Adlib - a foundation block for document management strategy in chemical refining

‍Company background

A multinational plastics, chemicals, and refining company with a global workforce and facilities spread across multiple continents is renowned for its innovative approaches and commitment to sustainability in the chemical industry. The company’s engineering teams regularly generate a high volume of CAD drawings and schematics essential for maintaining and expanding their vast infrastructure.

Challenges and risks associated with manual document processes

‍Their legacy conversion software struggled to keep pace with the increasing volume of engineering files, leading to significant challenges:

1. Increased IT Intervention and Support: The outdated system required frequent IT support, diverting resources from more strategic initiatives.
2. Delayed Information Exchange: The slow conversion of CAD drawings into shareable formats hampered efficient communication and collaboration across departments, causing production delays.
3. Heightened Risk: Unreliable conversion processes increased the risk of errors in the drawings, which could lead to costly mistakes in the field.
4. Unsearchable Formats: Converting layered vector-based CAD files into flat TIFFs resulted in unsearchable documents, complicating information retrieval and archival practices.
5. Loss of Layer Previews: The conversion process often stripped away crucial layer previews, leading to frustrations among engineers and delays in project timelines.

Adlib Solution

‍The manufacturer turned to Adlib to address these challenges and streamline their document management processes. Adlib's advanced document transformation and workflow automation solutions offered a robust answer to the company's needs.

1. Improved Efficiencies and Productivity: Adlib system significantly enhanced efficiencies and productivity in the field by enabling faster, smoother information retrieval and exchange.
2. Reduced Operational Costs: By minimizing the administrative burden and future-proofing patented engineering drawings, Adlib helped reduce operational costs.
3. Enhanced Legal Compliance: Accurate and reliable conversion of CAD drawings minimized legal risks by ensuring compliance with industry standards.
4. Resource Optimization: The system reduced the demands on IT resources, leading to fewer interventions and a smaller server footprint.
5. Better Information Management: Engineers and contractors saved time on administrative tasks and benefited from improved information retrieval capabilities.

“Our engineering teams are constantly creating new schematics and blueprints within AutoCAD or MicroStation, which need to be managed and archived. These CAD files would have far too many layers if they were not rendered, so they need to be processed through Adlib first. Our engineers are hands-on with this process. Adlib delivers excellently converted AutoCAD renditions, which is highly important to us. These can be complex images, so accurately transferring the detail is critical.” - Enterprise Information Management Manager & Principal in Houston. “When we made the decision to change rendering solutions, we looked towards three separate vendors. Overall, Adlib seemed more mature as a software option.”

Conclusion

‍The company's partnership with Adlib has proven to be a strategic move, resulting in significant operational improvements and cost savings. Adlib has helped the company enhance efficiency, reduce risks, and future-proof their engineering drawings. The success of this collaboration underscores the importance of selecting a reliable and advanced document management solution to support complex and large-scale industrial operations.