time!!!!!!!!

[maddy]

hey guys,

hw many hours will it take for migrating our slc series plc to clx platform ???

[shoelesscraig]

How long will it take for me to drive from my brother's house to my parent's house???

Seriously...we are going to need a lot more information than that. There are a million variables. How big is the system? How many I/O and what kind? You can't honestly ask a question like that and think that we can answer it correctly...

[JeffKiper]

Originally Posted by maddy

hey guys,

hw many hours will it take for migrating our slc series plc to clx platform ???

4.8 should be more than enought if you do it on the second sunday of the month.

Like it has been stated we will need alot more info before we can help you.
Don't just think of the hardware. Think of the man hours to bring the guys who have to support this equipment up to speed in the software as well. From what I have seen that is usually the longest and most expensive part.
You can farm out t(

he hardware and software conversions to firms that do it everyday

[maddy]

pls tell me the factors that determines the time taken for this migration process?

[brucechase]

pls tell me the factors that determines the time taken for this migration process?

Wow, I would guess brain power.

[Jobbe]

Originally Posted by maddy

pls tell me the factors that determines the time taken for this migration process?

• Available documentation
• Size of the system
• Complexity of hardware and software
• Your shoe size
• Available resources
• The time you actually get for doing it J
• The fact if anyone still knows how everything should work
• The know how of the people involved
• Experience
• ...
• ...
• ...

Maybe you can start by telling us what project you are working on?

[rdrast]

For the love of Og.

Time factors? Hrm... let's think a bit here.

-- Prior to changeout
1) Hardware Requirements
1A) Processor selection
1B) Communications selection
1C) I/O Modules required
1D) Chassis layout and I/O Assignment.

2) Programming (Since the I/O has been assigned above)
2A) Developing new program based on old working one (Translation bites, write one from scratch)
2B) HMI Integration (May require additional programming)
2C) Special functionality that differs. Only you know that.

3) NEW DRAWINGS.

-- Actual Changeout
4) Are wires long enough? Do you need to rewire?
5) Wire numbers accurate? Original drawings accurate?
6) How many wires, how much time per?

-- After Changeout
7) Power up, download program.
8) Confirm I/O Points, devices and wiring.
9) Confirm machine operation, section by section, debug as required.
10) Document any changes as you go on your NEW DRAWINGS.
11) Release machine to Production.

Go ahead, assign a time to each step, add them up. That is your time.

[bernie_carlton]

Go ahead, assign a time to each step, add them up. That is your time.

Times two before reporting the time - re: Montgomery Scott - Star Ship Enterprise

[Bob O]

Maddy,
There was a group on individuals on this forum that created a side business for just this purpose. I can’t seem to locate the thread but I bet another forum member could. I’ll assume that with the slow economic times, this company would be happy to join this party.
Hopefully another member can help locate the company thread. I know Terry Woods was involved.

Hope this helps and enjoy.

[OkiePC]

Originally Posted by bernie_carlton

Times two before reporting the time - re: Montgomery Scott - Star Ship Enterprise

Really? I thought that was my idea when asked "How long's it gonna be down?"

I always estimate my worst case scenario and multiply by two before I answer...

[TConnolly]

You know that "accurate" little Windows timer that predicts how much longer a file copy is going to take or how much longer a download is going to take?

The original source code from which it was derived was written by a control systems project manager.

[stooperbike]

The answer is easy, small program=good amount of time to convert....big program=lots of time to convert. then multiply the time by 2.1 if you want to do it right.
We have been through this, its never a like for like conversion. good luck

[TConnolly]

Maddy,

I took a look at your other posts and what seems apparent at this point in time is that you are still trying to wrap you head around just what you have to do and that you haven't yet assigned a scope to the project. (If that assumption is wrong then I apologize in advance, you know how assumptions are.)

Until you have a better handle on what is involved then trying to assign a time to it is putting the cart before the horse.

If I may I would like to make a couple of suggestion to help you wrap your head around the project.

Don't skip project planning. Its sometimes tempting skip it with management breathing down you neck because they want to see visible action and planning doesn't produce visible results. But time spent planning will reduce headaches and delays at the end of the project and good planning will shorten the overall time and minimize the number of 16 hour days you are putting in. Even after 25 years of experience I still find myself putting in a few 16 hour days at the end of a project and its nearly always because I either didn't plan something well enough or communicate the plan well enough, but as I've gained experience the number of those days has dropped. As others have said, multiply the time estimates by a healthy safety factor because if there is one thing you can count on its that you will overlook something - there is just too much to keep track of to expect that you will get it all right and it is arrogant to think that you can and foolish for management to think that you can - especially if you haven't ever done this before.

Do you have any project planning software for creating a Gant chart or project flow chart? We use MSproject but there are also some pretty good free open source project management software packages out there (here is one and here is a list of others.). You can even build a simple gant chart in Excel if that helps you get started. One of the very first things we ever do on a new project is create a gant chart. It gives us a starting place to organize a list of what we have to do, then it can be refined and expanded. Start by breaking the project into macro tasks and milestones, then add sub tasks under the macro tasks. We have a project under way right now that has over 6,000 entries on the Gant chart but the first version of that chart had only about 150 entries of major steps with about a dozen milestones to drive the schedule. That project is the biggest we have ever done but it is also going smoother than any we've ever done and due to the planning we are running nearly a month ahead of what we thought was an aggressive schedule.

A project plan is a living breathing document. The first item in your project plan should be to the project plan itself - with some time allocated to building the plan.

Part of the project planning stage should include a task to create some Excel tables that indicate what IO you have, then what IO you need to convert to. From there you need to create your drawings (another task) that show the new system and how you'll tie that in to the existing. Indicate new installation and existing equipment and the terminals where the two connect. Include any upgrades that are going to happen as a part of the change over to the CLX platform as well. This gives you an idea of what hardware will be replaced, how much wire will be replaced, and importantly, how many wire connection points need to be made. Once you get this done then you will have a much better handle on what other tasks are needed in your project plan and much time its going to take and you will also not feel as overwhelmed by the project.

Good luck.