Controls engineering services
EXP CONSTRUCTION LTD is a computer integrated systems design practice working from 18 Hollyhurst Road, Sutton Coldfield - B73 6SY, United Kingdom (GB). The six services below are not separate product lines; they are the six faces of one integrated approach to industrial control, commissioned as a single coordinated programme and supported afterwards from the same workshop. Call +16816186224 to discuss a scope.
SERVICE 01
Control Panel Upgrades
A control panel is the point where an abstract design becomes something an electrician can touch, and it is also the component most often neglected until it fails. Many sites run cabinets that predate current arc-flash guidance, carry undersized busbars, use contactors that were discontinued a decade ago and offer no clean way to isolate a single field device. Our panel upgrade service begins with a full survey of every enclosure on site, recording incoming supply arrangements, protection coordination, cable schedules, thermal loading and the actual condition of the internal wiring. In an EXP CONSTRUCTION LTD refit, electrical drawings never stop at the panel wall; we trace the field cabling back to its source so the new cabinet is designed around the real plant rather than a drawing that was last amended in 2007.
Once the survey is complete we produce a matched set of layouts, schedules and bills of material, then we build the replacement in our own workshop and test every circuit against the process it will control. Protection is recalculated, earth leakage is contained, segregation between power and signal is enforced, and every terminal is labelled to a schedule that will still be accurate five years later. Wherever possible we stage the changeover so production continues: a new section is built and proven on the bench, the old one is isolated during an agreed window, and the transfer is rehearsed before it is attempted. Typical upgrade scopes include motor control centres, distribution and isolation panels, drive enclosures, marshalling cabinets and remote instrument enclosures. When the work finishes, the client receives as-built drawings, a test record for every circuit and a cabinet that a future engineer can understand without a phone call.
The commercial reason to upgrade a panel before it fails is simple. A planned refit is measured in hours and is scheduled around production. An unplanned failure is measured in shifts and arrives at the worst possible moment, often destroying product in process as well as stopping the line. Replacing obsolete protection and worn contactors on a controlled weekend is almost always cheaper than an emergency repair, and it removes a category of fault that maintenance teams can never fully predict.
SERVICE 02
PLC and SCADA Integration
Programmable logic controllers and supervisory systems only deliver value when they are designed as one layer rather than two. Sites frequently accumulate a patchwork of PLC families, each with its own programming environment, its own tag naming and its own alarm conventions, and an operator who must understand all of them. EXP CONSTRUCTION LTD consolidates that patchwork. We audit the existing controllers, extract the live logic where source code is missing, and rebuild the program structure around a consistent naming standard and reusable function blocks. Safety-related functions are separated and documented in line with current practice, and non-safety tasks are tuned for scan-time headroom so the controller has capacity for future change.
Above the controller we deliver a SCADA layer that reflects how the plant actually runs. Screens are arranged around operator tasks, not around the mechanical layout of the cabinet. Alarms are prioritised, filtered and time-stamped so that a nuisance trip does not mask a genuine fault. Historical data is captured at the rate the process needs and no faster, keeping storage predictable while preserving the trends that matter for quality and energy reporting. Where clients require records for compliance, we configure audit trails and secure access so that changes to logic or set points are attributable.
Because we build and test in the workshop, the SCADA application is validated against a mock-up of the process before it is installed. Tags are proved end to end, analogue inputs are scaled against real reference signals, and operators can be trained on the interface before the live changeover. The result is a control system that reads as one coherent product, with logic, alarms and screens that share a language. The handover pack includes the version-controlled project, a signal and tag dictionary, alarm philosophy notes and an operator guide. That documentation, not the hardware, is what protects the investment when staff change or the plant is extended.
SERVICE 03
Factory Floor Networking
Modern production depends on a network that was never meant to be treated casually. Drives, robots, vision systems, weigh scales and supervisory servers all need to exchange data reliably, yet many plants still run on unmanaged switches daisy-chained through the most hostile parts of the building. The result is intermittent comms loss, broadcast storms that stop a cell, and a network nobody wants to touch. EXP CONSTRUCTION LTD designs factory floor networks as segmented, documented infrastructure. We survey existing traffic, identify the protocols in use, and separate control traffic from general office or camera traffic so that a burst of video never delays a safety-critical message.
Our typical scope covers managed switch selection, topology design, IP addressing plans, VLAN segmentation, ring redundancy where the process justifies it and cabling or fibre runs between cells. We pay particular attention to physical resilience: cable routing away from heat and drive cables, correct screening and earthing practice, and cabinets that protect switches from dust and temperature swings. Once installed, the network is certified and a live topology map is produced, showing every device, address and uplink. Fault finding then becomes a matter of consulting the plan rather than pulling cables at random.
