The electrotechnical documentation and digital twin of a panel and switchgear system now have a new home. Rittal ePocket – the digital wiring plan pocket – is migrating to the cloud. Staff can use their smartphone or tablet to access up-to-date engineering information directly from the shop floor. The digital lifecycle file is replacing the folder of paper documentation and giving the staff responsible for plants and machinery new flexibility for operations and maintenance.

In other words, cloud plus digital instead of document folder plus analogue. The system is so simple, so logical and so good, that everybody benefits in some way – those responsible for machinery and plants, enclosure builders and maintenance engineers alike – because Rittal ePocket gives all these people easy access to consistent data that is always up to date. The digital lifecycle file for the panel and switchgear system answers all relevant questions staff in the broad field of operations might have.

Since late 2021, a space has been reserved in the Eplan cloud for every Rittal enclosure in the VX25, VX SE, AX and KX series. All project data relating to the enclosure, such as wiring plans, maintenance tables, certificates and manuals, can be stored here. Anyone who is authorised to do so can use the integral Eplan eView on their smartphone or tablet to scan the QR code on the enclosure to gain access to the data. Access from a desktop computer is also possible, so engineering modifications or maintenance can be consistently documented, for example, and project data can be updated. Rittal ePocket is being established as the digital hub of a new ecosystem, in which various stakeholders work together in a switchgear lifecycle.

• SIEMENS AWARD FOR RITTAL ePocket

  Rittal ePocket – the digital wiring plan pocket – has now won the Siemens Enclosure Sustainability Award that was presented for the first time in 2021.

  The award honours suppliers and Siemens employees whose ideas support Siemens’ ambitious sustainability targets. “Thanks to our close technological collaboration with Rittal, we could see the potential benefits for Siemens immediately, even before the digital wiring plan pocket was launched on the market,” explains Ahmet Cavas, Global Commodity Manager of Siemens Smart Infrastructure for the Cabinets & LV Switchgear material field. “Rittal ePocket is doubly sustainable – alongside the CO₂ savings, it also digitally strengthens the long-term, efficient cooperation between operators, planners, manufacturers and switchgear producers.”