Limestone Conveyor Automation — Long-Distance PLC & SCADA

Overview

Elezon delivered a complete PLC and SCADA solution for a 3.52km limestone conveyor — connecting mine to plant for a major cement manufacturer. The scope covered Hot-Standby redundant PLC design, distributed Remote I/O across the conveyor length, fibre optic networking, AVEVA Plant SCADA and AVEVA Historian integration — all engineered, programmed and commissioned by Elezon's in-house team.

Client challenges

Prior to automation, the packaging line faced several constraints affecting efficiency and output:

• 3.52km conveyor span requiring distributed control with no single point of failure

• Mine-to-plant communication over long distance — reliable networking essential

• Hot-standby redundancy requirement — any CPU fault must not stop the conveyor

• Limited visibility into conveyor faults with previous system — slow resolution

• No historical data for maintenance planning or energy benchmarking

Objectives

The main goals of the project were to:

• Implement Hot-Standby redundant PLC for continuous conveyor operation

• Deploy distributed Remote I/O across the full 3.52km span

• Establish reliable fibre optic communication network mine to plant

• Integrate AVEVA Plant SCADA for real-time conveyor visibility

• Deploy AVEVA Historian for long-term data storage and maintenance analytics

Solution approach

Elezon designed a Hot-Standby PLC architecture using Schneider Modicon M580 with distributed Remote I/O panels positioned along the conveyor — connected via fibre optic network. AVEVA Plant SCADA provided centralised operator visibility and AVEVA Historian captured all conveyor data for maintenance and energy analysis.

The entire solution was engineered, programmed, tested and commissioned by Elezon's in-house automation team.

Key elements of the solution included:

• Schneider Modicon M580 Hot-Standby PLC — redundant CPU racks

• Distributed Remote I/O panels across 3.52km conveyor span

• Fibre optic communication network — mine to plant

• AVEVA Plant SCADA — real-time conveyor monitoring and control

• AVEVA Historian — long-term data storage and analytics

• Structured fault diagnostics and alarm management

• Motor protection and thermal monitoring throughout

• Full FAT with conveyor simulation before site dispatch

Implementation process

The project was executed through a structured, step-by-step process:

• Assessment & Design
  Full conveyor audit. I/O schedule developed. Remote I/O panel locations determined to optimise cable runs and communication.

• Panel Manufacturing & Programming
  M580 Hot-Standby PLC panel and all Remote I/O panels manufactured at Elezon's Bengaluru facility. FAT completed with simulated I/O before dispatch.

• Installation, Testing & Line Tuning
  Fibre optic network commissioned. Remote I/O panels installed and terminated. PLC and SCADA commissioned with full loop verification across conveyor span.

• Operator Training & Handover
  AVEVA Historian configured. Maintenance team trained on SCADA operation and PLC diagnostic tools.

Conclusion

Elezon delivered a fully redundant PLC and SCADA solution for a 3.52km limestone conveyor — under single project ownership from design to commissioning. The Hot-Standby architecture eliminated the single point of failure in conveyor control. AVEVA Historian gave the maintenance team historical data for the first time — enabling predictive maintenance and a measurable reduction in fault resolution time.