The Challenge

India’s leading truck manufacturer wanted to take a bold step toward Industry 4.0. Their Plant was operating using traditional 2D diagrams for planning limiting their ability to optimize workflows or adapt to growing production demands.

To modernize operations, they needed to digitize their entire plant, enabling more precise process planning and space utilization through 3D modeling. The goal? Lay the groundwork for a fully digital factory capable of supporting advanced simulations and smart scheduling systems.

Client’s Initial Hurdles

• Zero digital continuity: 2D diagrams couldn’t keep pace with the complexity of real-time changes.
• Manual interventions: Every change required physical site work, disrupting production lines.
• Blind spots: No way to simulate or validate new layouts before implementing them.
• Lost efficiency: Trial-and-error led to wasted time and resources.
• Planning paralysis: No real way to visualize impact before making decisions.

Why This Was Critical

What was the biggest bottleneck in the client’s current system?

They were relying heavily on 2D drawings and manual interventions for production planning. Any change big or small meant physically entering the plant, taking measurements, and often disrupting live operations. It was inefficient and risky.

Why couldn’t traditional methods keep up anymore?

Production demands were evolving faster than the plant could adapt. Manual workflows couldn’t support the scale, speed, or flexibility needed. The team couldn’t afford trial-and-error anymore they needed precision before execution.

What was the risk of continuing with the old system?

Lost time, lost productivity, and missed opportunities. Without real-time visibility and accurate digital planning tools, every change introduced delays, waste, and uncertainty. Staying analog meant falling behind.

What was the real opportunity they saw with going digital?

The ability to simulate the future. With a 1:1 digital model, they could test layouts, optimize flows, and plan upgrades without ever touching the real plant. Every decision could now be made with data, not guesswork.

Why now? What made this the right moment?

Because they were ready to embrace Industry 4.0. This wasn’t just a one-time upgrade it was a long-term move toward a smart, connected factory. And it all had to start with a digital foundation that could scale with their vision.

Gaps in Existing Information

What the client had: a 2D shop floor blueprint, legacy diagrams, and physical walkthroughs. What they lacked:

• A precise, spatially accurate 3D representation of their plant.
• Data integration between machines, structure, and layout.
• Simulation capability for process and production planning.
• A platform to test and validate what-if scenarios digitally.

Why Specific Requirements Mattered

This was a live plant every minute of downtime had a cost. So the model needed to:

• Capture both fixed infrastructure and movable assets with precision.
• Be modular so changes could be simulated, not physically tested.
• Integrate with CATIA for production systems and Revit for infrastructure.
• Lay the digital groundwork for future factory automation.

The Desapex Solution

• Laser Scanning Execution: Activities were mapped zone-wise, with work permits pre-coordinated to ensure daily output and site safety compliance.
• 3D Modeling of RC/Steel Structures: Autodesk Revit was used for model development, ensuring structural fidelity, while Navisworks helped in efficient coordination and appearance profiling.
• Color Demarcation: Leveraged Navisworks Appearance Profiler and Revit Phase Filters to provide visual hierarchy and clarity.
• Corrosion Mapping Demo: Conducted visual checks in TruView, identified areas of concern, and presented a categorized corrosion map using Revit’s phase filters.

‍Project Timeline & Milestones

• Initial site survey & laser scanning - 2 weeks
• Data processing & point cloud alignment - 1 week
• 3D modeling in Revit & CATIA - 4 weeks
• Assembly, QA, and integration - 2 weeks
• Final handover of the digital twin

Software & Technology Used

• For non fixed assets such as machines , skids , trolleys etc - CATIA
• For Fixed Assets such as Architecture , Structure - Revit

The Real Business Value Delivered

The transformation wasn’t just about creating a 3D model, it was about enabling a new way of thinking.

For the first time, the Manufacturer’s planning and production teams could make decisions before setting foot on the shop floor. With a fully digitized plant in their hands, they could simulate layout changes, optimize space, and explore what-if scenarios all in a virtual environment that mirrors the real world with stunning accuracy.

What used to take weeks of planning, site visits, and production halts could now be accomplished within hours, entirely digitally. No more disruptions. No more guesswork. With this new model, production managers had access to a bird’s-eye view of spatial utilization and equipment layout, helping them identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies early. Performance insights once hidden in spreadsheets and fragmented systems could now be visualized clearly and used to drive real-time improvements.

Change no longer meant chaos. Every proposed update whether adding a new line, reconfiguring a zone, or expanding capacity could be modeled, tested, and validated within the digital twin before a single wrench was turned.

This wasn’t just an upgradeit was a strategic pivot. The plant had evolved from being reactive to becoming predictive. From static to smart. With this single project, we helped to lay the digital foundation for their Industry 4.0 journey, unlocking a future of agility, efficiency, and continuous improvement.

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What This Means for Future Projects

The transformation at their manufacturing facility isn’t just about optimization, it’s about evolution. Every operational decision, from redesigning layouts to reengineering workflows, can now be virtually prototyped using their digital twin. Ideas can be stress-tested in a simulated environment, uncovering efficiencies and eliminating risks before they ever touch the shop floor.

This isn’t just a plant that’s been digitized, it’s a plant that’s been reborn. What was once reactive is now predictive. What was once fragmented is now fully integrated. With the digital twin as a strategic partner, the Manufacturer has embedded innovation into the core of their operations. For every future expansion, every leap in capability, every bold move, they are no longer moving blindly. They move with clarity, backed by data, powered by possibility.

And as the company continues to drive forward in a highly competitive global market, their digital twin remains more than a tool, it’s a compass for transformation.

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