EB as a Service and large projects
Mathias Brinker
Managing Director
mathias.brinker@Exclusively from TechnologiX
Engineering Base as a Service
Engineering Base as a Service – the right start with Engineering Base
Guided, steered and managed by specialists with more than 20 years of combined Engineering Base experience. So that your environment heads in the right direction from the start.
Engineering Base only delivers its full benefit if structures, master data and processes are right from the start. This is exactly where Engineering Base as a Service comes in. TechnologiX analyses your company and your requirements and, on this basis, sets up Engineering Base to fit you exactly. We then support you until your environment runs reliably, and permanently if you wish. We take full care of hosting in a certified data centre and of operation, so missing IT infrastructure won't slow down your start.
Without a concept
- Starting with an empty database
- Working as in the old CAD system
- Problems after months
- Restructure, rename, clean up
With TechnologiX
- Analysis of your company
- Tailored setup
- Pilot project
- Productive from the start
Start right instead of correcting at great cost
The most expensive mistake when introducing Engineering Base is a wrong start.
Newcomers to Engineering Base often initially carry on as in their old CAD system: document-oriented, drawing by drawing. But Engineering Base is database-driven and requires holistic thinking. Plant structure, designation, master data and release processes must fit together before the first project starts.
If these foundations are set up incorrectly, this often only becomes apparent after months. Structures then have to be rebuilt, thousands of objects renamed and projects cleaned up retrospectively. That costs time, money and the users' trust in the new system.
TechnologiX brings this holistic thinking:
We analyse first
Your company, your disciplines, your processes and your requirements, before anything is set up.
We set up Engineering Base to fit you
Based on the analysis, we set up structures, master data, shapes and typicals so that Engineering Base fits your company exactly, rather than your company having to adapt to the software.
We support you along the way
You don't work alone with an empty database, but are guided through your first projects.
We take the IT hurdle off your hands
We take full care of hosting in a certified data centre and of operation. You don't have to build your own servers before you can get started.
Our collective know-how for your start
As a service provider, we work with Engineering Base at many companies. We have seen most problems before, so we solve them faster and tell you early what works and what doesn't.
Engineering Base as a Service is particularly suitable for companies that have recently purchased or plan to purchase Engineering Base, and for smaller companies without their own EB specialists.
Engineering Base as a Service in this form is only available from us.
The way into Engineering Base: step by step
Analysis: understanding your company
- Kick-off meeting with management, specialist department and IT
- As-is analysis of your organisation: which disciplines design what? Who works with whom?
- Recording your current engineering processes, from order to handover of the documentation
- Survey of your current tools and data sources (CAD systems, Excel lists, ERP, maintenance systems)
- Review of your existing documentation: what needs to be transferred, what can remain archived?
- Capturing requirements: required deliverables, client specifications, standards, internal standards
Result: a clear picture of what Engineering Base should deliver for your company.
Design: Engineering Base to fit your company
Based on the analysis, we set up Engineering Base exactly as your company needs it. We don't use an off-the-shelf standard configuration, but an environment that fits your plants, disciplines and processes.
- Plant and project structure in accordance with IEC 81346, tailored to your plants
- Definition of the designation system, standards-compliant or according to your in-house standard
- Role and permission concept: who may see, change and release what?
- Definition of revision, review and release processes
- Interface concept for your other systems
- Needs-based determination of licences and modules: as much as necessary, not as much as possible
Result: an agreed implementation concept with roadmap, priorities and milestones.
Setup: providing the environment
- Provision of your EB environment in a certified data centre, arranged by TechnologiX
- Setting up users, roles and permissions
- Customizing: attributes, list and form layouts, title blocks and cover sheets in your corporate design, reports and export formats
Foundations: building master data, shapes and typicals
- Building master data and device catalogues, e.g. for your preferred manufacturers and device types
- Creating shape libraries according to standards and your in-house standard
- Defining the first typicals for your recurring plant sections
- Setting up a sample project as a template for all future projects
- Data transfer from third-party systems such as ELCAD, RUPLAN or PDF, where useful
Pilot project: starting under real conditions
- Joint implementation of a manageable, real project
- Testing the defined structures and processes in day-to-day work
- Refining master data, typicals and processes based on the experience gained
Enablement: making your team confident
- Role-based training for users, key users and administrators
- Training takes place in your own environment, with your data and standards, not with a demo version
- An engineering guideline that documents your structures, rules and processes
Operation and further development: staying on course
- Support and hotline for your users
- Ongoing maintenance of master data, shapes and typicals
- Regular review of whether the environment still fits your needs
- Flexible expansion across the service levels up to full service, or an orderly handover to your own IT infrastructure if you wish
The three-level model: as much service as you need
- Level 3
Engineering
Design as a service- E&I design and documentation
- Revision and change management
- Customizing and system integration, e.g. connection to ERP, maintenance or control systems
- Automation of recurring tasks in Engineering Base, e.g. scripts and import and export routines
- Individual reports and evaluations from the EB data basis
- Provision of plant data for maintenance and servicing systems
- Training and user support
- Level 2
Data and support
Building on this- Ongoing data maintenance
- Master data, shape and typical management
- Project support when creating and setting up new projects
- Support and hotline for your users
- Level 1
Foundation
Operating the EB environment- Licence provision together with AUCOTEC, licence management by TechnologiX
- Operation of the EB database
- User and permission management
- Hosting in a certified data centre, technical monitoring, updates and data backup
The levels build on each other. You can start with level 1 and add further levels as soon as you need them.
