🚀 From Design to Daily Operations: How One Chemical Plant Runs on CabinetManager

Since 2020, one of our early adopters in the chemical sector has been running its entire factory on CabinetManager, from design and commissioning to daily maintenance. This case study shows how a digital twin boosts accuracy, speeds up updates, and empowers technicians in the field.

Last week, I had the privilege of sitting down with one of our earliest adopters of CabinetManager. They've been with us since 2020, and while I can't share the name, the industry context says it all: a high-tech facility in the chemical sector.

📐 A digital twin from day one

This factory was built with CabinetManager at its core. From the design stage through commissioning and now into daily maintenance, the entire plant has been documented and updated inside CabinetManager.

What does that mean in practice?

  • Document turnaround: Any physical modification is reflected in the digital twin within 3 to 4 weeks.
    • Industry benchmark: In many plants, keeping "as-built" drawings updated takes 2 to 3 months or more, especially when multiple contractors and paper processes are involved.
  • Annual activity:
    • 61,468 document interactions (views or edits).
    • 2,728 new document versions created.
  • Scale of the asset base:
    • 197 electrical cabinets documented across the factory floor and substations.
    • 1,334 field measurements maintained inside CabinetManager.
  • User base:
    • 47 active users, including management, superintendents, engineers, technicians, and external contractors.
  • System reliability:
    • 100% uptime since 2020, ensuring uninterrupted access for every user.

Translation: about 5% of documents are updated annually, while 95% are continuously consulted. This confirms that CabinetManager is not only a tool for securing changes, it has become the go-to consultation platform for technicians and engineers in the field.

🧩 Why CabinetManager stands out

During our evaluation, the customer described CabinetManager as their daily reference point. Compared to traditional document management platforms (SharePoint, Alfresco, M-Files):

  • Ease of use: technicians adopt it naturally, no steep learning curve.
  • Speed: finding the right file takes seconds, not minutes.
  • Secure version control: every adjustment is logged, no risk of losing track of changes.
  • Unified platform: all engineering and maintenance disciplines connected in one environment.

Context: Time lost searching for the right documentation and handling administrative processing typically accounts for 25% of the total intervention time in maintenance.

A system that removes these inefficiencies, by delivering the right document immediately and cutting out administrative overhead, pays for itself many times over.

💡 New use cases emerging

After reviewing the latest updates, we brainstormed new applications together:

  • Managing certificates for process equipment.
  • Storing calibration certificates.
  • Tracking set points and equipment manuals.

The excitement was tangible. CabinetManager is becoming more than a documentation system, it is evolving into a validation and onboarding tool for plant operations.

🔭 Roadmap ahead

We closed the session by sharing our upcoming modules: FieldLedger for procedure execution and HeatLedger for thermography.

FieldLedger was received with great enthusiasm. The team immediately recognized similarities with their current LOTO tools, but highlighted that the visual component recognition adds an unprecedented level of clarity. They also pointed out how FieldLedger makes it simpler to capture and distribute basic actions and how-to instructions, a feature they identified right away as a gamechanger for day-to-day operations.

Even in development, feedback from the field is crucial. The technicians reminded us, "A tool is only great when it's validated and tested where it matters, on the shop floor."

That is why we integrate field validation at every stage of development. For us, the end-user perspective is not an afterthought, it is the foundation.

Key takeaway: CabinetManager is no longer "just" about keeping documentation as-built. It is about empowering technicians with the right information at the right time, cutting turnaround time in half compared to traditional workflows, and ensuring no document is ever out of sync with reality.

Dylan Caufrier
Managing Director