PLC's can follow you around

More of a story than a question really but here goes...

I have been self employed for 20 years and been programming plc's for 18 years.
The other day I got a call from a new customer hundreds of miles away from my base. (thats a long way away in England)

They had a machine with a mitsubishi plc controlling it and it wouldn't work correctly.
Like they always seem to say ' it was working yesterday fine but today it won't play'
Being so far away, I asked how they got my name thinking it must be from my website. They told me ' from a little sticker inside, behind the programming port flap'.

That suprised me as I knew it must have been more than 12 years ago since I did that program. I got 10 free stickers once from a printer when I ordered some business cards. I only used about 4 and I put them in the programming port.

This machine (a huge baking and tray washing machine) had, had at least three new owners since I did it and all the documentation and drawings had long since been lost. (except the little sticker)

Of course, it was a doddle to rectify, I knew the program and machine inside out even though 12 years had passed.
In fact I was quite suprised and happy really that the program had never been altered from new. I had the old program still stored on a disk and I verified it was exactly the same.

I wish now that I had bought more of those little stickers and put them in every plc project I have done.

Have you ever had a long forgotten plc call you from the past

Have you ever had a long forgotten plc call you from the past?

Click to expand...

Yes, once or twice. In one case is was an old army ammunition plant that had blown up for the second time (due to the materiels being processed) since the original build. Someone had written my name and phone number inside a desk drawer that survived the blasts. I declined to go out and help on that one.

"Of course, it was a doddle to rectify". Is that good or bad?

Great thread Goody! and a great story too.

I used to be self-employed for quite a number of years. In that time, predictably, I had many customers and whenever I had done jobs on machines I always updated their drawings. Even with modifications that I may come across that weren't mine, where appropriate I would update the drawings.

A couple of years ago I took a permanent role and after a few months working for them I was called to help some of our electricians find a particularly hard fault. Whilst browsing the drawings I recognised my own hand-writing and, after further inquiries, found out they had brought the machine from one of their other plants (where I had obviously worked).

As with yourself, my scribblings were over 10 years old and it was quite a strange moment to see something that I had written all that time ago when I had much less of a clue with what I was doing then I do now.

We found the fault and that was that. But it's nice to think there's little bits of my work still knocking about in factories all over. It's a bit like finding a message written behind some old wallpaper when you are decorating. It connects you with the past...

;-))

great stories I hope I can tell some like that over time...

Like several of you all I program. I was in a new customers shop and saw a piece of equipment over in the corner. I had to ask why they where not using it. The engineer replied it is broken and no one can fix it. The OEM is out of business and it leaks fluid out of the rotary union. I looked at it and told him to replace the bearing on the rotary union. He wantes to know how I just thought I knew so much about the machine. I programed it the first year I started my company. And yes the OEM is out of business he died of a heart attack thatbis why I stopped working for him.

I just got a couple of sheets of stickers yesterday. I will start using them.

It was the other way around for me. I was working on a 25-year-old PLC-3 system upgrade, for which the original architects were long-forgotten. It was pretty complex, with multiple PLC-3 controllers, long strings of RIO chassis, and integrated with Reliance Automax drive control systems. I was way over my head.

The packing tape holding it to the inside of the controller door crumbled into dust when I touched it, but it was clearly a mid-80's Allen-Bradley business card. And the guy who owned it worked for Rockwell Software in Denver. "Hey Kyle, you'll never guess where I found your business card. I've got a few questions about Data Highway."

I guess the big question is how to put contact information on the card or sticker that will be valid years from now ? A street address ? Who's going to have a landline in 10 years ? Or the same e-mail ?

When we ordered new business cards I always got an extra box of adhesive-backed ones; they were amazingly strong and tough. Jobs I was proud of got stickered. Jobs I never wanted to see again, maybe I overlooked that step.

I like the sticker-behind-the-hatch trick.

I started work for a power electronics company as a test engineer in the early 70s. PCB's which passed the required tests were marked with a unique stamp which identified the engineer who carried out the test. Around 30 years later I moved to my current employer and noticed one of the old panels in part of the plant. I opened the panel door and there in front of me was my old 1970's stamp. At least we built things to last in those days.

I installed 17 ABB Kent K90 SCADA systems for Bayer in Germany in 1980 - 81 and got called back every two or three years whenever they needed something doing. On one of these visits in 1987 I met my wife and finished up staying in Germany. My visits continued every few years with the last time being winter 2001 when I completely overhauled the remaining four systems. The plant was then sold to the Rütgers chemical company a couple of years later and they promptly shut it down, pity actually, the systems were still running fine after more than 20 years.

Great story! I like that.

I put my business card whenever i can wherever i can.
so yes when i open a panel, first thing is put the card in.
second is take a picture (learned this after years.)

Now they call me and ask what this strange thing is in upper corner.
i look at the picture and give answer to them.
mostly it is broken and i have a new customer.
I do it even with my biggest competitors as the original man has left the company long time ago.
getting emails from all over the world (i work a lot on commercial ships)

I found one of my machines on here.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=55192

The company i was working for built machines for in house use. They closed us down then ended up selling off some of the plants that I did machines for. I have talked to them a few times on some problems and gave them some quotes for upgrades. I take ownership of my machines and I want them to do good. I know that over the years I have worked on some machines that I wish I could talk to the guy that made it.

I had a Hydraulic press with a Square 'D' processor follow me around for 12 years - I originally visited the site because the owner thought it had a problem - this proved to be hydraulic - until the last few years.
Then is was the processor
Every time I mentioned the companies name to anyone - I would get a phone call even after changing phone numbers -
They must have had a Crystal ball.
FInally - after the processor died (at least I had the program and software) - I replaced the PLC and revamped the machine design with a Siemens S7-300 and HMI
All good now

i am still not mentioning that companies name any more:beerchug: