WinCC Unified: HMI Visualization in TIA Portal — Built New or Migrated
A plant schematic instead of a graveyard of numbers: visualizations for Unified panels and Unified PC, built to a consistent screen concept with device pop-ups and web access — including replacements for WinCC flexible, WinCC Comfort/Advanced and WinCC V7.
- scalable device symbols per device type
- SVG
- access from the control room, office or tablet
- Web
- consistent – same operation, symbols and colours on every screen
- Screen concept
In short
As an external service provider, we develop WinCC Unified HMI visualizations: in TIA Portal, connected directly to an S7-1500 or S7-1200, for Unified Basic Panels, Unified Comfort Panels and the Unified PC Runtime. Existing visualizations from WinCC flexible, WinCC Comfort/Advanced, WinCC V7 or CODESYS are not converted but rebuilt to a consistent screen concept, keeping their screen structure, operating logic and alarm texts. Everything is tested against the real controller before the plant is switched over.
Plant schematic as a navigable flow diagram
The operator sees the plant as a flow diagram with states at a glance — not as a collection of number fields. States, measured values and faults appear where they sit in the process. A click on a unit opens its operating window.
Individual operating pop-ups per device type
A motor, valve, damper or controller is operated in context — operating mode, setpoints and faults in one place. Every device symbol is a scalable vector graphic (SVG) adapted to its device type and shows state and fault directly in the plant screen.
A consistent alarm concept
Messages with plain text, priority and acknowledgment logic instead of cryptic group faults — the foundation for fast fault-finding and clean analysis.
Web access included
WinCC Unified is browser-based: the plant status can be viewed from the control room, the office or a tablet in the hall — with no additional software.
A reusable standard instead of starting from scratch
Structure, operating logic and the symbol and pop-up library are available as a proven in-house standard — the plant schematic, units and texts are project-specific. This gives even a mid-sized existing plant a visualization at large-project level, at a cost that used to be budgeted for merely carrying over screens.
Migrating to WinCC Unified
Whether WinCC flexible, WinCC Comfort/Advanced or WinCC V7: an existing project cannot be moved to WinCC Unified at the push of a button. Siemens itself describes the switch from Comfort to Unified as a modernization rather than a migration. The visualization is therefore rebuilt, but not reinvented: screen structure, operating logic and alarm texts are taken from the existing system, so operators find their way around from day one.
- WinCC Comfort/Advanced: Siemens offers a partial transfer with its free TIA Portal add-in Data2Unified. Tags, alarms and multilingual texts can be carried over; recipes, scheduled tasks, HMI user data types and controls cannot, and VB scripts only in part. The tool is used where it saves legwork — screen layout and operating concept are built new.
- WinCC flexible: there is no direct route to Unified; even getting into TIA Portal takes intermediate steps through older TIA Portal versions. For plants from the flexible era, a rebuild is therefore the direct route.
- WinCC V7: this SCADA system runs outside TIA Portal. The usual target is the Unified PC Runtime; screen hierarchy, alarm classes and logging are taken over functionally from the existing system and configured anew in Unified.
- Third-party HMIs: WebVisu and TargetVisu from CODESYS, WAGO e!DISPLAY or TwinCAT HMI are rebuilt the same way, usually together with the switch of the controller to an S7-1500. How that controller change works is described on the service page CODESYS to TIA Portal migration.
Scope of work: from site survey to operator training
The visualization can be commissioned as a self-contained package — for an existing plant, as part of a retrofit or as a supply for machine builders and panel builders. It covers:
- Site survey: review existing screens, alarm lists and operating sequences; choose a Unified panel or PC runtime to suit plant size, operating concept and budget.
- Screen concept: navigation, plant schematic, pop-up types and colour scheme are defined before the first screen is drawn — agreed with operators and maintenance.
- Configuration in TIA Portal: tags connected symbolically to the S7-1500 or S7-1200, alarms with plain text and alarm classes, role-based user management, multilingual texts where needed.
- Link to the PLC: if the controller lacks interfaces, such as blocks for operating modes or alarms, they are added — in FBD or LAD, so maintenance can trace the path from the pop-up down to the network.
- Testing and commissioning: every alarm and every operating function is checked against the controller beforehand, in a test setup with the target hardware or in simulation; then on-site commissioning.
- Handover: HMI operating documentation, the complete TIA Portal project and training for operators and maintenance.
Related services
- Retrofit S5/S7 → TIA PortalMigrate S5, S7-300 or S7-400 to TIA Portal on S7-1500/S7-1200 — often without rebuilding the control cabinet.
- Plant Data & OPC UAOPC UA interface, database and MQTT integration for Siemens controllers — read-only and secure.
- Retrofit CODESYS → TIA PortalMigrate WAGO 750/PFC and Beckhoff TwinCAT to TIA Portal on an S7-1500 with WinCC Unified — from legacy code that has been read and understood to a documented Siemens solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who develops WinCC Unified HMI visualizations as an external service provider?
We develop WinCC Unified visualizations for Unified Basic Panels, Unified Comfort Panels and the Unified PC Runtime — as a rebuild for existing plants, as a replacement for WinCC flexible, Comfort/Advanced, WinCC V7 or CODESYS visualizations, and as a supply for machine builders and panel builders. The scope covers the screen concept, configuration in TIA Portal, connection to an S7-1500 or S7-1200, testing, commissioning and operator training. Based in Luxembourg; core area Saar-Lor-Lux and Switzerland, projects across the DACH region, commissioning worldwide.
A rebuild or a conversion of my old screens?
Converted screens carry over the screen layout, operating logic and alarm structure of the past — the result looks new and operates old. A rebuild to a screen concept, thanks to a reusable standard, costs no more than carrying over screens used to, and delivers operation at today's standard.
Can a WinCC flexible project be migrated to WinCC Unified?
Not directly. A WinCC flexible project only reaches TIA Portal through intermediate steps with older TIA Portal versions, and there it becomes a Comfort or Advanced project, not a Unified one. For the next step, Siemens offers only a partial transfer with the Data2Unified add-in: HMI user data types, recipes, scheduled tasks and controls are not carried over. In practice the visualization is therefore rebuilt in WinCC Unified — with screen structure, operating logic and alarm texts from the existing system, and texts and tags carried over with tool support where it makes sense.
A Unified Panel or a Comfort successor?
Often the right Unified panel is even cheaper at the same display size, especially the Unified Basic Panel. Add to that web access and Siemens' current product line. The decision is made based on plant size, operating concept and budget.
Is web access secure?
Access runs encrypted with role-based user management and stays within the plant or company network — you can define exactly who may see and operate what. A cloud is not required for this.
Modernize your visualization
From a discontinued panel to a Unified visualization with a screen concept — including migration of the plant logic and operator training.
✓ Non-binding initial consultation✓ Response time < 24h on business days