The Challenge

CV Motors Ltd., one of India’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, was preparing for the next decade of automation and capacity expansion. But their primary assembly plant spread across 40,000+ sqm had evolved through continuous modifications for nearly 20 years.

Original CAD drawings were over a decade old. Multiple renovations had altered utilities, equipment layouts, and safety zones. Every upgrade required long surveys, repeated site visits, and trial-and-error layout planning.

Teams across engineering, maintenance, safety, and production worked from inconsistent information, creating delays, rework, and operational inefficiencies.

The organization needed a single, trusted, up-to-date picture of the factory something more reliable than legacy drawings and far more detailed than manual documentation.

Client’s Initial Hurdles

• Line-balancing changes required manual measurements, often taking days
• No accurate factory-wide documentation for AGV path planning
• Congested zones had no reliable visual records for safety teams
• Brownfield modification projects routinely exceeded timelines
• Physical mock-ups disrupted production and required multiple site visits
• Maintenance teams relied on scattered Excel sheets and paper manuals
• No digital method to track plant changes over time

Why This Was Critical

1. Why couldn’t the existing 2D CAD drawings support future factory plans?

Because they were over 10 years outdated and didn’t capture expanded utilities, retrofits, or equipment relocations leading to repeated rework.

2. Why was a digital twin essential for brownfield expansion?

Modernisation required precise fit checks, clash detection, and access validations, all impossible with inconsistent 2D documentation.

3. Why did operations and safety teams require high-fidelity reality data?

Congested aisles and overhead systems posed safety risks that could only be accurately assessed through visual and spatially correct as-built documentation.

4. Why did maintenance need structured asset information?

Scattered manuals and unlinked CMMS entries made preventive maintenance unpredictable and increased diagnostic time.

5. Why was long-term digital governance important?

Factories constantly evolve. Without periodic scanning and versioning, any digital model becomes obsolete limiting the value of all modernisation efforts.

Gaps in Existing Information

• No accurate as-built inventory of equipment, utilities, or structural elements
• No visual record of congested areas, overhead obstructions, or floor-level pits
• No access to a unified factory model for remote walkthroughs
• No metadata-based asset classification for maintenance
• No method to track facility evolution over time

Why These Requirements Mattered

Because CV Motors needed:

• A millimetre-accurate digital base for all design and planning
• Multi-disciplinary visibility to minimise downtime and installation errors
• Safe, uninterrupted production while planning new upgrades
• Faster training and onboarding for 2,500+ technicians
• A long-term, scalable digital infrastructure that grows with the factory

These requirements weren’t optional they formed the foundation for real Industry 4.0 readiness.

The Desapex Solution

A full-scale Scan-to-BIM and digital factory program was deployed across the entire assembly facility.

1. Factory-Wide Multi-Modal Reality Capture

• Mobile LiDAR for long aisles
• Handheld scanners for congested zones
• Over 3,700 scans captured in days
• A consolidated, high-resolution point cloud created

2. Creation of a High-Fidelity Digital Twin

Desapex modelling teams built:

• Architectural BIM (floors, pits, walls, mezzanines)
• Structural BIM (columns, trusses, beams)
• MEP BIM (cable trays, HVAC, fire systems, compressed air, utilities)
• Production assets (robots, conveyors, cranes, tools)

This became the single source of truth for engineering.

3. Brownfield Planning with Clash Detection & Fit Checks

• Imported new welding cells, AGV paths, testing rigs into BIM
• Identified clashes with cranes, utilities, walkways
• Validated operator access, maintenance paths, and clearances
• Simulated AGV movement with real aisle constraints

4. Virtual Validation for Multi-Disciplinary Approvals

Using VR and desktop walkthroughs:

• Ergonomics teams validated reach and comfort
• Safety teams verified LOTO, emergency exits, extinguisher clearances
• Maintenance teams simulated service workflows
• Production validated takt-time alignment

Approvals reduced from 4–6 weeks to 1 week.

5. VR Training Modules from the Digital Twin

• Robot operation
• LOTO
• Evacuation drills
• Maintenance routines

Operator competency achieved 30–40% faster.

6. Asset Classification & CMMS Integration

Every asset tagged with:

• Make/model, serial number
• Warranty, installation date
• Service intervals, spares mapping

Linked directly to CMMS/EAM to create a geo-tagged digital inventory.

7. Digital Governance: Versioning & Change Capture

• Quarterly scans for critical zones
• Annual full-facility scans
• Change detection through deviation maps
• Updated BIM versions stored chronologically

This kept the digital twin continuously accurate.

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Project Timeline and Milestones

Software & Technology Used

• Reality Capture: Mobile LiDAR, handheld 3D scanners
• Point Cloud Processing: Leica / Faro suites
• BIM Modelling: Autodesk Revit
• Coordination: Navisworks for clash detection
• Simulation: AGV movement & clearance analysis tools
• VR Training Engine: Unity / Unreal-based modules
• CMMS/EAM Integration: API and metadata workflows

The Real Business Value Delivered

Planning & Engineering

• Brownfield delays reduced by 25–40%
• Minimal rework due to early clash detection
• Remote design reviews accelerated decision-making

Training & Workforce Development

• 30–40% faster operator training
• Near-miss safety incidents reduced

Maintenance

• MTTR reduced by 15–20%
• Technicians can locate and understand assets remotely
• Spare part procurement aligned with actual factory needs

Documentation & Compliance

• Digital audit trails
• Accurate as-built information for authorities and OEMs

Cultural Shift

• Cross-functional teams collaborate around a shared digital twin
• Decisions became data-driven
• Staff expressed improved confidence in planning and change management

What This Means for Future Projects

For CV Motors, this project did more than modernise a facility it built the digital backbone for the next decade of manufacturing excellence. The factory now evolves with a living digital twin, updated every quarter, guiding every new investment, automation initiative, and safety program.

Engineering, maintenance, safety, and production teams now speak the same visual language. The organisation has shifted from reactive problem-solving to predictive decision-making equipped with clarity, accuracy, and confidence.

For Desapex, this project showcases how Indian factories can leapfrog into a digitally governed, Industry 4.0-ready future. And for the manufacturer, it marks the beginning of a long-term transformation: a factory that doesn’t just run efficiently today, but stays future-ready for every upgrade, every expansion, and every strategic decision to come.