Because networking sits between our panel and software disciplines, we treat a comms fault as a system issue, not a component replacement. If a cell keeps dropping off the network, we look at the switch, the cable, the drive firmware and the logic that depends on it before recommending anything. That integrated view is why our network work tends to end arguments between departments instead of starting them. Clients receive addressing records, port allocations, configuration backups and a maintenance procedure for keeping the network healthy as the plant grows.
SERVICE 04
Legacy System Refits
The hardest machines to support are the ones that work. A legacy line that has run reliably for twenty years often has no drawings, no spare logic and no original supplier still trading, and every day it keeps producing is a day nobody wants to disturb it. EXP CONSTRUCTION LTD specialises in the careful modernisation of exactly these systems. We start by reverse engineering the machine from the copper outward, documenting every relay, contactor, transducer and termination until the whole control philosophy is visible on paper. Only then do we design the refit, preserving the behaviour operators trust while replacing the parts that can no longer be sourced.
Refits are staged to protect production. Where a machine is critical, we build the replacement control system in parallel and run it against a simulation before the real changeover. Where a controller is truly obsolete, we migrate the logic function by function, testing each stage and keeping a documented path back to the previous behaviour until the new system has earned confidence. Mechanical interfaces, motor starting methods and safety circuits are assessed against current standards, and any gap is closed rather than inherited. Legacy sensor loops are modernised alongside the logic so that the new controller is not fed by measurements it cannot trust.
The outcome is a machine that behaves like the one operators know but is built from supportable components with accurate documentation. Downtime is planned rather than suffered, spares become obtainable again, and the plant gains the ability to log data that the old system could never provide. For sites where full replacement is not justified, we also offer partial refits that address the weakest links first, delivering the highest reliability gain for the smallest capital outlay.
SERVICE 05
Sensor and Instrumentation Loops
Every control decision ultimately rests on a measurement, and a loop that is poorly installed or badly calibrated will undermine the most elegant logic. EXP CONSTRUCTION LTD treats instrumentation as a discipline in its own right. We select sensors to suit the process rather than the shelf, install them with correct thermowells, impulse lines, isolation and earthing, and then prove each loop against a traceable reference. Temperature, pressure, flow, level, weight, position and analytical measurements all fall within scope, and we are equally comfortable with analogue signals, fieldbus instruments and legacy transmitters that predate either.
Calibration is documented, not assumed. Each loop receives a calibration certificate recording the reference standard used, the as-found condition and the as-left condition, so that drift can be tracked over time and quality systems can rely on the numbers. Where a measurement is critical to safety or product quality, we build redundancy or cross-checking into the design and tune the loop so that it responds quickly without amplifying noise. Controller tuning is performed under real process load, because a loop that looks stable on a bench can oscillate the moment it sees a live disturbance.
We also audit existing loops for the faults that quietly erode performance: incorrect scaling in the PLC, unshielded cable running beside a drive, a thermocouple with the wrong extension wire, a flow meter installed too close to a bend. These defects rarely stop a line, but they corrupt the data that reporting and optimisation depend upon. By correcting them we improve both control and the quality of the records the business uses to make decisions. The result is a measurement layer that the rest of the integrated system can genuinely trust.
SERVICE 06
Maintenance Contracts
Commissioning is the beginning of a system life, not the end of a project. EXP CONSTRUCTION LTD offers planned maintenance contracts that keep integrated control systems healthy between capital works. A contract customer receives scheduled inspection of panels, controllers, networks and instrumentation, with thermal imaging of terminations, battery and backup checks, firmware and backup verification, and a written condition report after every visit. Small faults are corrected before they grow into stoppages, and the plant gains a documented history that makes future planning far more accurate.
Response arrangements are agreed up front so there is no negotiation in an emergency. Contract holders receive priority scheduling and access to a named controls engineer who already knows the machinery, the drawings and the quirks that never make it onto a schematic. For sites with critical processes we can hold recommended spares on the shelf, avoiding the delays that come from chasing an obsolete component while a line stands idle. Where a client prefers to retain an in-house maintenance team, we deliver the training and documentation that lets them handle first-line faults with confidence.
The value of a maintenance contract is measured over years, not weeks. Panels that are inspected do not fail as often; backups that are verified can be restored when a controller dies; networks that are monitored do not surprise the night shift. The contract also protects the investment made in the original refit by ensuring that documentation stays current and that modifications are recorded rather than forgotten. For businesses that depend on uptime, that continuity is worth more than any single repair.
How we run a project
All six services follow the same disciplined route so that clients know exactly what happens next and when money is committed.