Project Overview
Aureos was appointed by Northumbrian Water to deliver the migration of the control system at the Bran Sands Effluent Water Treatment Plant in Teesside. The project encompassed the full lifecycle of delivery, including conceptual and detailed design, system configuration, testing, installation and commissioning. Working within a live operational environment, Aureos was tasked with replacing an ageing control system while ensuring the continuous operation of a critical treatment process.
Sector:
Water
Region:
North East
Service:
Control System Modernisation & Migration
Client:
Northumbrian Water Limited
The Challenge
The existing control system at Bran Sands had reached the end of its operational life and required replacement to improve reliability, maintainability and long-term resilience. A key challenge was that the migration had to be undertaken while the treatment plant remained fully operational, leaving little or no opportunity for downtime. The project involved the migration of multiple programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and associated control infrastructure while maintaining safe operations, regulatory compliance and uninterrupted treatment processes. Careful planning was required to understand the impact on plant operations, identify affected process areas and develop a phased migration strategy that minimised risk throughout delivery.
Our Solution
Aureos developed and implemented a comprehensive migration strategy that enabled the control system replacement to be delivered safely and efficiently with minimal operational impact. The scope included the complete hardware and software migration of 20 PLCs, alongside the consolidation of 16 PLCs into a streamlined and modernised control architecture while retaining selected legacy infrastructure where appropriate.
Through detailed site surveys, system assessments and close collaboration with Northumbrian Water's operational teams, Aureos defined the hardware and software requirements and established a structured migration plan. Design, configuration, testing, installation and commissioning activities were carefully coordinated to ensure plant operations remained uninterrupted throughout the transition. The phased delivery approach provided a controlled and low-risk migration while maintaining a safe, compliant and fully operational treatment environment.
Results
The Bran Sands Migration project was delivered on time and within budget, successfully modernising a critical process control system without any unplanned downtime. Multiple control systems were migrated to the new platform, with all assets returned to automatic operation and handed back to plant operations within 12 hours of each migration activity. The project achieved zero disruption to treatment operations and no compliance issues, providing Northumbrian Water with a more resilient, streamlined and future-ready control system infrastructure.