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Axiotech Automation Ltd
+44 (0)7415 112 892
sales@axiotech.co.uk

Brownfield change with a recovery path

Replace unsupported controls without treating the production machine as a blank sheet.

Modernisation starts by establishing what the installed system actually does, which behaviours matter, where evidence is missing and how production can recover if a migration gate fails.

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Good fit

Use this service when

  • Production machinery where shutdown duration and restart evidence matter.
  • Staged PLC, HMI, drive, I/O, network or IPC replacements requiring behavioural equivalence or controlled improvement.

Scope boundary

Not assumed or silently included

  • A fixed-price like-for-like promise before installed behaviour and undocumented dependencies are assessed.
  • Migration during an unconfirmed shutdown without access, spares, backups and rollback criteria.

Why act

The operational risk behind the technical symptom

The first work package is shaped around reducing an explicit risk or enabling a named decision.

01

Undocumented timing, defaults and operator workarounds are lost during replacement.

02

Interface changes propagate into drives, safety, SCADA, recipes or upstream/downstream equipment.

03

A successful download is mistaken for verified production recovery.

Purchasable entry points

Choose a bounded engagement before expanding scope

Final inclusions, dependencies, location, schedule and commercial terms are confirmed in a formal quotation.

Package 1

Obsolescence & recoverability assessment

Decision enabled: A prioritised estate record and migration decision.

Typical scope: Installed survey, backup restore review, dependency mapping, spares/support position and option appraisal.

Package 2

Migration design & proving

Decision enabled: A staged design with equivalence criteria and tested rollback.

Typical scope: Functional capture, interface design, conversion, simulation/bench proof, cutover protocol and evidence plan.

Package 3

Shutdown execution & stabilisation

Decision enabled: Controlled cutover, acceptance and post-startup support.

Typical scope: Preflight review, backups, deployment, commissioning, defect triage, acceptance and handover.

Artefact manifest

What remains after the engineering work

The exact document set scales with risk and the approved work package.

  • Installed asset and software baseline
  • Dependency, interface and obsolescence register
  • Migration design and equivalence matrix
  • Cutover, rollback and recovery protocol
  • Commissioning evidence and updated source/backup pack

Technical and responsibility boundaries

Make ownership reviewable

  • Undocumented behaviour is treated as a discovery risk until verified.
  • Production, maintenance and quality stakeholders approve cutover and acceptance criteria.
  • Legacy hardware disposal or retention follows the customer security and asset process.

Review and acceptance

Six gates from authority to handover

Gate depth changes with the work; named decisions and evidence remain.

  1. G0
    Scope authorityOutcome, boundaries, roles, assumptions and commercial basis agreed.
  2. G1
    Baseline acceptedKnown installed/source state, dependencies, constraints and unknowns recorded.
  3. G2
    Design approvedRequirements, interfaces, risks and acceptance evidence ready for implementation.
  4. G3
    Release candidateBuild reviewed, verified, versioned and accompanied by defect disposition.
  5. G4
    Site acceptanceCommissioning evidence, deviations and release decision recorded.
  6. G5
    Handover acceptedSource, configuration, records, recovery and residual risks transferred.

Read the complete delivery method

Assurance option

Compliance is a declared scope—not a badge

When the system is validated or quality-critical, the impact assessment, migration requirements, equivalence evidence, deviations and release approval are integrated with the customer change-control process.

Review validation services

Relevant engineering evidence

Legacy CNC and motion migration

A non-identifying pattern for behavioural capture, staged replacement, rollback and commissioning evidence. Site-specific outcomes remain confidential and are not claimed.

Review this evidence

Procurement FAQ

Questions to resolve before quotation

Can you guarantee a like-for-like conversion?

Not before the installed behaviour and interfaces are understood. The assessment identifies what can be proven equivalent and what requires an approved design decision.

Can migration be split across shutdowns?

Often yes. The feasibility depends on interface compatibility, temporary states, test access and the ability to recover between stages.

Do you preserve the legacy backup?

Yes where available and permitted. Original evidence is retained read-only and separated from the approved new baseline.

Next decision

Describe the outcome, installed baseline and constraints you already know.

Use “Not known” where evidence is missing. The first review will separate facts, assumptions and discovery work.

Scope Controls modernisation and obsolescence recovery