When the software running your operation has no one left to support it.
Replacement systems for legacy software in mills, greenhouses, plants, and other operations, built without the original source, vendor, or author.
The software your operation depends on, whether it's an optimizer, grading, scheduling, or control system, was written decades ago by people who have retired or passed away. There's no source code, no vendor, and no documentation. It runs until it breaks, and then your line is down.
We replace it before that happens, or get you back up if it already has.
What you get
- A documented specification of what your system does, which you've likely never had
- A replacement system you can maintain, extend, and understand
- Your historical data migrated: production records, grading, inventory, and anything else stored in proprietary formats
- Validation evidence showing the new system behaves like the old one, with every difference documented and signed off by your team
How we build it
We use a clean-room process: one isolated, access-controlled, fully logged environment analyzes the existing system's behavior and produces a functional specification. Every specification is screened for copied or protected content. A separate team builds the new system from the screened spec alone, never from the original. Change requests are handled as desired behavior, so your system can keep evolving.
How we prove it works
If your legacy system is still running
We capture its real inputs and outputs and build a simulator from them. We then run your replacement against the same live data in parallel for weeks, comparing outputs, timing, and behavior, plus fault and edge-case testing for events that live data rarely shows. Every difference is triaged and signed off before cutover. Rollback to the legacy system is a defined, rehearsed step.
If your hardware or software is already gone
Recovery takes longer, and we'll tell you so up front. Without a running system to compare against, we reconstruct behavior from recovered data, captured records, documentation, and the operators who ran it. Because there is no baseline to prove equivalence against, we engineer additional safety measures, validate them independently, and commission in stages (simulation, dry runs, then low-risk conditions) before full production.
Safety
Equipment that moves machinery, material, or product needs engineering rigor, not just software. We verify that your hardwired and safety-rated protections (E-stops, interlocks, light curtains, safety PLCs) operate independently of the replaced software, and we test them as part of cutover. Validation criteria and final operational sign-off are agreed in writing before work begins.
Our intake process
Before analysis begins, we review:
- Rights: the license terms and agreements governing your software, and whether you're able to provide it to a consultant for analysis. We also document our diligence in identifying any current rights holder.
- Protection mechanisms: dongles, license servers, or other locks that may raise additional legal questions
- Patents: any known patented technology. Clean-room methods don't address patents, so we recommend a freedom-to-operate check where one is warranted.
Our process is designed to support an independent-creation position but cannot guarantee any legal outcome. This is a technical service, not legal advice. We recommend your counsel review the engagement.