The old controller nobody wants to touch.
It still runs. There are no spares, the software lives on a laptop that retired years ago, and the person who set it up has moved on. One failure and the plant stops for as long as it takes to find someone who can help. Or the machine is new, from overseas, and the controls were never built to Australian standards; that's further down.
Start with a look, not a quote for the whole job
You can't budget a replacement until you know what's there, what's actually at risk, and what order to do it in. The audit is a site visit and a written report within two weeks. In plain words it tells you:
- What you have: every controller, screen, drive, network switch and piece of software, and how old it is.
- Which of it the maker still supports, and which they've dropped, with the dates.
- Which single failure would stop production for a week, and which ones you could live with.
- What spares exist: on the shelf, second-hand only, or nowhere.
- Whether anyone has a backup of the programs, and whether it can still be opened.
- What to replace first, roughly what each step costs, spread over two or three years.
- A one-page summary for the budget meeting.
| Size | Covers | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Small site | Up to 6 controllers or screens, one network | 1 day on site, 1.5 days desk |
| Plant | 7 to 20 controllers or screens, up to three networks | 2 days on site, 3 days desk |
| Larger | Over 20, or several sites | Quoted after a half-day walk-through |
Fixed price, quoted on the phone once we know roughly how many controllers you have. Ask for the one-page offer with prices. It doesn't include taking backups where none exist if that needs a shutdown or software we don't hold, and it doesn't include the replacement itself; the report gives you the numbers, the replacement is quoted separately.
Then the replacement, in stages
We design it so the plant keeps running: a new panel or controller alongside the old one, connections moved across in planned stops, the old gear switched off last. New drawings, new screens, commissioning, and documentation you can hand to whoever comes after us. We work on Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Schneider, Omron, Unitronics and most things older; where it fits, we replace with our own controller, JasperX, which needs no licence and has remote access built in.
The machine came from overseas. The controls don't meet Australian standards.
It was a good price. It arrived with a manual in another language, no drawings, the cheapest control gear that would run it, and emergency stops that don't do what an emergency stop has to do here. Your electrician won't sign it off, and you don't want to be the one explaining it after an injury.
What we usually find
- Emergency stops wired through the ordinary control circuit, so a fault can defeat them. No safety relay.
- Guards and doors with no interlocks, or interlocks that only stop the program, not the power to the motors.
- Control gear with no Australian or recognised approval, undersized protection, and wiring that doesn't match the drawings, because there are no drawings.
- A controller program nobody can open, with the password in another country.
- A touchscreen in another language, or in English that doesn't help.
None of that means the machine is bad. The mechanical side is usually fine. It means the control system was built to a price for a market with different rules, and it has to be brought up to the standards that apply to machinery safety and electrical equipment on machines here, the AS/NZS 4024 series and AS/NZS 60204.1, before it can be signed off and insured with a straight face. We've done this on a stone benchtop line, an autoclave and a handful of other machines. There isn't a packaged fix for it on the market, so we made one.
How it works
- Assessment. A day on the machine. We go through every part of the control system and the safety functions, photograph what doesn't meet the standard, and write it up: what's dangerous, what's non-compliant but not dangerous, what's fine. With a fixed price for the fix.
- The fix. A proper safety circuit (stops, guard interlocks, safety relay or controller), replacement of the control gear that has to go, drawings to Australian standard, program changes where the machine's own controller can stay, and a screen in plain English.
- Test and document. Every safety function tested and recorded. A file with the drawings, the test results and what was changed, so your electrician can sign it off and you have something to show an inspector or an insurer.
| Item | Effort |
|---|---|
| Assessment and report | 1 day on site, 1 day desk |
| The fix | Fixed price from the report; typically one to three weeks of engineering plus the panel builder and electrician |
The assessment is a fixed price. Ask for the one-page offer with the price. The fix is quoted from the report, so you know the number before you commit. Not included: mechanical guarding, which your fitter fabricates to the report; licensed electrical work, which your electrician does to our drawings; and formal third-party certification where a client or an insurer requires one, which we prepare the file for.
Before you buy the next one: send us the supplier's quote and the electrical drawings before you pay, and we'll tell you in a page what it will take to make it compliant here. Cheaper than finding out on the factory floor.
- Benchtop line, EcoSurfacesSecond-hand imported machines with no documentation and safety not to Australian standards. New panels, safety circuits, one control system for the whole line. Read more
- Autoclave, PROKAn imported machine brought up to Australian standards: electrical upgrades, safety modifications, controls and screen adjusted for production.
- Rail drop table, Pacific NationalAn outdated controller replaced with a Siemens S7-1200, 96 IO points mapped across, the machine re-documented, and operators trained on handover. Read more
Two examples of old controllers replaced
A test rig with a locked controller
A conveyor components maker wanted a speed limit raised on a test rig. A simple change, except the controller's program was password-protected and the password sat with the firm that built it years earlier. Without it there's no program to edit; you start again. The password was tracked down and the change made, but for a week the answer was "maybe". That's item 5 on the list above, and it's the one that catches most sites.
A dredge before sailing
The air-conditioning controls on a Port of Newcastle dredge were due for replacement with a fixed sailing date. New drawings and a new program, bench tested, then installed and commissioned on board Monday to Wednesday. The vessel went to sea on the Thursday with cold air. The rest of the data was moved across on the next docking.
Tell us the controller models and roughly how many. That's enough for a price on the audit.