What we deliver
Our PLC programming service covers the full project lifecycle - from functional design specification (FDS) through to factory acceptance testing (FAT), site commissioning and handover documentation.
Every program we write follows a consistent, structured standard so your maintenance team can read and modify it without needing us in the room.
Our programming approach
We write PLC code to be maintainable by your site electricians, not just by the programmer who wrote it. That means:
- Descriptive tag naming that matches your P&ID
- Structured ladder logic with clear rungs and comments where the logic is non-obvious
- Alarm management built in from the start, not bolted on at the end
- Version-controlled backups delivered with every project
Typical project types
Greenfield systems - new equipment or processing lines, from I/O design through to full commissioning.
Control system upgrades - replacing end-of-life PLCs (PLC-5, SLC 500, S5) with modern equivalents while preserving the process knowledge locked in the old code.
Modifications and extensions - adding new I/O, updating sequences, integrating new instruments or drives into an existing system.
Fault response - diagnosing and resolving production-stopping faults, often remotely but always available to attend site.
PLC software version and platform migration
A significant part of our PLC programming work involves migrating programs from end-of-life software versions and platforms to current equivalents. This is not a simple file conversion - it requires reading and understanding the existing logic, translating it accurately to the new environment, and validating that the migrated program behaves identically to the original before cutover.
Migrations we regularly carry out:
- RSLogix 5000 to Studio 5000 - Rockwell’s toolchain upgrade is straightforward at the software level but often surfaces issues with unsupported AOIs, deprecated instructions, and legacy motion configurations that need to be resolved before the project compiles cleanly in the current environment.
- Legacy GE/Emerson to current Proficy Machine Edition - GE Series 90 and early PACSystems projects migrated to current RX3i hardware and Proficy ME, preserving process logic while moving to a supported platform with available spare parts.
- SLC 500 and PLC-5 to ControlLogix - the most common migration type across Bowen Basin and Central Queensland industry. SLC and PLC-5 instruction sets do not map directly to ControlLogix; the logic has to be re-written, not just imported, using the functional specification as the source of truth.
- Omron CPM1A to Schneider M251 - cross-vendor platform migration requiring full re-development of the control program in a different IEC 61131-3 environment, with I/O mapping and communications reconfigured for the new hardware.