Migrating from old DCS/PLC control system

M

Thread Starter

Mike Chivers

I am in the initial stages of planning a replacement of a Taylor/ABB MOD 300 Multibus-based DCS for process control with gateways to GE Fanuc Series 6 PLCs on a Genius LAN for mostly drive control.

The main issues are limited downtime acceptable for the process and exposure to downtime due to limited spares for the current equipment.

I am considering all options at this stage but mainly focussed on:
1. Migration to current ABB AC460 and GE PACSystems controllers and ABB OperateIT based consoles. Engineering would be via AdvaBuild v3 and Cimplicity Machine Edition Logic Developer.
2. Replacement of the ABB and GE with a classic DCS
3. Replacement with a classic PLC/SCADA
4. Replacement with a so-called "hybrid" system such as Emerson DeltaV

Option 1 is the no-brainer in terms of minimising engineering risk but not necessarily better in the long term for us in terms of future expansion and cost-effective integration of our systems.
Other options will require an approach to be formulated that allows for incremental upgrade and operation of two operator interfaces side-by-side.

What I am interested is feedback from others who have had experience in replacing these specific systems and what the main stumbling blocks can be.
Also interested generally in anyone's ideas of what they think may be a good replacement.

(Please no comments arguing about terminology - just good engineering advise ;) )
 
We have been down the exact road you are on. We have a MOD300 DCS and, with much deliberation, have selected Emerson's Ovation DCS as the replacement DCS.

A major focus was put on protecting our significant investment in Genius I/O. We currently have over 2700 Genius blocks in use. We studied every option that you have listed. I will summarize:

GE's new PLC platform is a viable option. At the time GE's product release schedule did not suit us. We were a little afraid of dealing with a new product that had serial number 1 on it.

The ABB IT platform using AC800 controllers was debated. We questioned ABB's long term commitment to a GE product. ABB has a strong European influence. They don't use Genius blocks in Europe. They had promised a Genius interface for the last 4 years and I have not seen it yet. Also, the ABB IT configuration software is powerful but extremely cumbersome, a totally different concept from the MOD300.

Emerson's DeltaV is an option if you want moderate I/O scan speeds and redundancy is not an issue.

Emerson's Ovation DCS uses an interface that gives <100 millisecond scan times and is redundant. It also will provide configuration downloading to the blocks just like the Mod300. The Genius support is an intergrated part of their base software, completely supported by Emerson, not a third party product. We were demostrated the prototype last Spring and the final product will be released this year.

Call me at 336-597-6117 and I can provide many more details and contact info.

Steve Lowery
Progress Energy
 
We are in the process of migrating a MOD300 system, consisting of multibus and SC controller nodes, to AC460s, with OperateIT for user interface.

Controller-wise, we are happy with the results, however the OperateIT user interface could do with some improvement. While it has a lot of potential, it works differently to the MOD environment. Also, to get any real benefit out of the OperateIT environment, allow to rebuild all of your graphic pages.
 
I would never change DCS system for I/O modules

DELTA V uses Intellution i FIX & now it also
part of GE , support is logical

If your response/processing speed if <100 ms , you should preferably avoid HYBRID systems.I would request evaluate your system purely on
Process requirement , you would never face
problem.
 
J

Jim Hairston

If you have surplus equipment available after your replacement I would like to talk to you. PCO buys surplus hardware to support "Legacy" DCS/PLC system users.

Jim Hairston
PCO
281-421-1321
 
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