Rittal ePocket: the digital cable plan in your pocket with every operation

Digital plan saves on paper and makes all up-to-date data continuously available

Eplan and Rittal present Rittal ePocket: the digital cable plan. It saves a mass of paper and will make it easier for operators, planners, switch manufacturers and maintenance personnel to work together. The data is constantly up-to-date and continuously available to everyone. For a long time it was standard in just about every machine manufacturing process: thick paper documentation folders about equipment or system. For Eplan and Rittal, global market leader for enclosure technology and IT infrastructure, this medium is out of date. Such data are now rolled out digitally and centrally with the digital plan.

Paper long seemed irreplaceable. That notion is outdated for Eplan and Rittal in these digital times. With the development of Rittal ePocket, the new digital cable plan pocket, the sister companies are cleaning up big time. From now on, paper documentation is a thing of the past. "With Rittal ePocket, our customers are already taking another digital step and we are all benefiting from ever-increasing data quality," says Uwe Scharf, Managing Director Business Units and Marketing at Rittal. Now that all project data for a machine or plant, such as wiring and maintenance plans, certificates, etc., are available digitally, changes to the project can be updated instantly and any downtimes are minimized.

Companies benefit from this digital process in three ways. From circuit diagrams to maintenance, incidents are eliminated faster. Repeated printing of 500 or more pages of documentation is a thing of the past, representing a clear time advantage. The environment also benefits from not using paper, via carbon emission savings. And finally, there is less risk of fire now that the paper is no longer kept in the casing.

Access via the Eplan Cloud

To make this workflow work, each version of the VX25, VX SE, AX and KX enclosure series gets its own "environment" in the Eplan Cloud. The owner can access the equipment and system documentation in the Eplan Cloud, including a digital twin, via a QR code on the enclosure. The benefits increase further when the owner gives other involved parties insight into the latest documentation. For maintenance staff, for example, this means that they can easily access the appropriate circuit diagrams using a smartphone or tablet via the integrated Eplan eView function. This ensures quick troubleshooting, repairs and smoother maintenance. 

Digital twin in operation

From now on, the virtual twin (digital twin) in the Eplan Cloud accompanies the real cabinet throughout its life cycle. With the digital cable plan pocket, equipment and system documentation is always up-to-date. Moreover, that documentation is accessible from any device, wherever it is on the site. "We are expanding our portfolio for 'operations' with this because the opportunities for our customers and the industry are clear," Scharf explained. "Tracking functions and the amount of information contained in our data are constantly increasing. Thanks to the Rittal ePocket, operators, planners, control and switchgear manufacturers and maintenance professionals stay in permanent contact with each other."