The Overlooked Struggles of Digitizing Legacy Diagrams

In the race toward digital transformation, organizations across industries are investing heavily in modern tools such as SAP Plant Maintenance and Oracle EAM to streamline operations and improve asset management. These platforms provide guaranteed efficiency, accuracy, and better decision-making through the digitization of processes and data. However, there’s a critical yet often overlooked obstacle that continues to slow down this progress: the digitization of legacy diagrams and technical drawings.

These diagrams, which often include equipment blueprints, maintenance layouts, and historical records, are essential for day-to-day operations. They form the foundation of Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS). These documents hold vital information about assets, workflows, and maintenance requirements. Unfortunately, the process of converting them into usable digital formats is filled with challenges, ranging from poor-quality scans to outdated formats and inconsistent data.

What should be a straightforward task of scanning and integrating these documents often turns into a complex, time-consuming effort. The resulting inefficiencies prevent businesses from fully leveraging the potential of modern tools like Digital Twins or predictive maintenance solutions. In this blog, we’ll explore the core issues organizations face when attempting to digitize legacy diagrams and how these problems impact operational efficiency.

The Problem in Focus

At the heart of the issue lies variability—a term that encompasses all the unpredictable factors involved in digitizing legacy diagrams. Let’s break it down:

1. Diverse Formats: Navigating a Maze of Complexity

Some diagrams are hand-drawn, others printed, and many have been converted into outdated digital formats like TIFF or JPEG. These files often lack standardized layouts, which makes it impossible to batch process them. Additionally, when working with PMs (Preventive Maintenance) schedules or FLOCs (Functional Locations) in systems such as SAP or Infor, the inconsistency creates headaches for both engineers and data managers.

2. Resolution Challenges: The Blurry Details

A significant number of legacy diagrams were scanned years ago using subpar equipment, which leads to low-resolution images that fail to capture critical details as a result. Whether it’s a faded part number or a crucial dimension, this lack of clarity makes it difficult to integrate the data into modern tools including Digital Twins or advanced EAM platforms.

3. Manual Processes: Time-Consuming and Error-Prone

In many cases, many organizations rely on manual processes to digitize and transcribe legacy diagrams. This process is not only tedious but also comes with the potential for human error. A misplaced decimal or misread label can have far-reaching consequences, from incorrect maintenance schedules to equipment failures.

4. Fragmented Storage and Retrieval Systems

Another issue is the lack of a centralized storage system for legacy diagrams. These documents are often scattered across physical archives, filing cabinets, or outdated digital repositories. Organizations face challenges such as locating specific diagrams when needed for maintenance or planning, tracking revisions to ensure they’re working with the most up-to-date versions, and sharing diagrams across teams or integrating them with modern systems including Digital Twins. This fragmentation wastes valuable time and undermines the accuracy and reliability of asset management workflows.

The Ripple Effect

The challenges of digitizing legacy diagrams don’t just affect internal workflows—they have a ripple effect on the broader organization. For example:

• Delays in maintenance: Inaccurate or inaccessible diagrams can lead to delays in performing maintenance tasks, increasing downtime and operational costs.
• Compliance risks: Regulatory requirements often mandate accurate documentation of equipment and processes. Poorly digitized diagrams may fail to meet these standards, resulting in penalties or audit failures.
• Missed opportunities: Without digitized diagrams, companies cannot take full advantage of emerging technologies such as AI-powered analytics or Digital Twin simulation, limiting their ability to innovate and grow.

Why It Matters

For industries that rely on EAM/CMMS solutions to keep their operations running smoothly, these challenges are more than a minor inconvenience—they’re a significant bottleneck. Without clean, digitized diagrams, organizations struggle to centralize data, manage assets efficiently, and unlock the full potential of digital transformation.

The good news? These challenges aren’t insurmountable. The key lies in identifying the right tools and strategies to streamline the process—which will be explored in the next post.