems, databases and business applications while creating a more accessible source of operational information.
Modernise Without Replacing Everything
One of the biggest misconceptions about automation modernisation is that the entire system needs to be replaced. In many facilities, existing equipment remains perfectly capable of performing its role. The challenge may be an obsolete PLC, outdated HMI, unsupported SCADA platform or lack of access to useful production data.
BONNER takes a practical, engineering-led approach to modernisation. We assess what you have, identify where the risks and limitations are, and develop a solution that makes sense for your operation. This may mean replacing one part of the control system while retaining existing equipment elsewhere. The aim is to protect valuable existing infrastructure while removing the limitations created by ageing technology.
Legacy Control System Upgrade Case Study
Modernising a Legacy Conveyor Control SystemA leading pharmaceutical manufacturer was operating a conveyor system using two separate legacy PLC systems, installed in 2002 and 2008.As both PLC platforms approached end-of-life, the customer needed to improve reliability and maintainability while continuing to support a live production process. BONNER designed and implemented a new B&R APROL automation platform, replacing the two legacy PLC systems with one integrated control environment.
The project also introduced a consistent HMI, improved communications, modern functional safety, structured alarm management, secure remote access and reporting. The result was a more maintainable control system with improved operational visibility and a scalable foundation for future expansion.
Our Approach to Control System Modernisation
A successful industrial automation upgrade starts with understanding the process
1. Assess – We review your existing control system, hardware, software, instrumentation, communications and operational requirements.2. Identify – We identify obsolete components, system limitations, reliability risks and opportunities to improve control and visibility.3. Design – We develop the appropriate modernisation strategy, whether that involves a targeted PLC replacement, SCADA upgrade, control panel replacement or wider automation project.4. Implement – Our automation engineers can support PLC programming, control system design, HMI and SCADA development, panel build, installation and commissioning.5. Support – Following commissioning, we can provide ongoing technical support and further system development as your operation evolves.
Designed Around Your Production Environment
Automation modernisation has to work around the realities of manufacturing.
Production cannot always stop for an extended period while a new control system is installed. That means planning, testing and commissioning need to be carefully coordinated with your engineering and production teams.
BONNER has experience working within live manufacturing environments across pharmaceutical, medical device, food & beverage, dairy, chemical and general manufacturing. Our existing project portfolio includes control system work within pharmaceutical manufacturing, chemical processing and other industrial environments. Where required, projects can be planned around shutdown periods or implemented in stages to help minimise operational disruption.
Where appropriate, we can use modern industrial software solutions such as Ignition to build on existing automation infrastructure rather than replacing everything unnecessarily. BONNER’s Ignition solutions are designed to connect existing equipment, PLCs, SCADA systems, databases and business applications while creating a more accessible source of operational information.
More Than an Automation Upgrade
Modernising your control system is an opportunity to improve more than the hardware.
A well-planned upgrade can provide better information for operators, easier fault finding for maintenance teams and improved visibility for engineering and management. It can also create a foundation for future improvements in areas such as SCADA, OEE, production reporting, energy monitoring and operational data.
This is where BONNER’s combination of automation, instrumentation and industrial software expertise adds value. We look at the complete measurement and control environment rather than treating the PLC or control system in isolation.
Why Choose BONNER?
- Industrial automation engineering
- PLC programming
- Control system design
- SCADA and HMI
- Control panel design and build
- Functional safety
- Instrumentation
- Industrial software
- Installation and commissioning
- Ongoing technical support
Is Your Control System Becoming a Risk?
If you’re experiencing obsolete PLC hardware, unsupported software, recurring control issues, limited SCADA visibility or increasing difficulty finding replacement components, it may be time to review your automation infrastructure.
BONNER can assess your existing system and help you understand your options for legacy control system upgrades, PLC replacement, SCADA modernisation and wider industrial automation upgrades.
Talk to BONNER about your control system.