Single source of truth
Master data, shapes and typicals: the foundation of every high-performing EB environment
How well an Engineering Base environment works depends on the quality of its foundations. Incomplete master data and inconsistent symbols cost time in every project, and they do so again and again. TechnologiX sets up these foundations and keeps them up to date.
Master data
- Structured build-up of master data in Engineering Base
- Uniform catalogues, attributes and classification systems
- Ongoing maintenance and quality assurance of master data
Shapes (symbol libraries)
- Creating shapes according to standards and your company standard
- Building and maintaining shape libraries reusable across projects
- Uniform representation across all projects and disciplines
Typicals (standard solutions)
- Defining reusable typicals for recurring plant sections, such as measuring points and drives in process plants or bays and protection cabinets in grid applications
- Maintaining and developing the typical library when standards change
- Your benefit: new plant sections are created from tested building blocks. This is faster, more consistent and of the quality you have defined from the outset.
EB check: your existing environment put to the test
You already use Engineering Base, but over the years your environment has grown in a direction that costs you time? With the EB check, we analyse your existing environment and show where you are missing out on potential.
- Analysis of structures, designation, master data, shapes and typicals
- Review of your engineering processes, release procedures and interfaces
- Concrete optimisation proposals, prioritised by effort and benefit
- Implementation on request, step by step and without disrupting your ongoing operations
We also advise you on your engineering processes and on digitalising your documentation as a whole, including beyond Engineering Base.
Separate project environments without building your own infrastructure
For large projects, parallel projects and test and acceptance environments, we provide isolated project environments, cleanly separated from your production data.
We show how this works in projects with many suppliers on our topic page “Large projects: many suppliers, one documentation”.
Full service: everything from a single source
On request, we take over the complete support of your EB environment as a long-term service contract: operation, data maintenance, engineering, training and support. You have one contact for everything relating to Engineering Base, over the entire life cycle of your environment.
Frequently asked questions about Engineering Base as a Service
What is Engineering Base as a Service?
Engineering Base as a Service is the way into Engineering Base with TechnologiX GmbH. TechnologiX first analyses your company and your requirements, sets up Engineering Base to fit them and supports you until your environment runs reliably, and permanently if you wish. TechnologiX takes full care of hosting in a certified data centre and of operation, and provides the licences together with AUCOTEC. Engineering Base as a Service in this form is only available from TechnologiX.
Who is Engineering Base as a Service suitable for?
Engineering Base as a Service from TechnologiX GmbH is particularly suitable for companies that have recently purchased or plan to purchase Engineering Base, and for smaller companies without their own EB specialists. Companies already using Engineering Base can have their existing environment reviewed with the TechnologiX EB check.
Do I need my own servers to use Engineering Base?
No. With Engineering Base as a Service, TechnologiX GmbH takes full care of hosting your EB environment in a certified data centre and of its operation. You don't have to build your own servers before you can get started. If you wish, TechnologiX will later hand over the environment to your own IT infrastructure in an orderly manner.
How are the Engineering Base licences provided?
With Engineering Base as a Service, TechnologiX GmbH provides the licences together with AUCOTEC and handles licence management. TechnologiX determines which licences and modules you need based on your requirements, following the principle of as much as necessary, not as much as possible.
What is the EB check?
The EB check from TechnologiX GmbH is an analysis of existing Engineering Base environments. TechnologiX reviews structures, designation, master data, shapes and typicals as well as engineering processes, release procedures and interfaces, and delivers concrete optimisation proposals prioritised by effort and benefit. On request, TechnologiX implements them step by step without disrupting ongoing operations.
Can I start with one service level and expand later?
Yes. The three levels of Engineering Base as a Service build on each other. You can start, for example, with level 1, the operation of your EB environment by TechnologiX GmbH, and add data and support (level 2) or engineering as a service (level 3) as soon as you need them, up to full service.
Use Engineering Base without building servers.
Let's discuss which service level suits your company, whether for getting started or as full service.
Discuss the service modelYour contact for EB as a Service