Facility-Wide Controls Modernization Increases Production for a Coffee Manufacturer

Summary

DMC partnered with a large coffee manufacturer to expand capacity of their 24/7 manufacturing facility by adding new process equipment, including grinders and packaging lines. The client had an on-site controls engineering team but sought an experienced systems integrator to expand its resources and support the planned equipment additions.

DMC reviewed the existing controls system and found that its legacy job ID architecture created significant challenges for the planned expansion. Integrating additional equipment would increase implementation complexity and make the system increasingly difficult to maintain and support. The existing architecture also limited opportunities for system optimization, made future technology upgrades more difficult, and constrained the plant’s traceability and reporting capabilities.

Customer Benefits

Solution

DMC proposed a facility-wide controls modernization before the equipment expansion began. The scope covered the full coffee production process, from green bean unloading and storage through roasting, tempering, grinding, degassing, and final packaging. DMC worked with the client’s controls team to rewrite the PLC and SCADA systems around ISA-88 concepts, replacing the legacy job ID architecture with standardized batch units, equipment modules and control modules. This approach separated equipment control from process logic, making production paths easier to configure and providing a consistent structure for integrating new equipment. DMC also migrated the operator interface from Ignition Vision to Ignition Perspective, providing a modern, web-based platform that could better support future development and expansion.

DMC developed the system and then tested it through simulation and on-site alpha testing, reducing startup risk and allowing DMC to complete the migration during a two-day plant shutdown followed immediately by an aggressive production ramp-up. The new controls system also improved the operation of the existing plant, increasing throughput by an estimated 10–15% before any new production equipment was installed.

Development and Simulation

No sequence of operations documentation existed for the facility, so for the PLC sequencing and HMI applications, DMC engineers reviewed the existing code line by line to understand how each area of the plant operated. The team collaborated with the client’s controls engineering team to validate our interpretations of existing sequence of operations. Where there were knowledge gaps, the teams worked together to outline a new sequence of operations.

This environment allowed DMC to identify and resolve issues throughout development and perform more comprehensive testing of the integrated PLC and HMI applications before deploying code to the facility. Simulation reduced the amount of onsite testing required and allowed the subsequent alpha tests to focus on functionality that could only be validated against physical equipment.

Alpha Testing

While much of the new controls system could be validated through simulation, some functionality depended on communications with physical OEM-provided equipment that could not be fully tested offline.

To address this, DMC performed a series of onsite alpha tests for individual areas of the plant. During scheduled weekend testing windows, DMC backed up the existing production code and temporarily deployed the new code for the area being tested.

Engineers then tested the new system against actual plant equipment, including communications and handshakes with OEM-provided roasters, grinders, and packaging systems

At the end of each testing window, DMC restored the existing production code so the facility could resume normal operation. Lessons from each alpha test were incorporated into development before the next test and ultimately the final cutover.

This phased approach allowed significant portions of the rewritten system to be proven against real production equipment before startup, reducing the number of unknowns remaining for the final migration. These were performed over the weekends when most of the plant was already down to reduce overall costs.

Onsite Startup

By the time startup began, DMC had already validated much of the system through simulation and onsite alpha testing. During the outage, DMC transitioned the facility to the rewritten PLC and SCADA systems and provided 24/7 engineering support during the phased production startup.

The preparation completed during development and alpha testing allowed the team to focus the limited startup window on final integration and commissioning rather than discovering fundamental issues for the first time.

DMC successfully completed the facility-wide migration within the available two-day outage. Improvements to the plant’s sequencing and batch-handling logic also resulted in an estimated 10–15% increase in production throughput using the facility’s existing equipment, before the planned equipment-expansion phases began.

Following the initial startup, DMC conducted site acceptance testing (SAT) alongside the client’s production subject matter experts. Multiple DMC engineers supported the effort across day and night shifts. During the day, engineers commissioned the areas they had developed and worked with production personnel to verify sequence functionality under actual operating conditions. At night, DMC shifted its focus to production support and operator training, helping the facility maximize production and recover orders following the outage.

Hypercare and After Hours on Call Production Support

Following the cutover, DMC transitioned into a dedicated hypercare period as operations stabilized on the new controls system. DMC engineers continued to provide 24/7 coverage, so all three shifts had controls support, working directly with operators, maintenance personnel, and the client’s controls engineering team to identify and resolve issues during normal production.

This period also allowed DMC to refine the system under operating conditions and incorporate operator feedback. As the system stabilized, support transitioned to DMC’s on-call support model.

Following hypercare, the client’s controls team supported daytime operations while DMC continued supporting the facility through an ongoing service agreement during the overnight shifts, providing access to engineers already familiar with the codebase and plant operations. Support included troubleshooting production and controls issues and identifying defects. Found defects were passed to the daytime controls team for investigation and resolution.

Technologies

Results

The factory’s new, system-wide controls increased throughput without requiring additional equipment, allowing the client to maximize the performance of its existing facility. Alongside the controls modernization effort, DMC implemented the new system through a phased deployment strategy, conducting targeted alpha testing, running simulations, and validating the rewritten controls against physical equipment. This approach enabled a seamless transition to a modern ISA-88-based architecture while minimizing production downtime.

Before any equipment expansion, the upgraded system delivered a 10-15% increase in throughput, improved long-term maintainability, and established a scalable foundation for future growth. DMC’s commitment to 24/7 startup and hypercare support ensured operational stability throughout the transition while equipping the client’s team to confidently operate and maintain the new system. This successful partnership demonstrates how a strategic controls modernization initiative can improve performance, reduce operational risk, and create lasting value in a demanding manufacturing environment.