Mining automation that reduces risk before it reaches your plant
The biggest risk to a mine site today is hardware that is no longer supported. AI, quantum computing and open architecture are driving a fast shift in how plants operate, and OEMs are retiring the legacy PLC platforms mines have run on for decades. PCS Global is a full turnkey automation and control solutions provider, engaged early to close that gap: greenfield builds, brownfield PLC and SCADA migration, multi-vendor integration and the digital assessments that plot a mine’s path to a stable, scalable and secure platform.
Operating since 2009, as one of Siemens’ leading Global Solutions Partners with a speciality in PCS7 and PCS neo, and one of only three PI Dev Club System Integrators in South Africa.
Risk ignored early is cost multiplied later
A mine’s margin lives or dies on uptime and throughput, and the most expensive automation problems are rarely born on the plant floor. They are created earlier, when control scope is unclear, legacy hardware is reaching end of life and early decisions carry long-term operational risk.
AI, quantum computing and open architecture are accelerating that risk: OEMs are withdrawing support for the legacy PLC platforms many plants still run on, and obsolete PLCs, instrumentation and platforms no longer supported all become a stoppage waiting to happen. Controlling that risk is an engineering discipline best brought in early, not a procurement afterthought at handover.
The same discipline applies on a greenfield build, where the engineering decisions made before commissioning set the plant’s operating risk for decades.
What we do
Greenfield and turnkey projects
Complete automation and control solutions for new plants, delivered end to end from EC&I design and panel manufacture through software, commissioning and handover.
Brownfield and legacy integration
Upgrading RIOs, drives, softstarters and control hardware on live plant, scoped from a site audit and implemented around your maintenance shuts.
SCADA, PLC and DCS migration
Migration across Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell and AVEVA platforms, built and proven alongside the running system so production is protected.
Containerised MCCs and switchgear
Motor control centres and panels manufactured and factory-tested in controlled conditions to ISO 9001, delivered to remote sites ready to commission.
Multi-vendor systems integration
Vendor-agnostic integration across mixed estates, so a plant of Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell and legacy equipment behaves as one system.
EC&I design
ECSA-approved electrical, control and instrumentation design using E-Plan, AutoCAD and SolidWorks, from loop drawings to network architecture.
24/7 operational support
SLA-backed remote diagnostics, fault finding, on-site support and software maintenance for critical automation infrastructure.
Digital assessments
A structured review of your control and SCADA estate that ranks obsolescence risk, flags where OEM support is lapsing and plots your migration path to a stable, scalable and secure platform.
Process historian and predictive analytics
PI System implementation and Asset Framework modelling, turning plant data into early failure warnings instead of static dashboards, backed by one of only three PI Dev Club System Integrator accreditations in SA.
The platform shift
AI, quantum computing and open architecture are changing what is possible on a plant floor faster than most control platforms were built to handle. OEMs are retiring the legacy PLC platforms many mines still run on, communication standards are moving to faster IP-based protocols, and the programming and control environment is shifting towards virtualised infrastructure, the direction Siemens has built into SIMATIC PCS neo alongside the proven PCS7 platform. None of this is optional. A platform that cannot be supported is a platform that cannot be secured.
SCADA has moved with it. The archaic, clunky visual graphics mines have tolerated for years are giving way to intuitive graphs and data displays built around the parameters that move the dial: uptime and throughput. A modern platform needs to be scalable, stable and secure, giving operators the visibility to protect both. That is where PI System predictive analytics earns its place: turning historian data into an early warning on those parameters, not just a chart to look at after something has already gone wrong.
Credentials you can put in front of a board
Engaged early, not late
Problem-led and platform-agnostic, comfortable operating with incomplete information and asking the difficult technical questions early.
Siemens Global Solutions Partner, speciality in PCS7 and PCS neo
Plus one of ten Siemens PCS7 houses in SA, an AVEVA Endorsed Partner (1 of 3 in SA), one of three PI Dev Club System Integrators in SA, and Stratus Premium Distributor for EMEA (1 of 2 in SA).
Predictive analytics, not just dashboards
PI System expertise that turns historian data into early failure warnings, backed by one of only three PI Dev Club System Integrator accreditations in SA.
Credentials that survive an audit
ISO 9001:2015 certified by Bureau Veritas, B-BBEE Level 3, ECSA-approved designs, Nozomi cyber partner.
OEM reach that matters
Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell, AVEVA, OSIsoft/AVEVA PI, Inductive Automation and Stratus, the platforms critical operations already run on.
Operating since 2009
A track record across mining, energy, data centres and process industry, with global delivery via PCS UK and offices across Africa.
How we work
01. Assess
A site audit defines the real scope, obsolescence risk and the operational constraints that matter on your plant.
02. Plan
A phased migration or build sequenced around production and your maintenance shuts, with switchover timed for when the system is trusted.
03. Build and prove
Panels and software are built and tested in controlled conditions, protecting data continuity and visibility throughout.
04. Commission and support
Handover is a plant that works, documented and supported, backed by 24/7 SLA cover where you need it.
How a brownfield control upgrade modernised a live mine without unplanned downtime
Tell us about your plant and the challenge you are facing
Our engineers will come back to you, not a call centre.
Questions we are asked before a project starts
Yes. We deliver across Africa, the UK and Europe via PCS UK, with offices in Midrand, Durban, the Western Cape, Zimbabwe and the DRC.
In most cases, yes. We scope brownfield work from a site audit and implement it in phases around your planned maintenance shuts.
Yes. PCS Global is a full turnkey automation and control solutions provider, taking new plant projects from EC&I design and panel manufacture through software development, commissioning and ongoing support.
It means PCS Global sits in an elite group of global experts for the Siemens automation portfolio, with a speciality in both PCS7 and the newer, web-based PCS neo, backed by ten Siemens PCS7 houses in South Africa. It is independent assurance that your control platform is deployed to Siemens’ own benchmark, whichever generation of the platform your plant is on.
Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell, AVEVA, OSIsoft/AVEVA PI, Inductive Automation and Stratus, among others. We integrate across vendors rather than around them.
A structured review of your control and SCADA estate: what is running on OEM-supported platforms, where AI, quantum computing and open architecture are changing what is possible, and what your migration path to a stable, scalable and secure platform looks like. It is the starting point we recommend before committing to a brownfield upgrade or SCADA migration.
Yes. We are one of only three PI Dev Club System Integrators in South Africa, and we use PI System’s historian and Asset Framework to turn plant data into early failure warnings on the parameters that matter, uptime and throughput, rather than static dashboards.
Legacy platforms do not fail gracefully
The most expensive automation problems are created early. Bring us in early with a digital assessment.