Sustainability calls for ideas, technologies and collaboration between companies. The award honours suppliers and Siemens employees whose ideas support Siemens’ goals of high sustainability. The first award winners are Rittal and a business unit of Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI). They introduced Rittal ePocket, the digital wiring plan pocket, as an idea for strengthening sustainability at Siemens.

Today, thick paper folders with equipment and system documentation for the enclosure still form part of day-to-day production work. Depending on the system, 500 or more pages of documentation can quickly accumulate, and these are often reprinted in the event of changes. If all this paperwork is eliminated, the carbon emissions to the environment will also be reduced. From the Eplan and Rittal point of view, paper is a thing of the past when data can be used digitally and centrally. Siemens’ Smart Infrastructure Team immediately recognised this sustainability potential.

The result is that every single member of the VX25, VX SE, AX and KX enclosure range will have its own “place ” in the Eplan Cloud. The owner of the ePocket will be able to access the equipment and system documentation, including a digital twin, in the Eplan cloud via a QR code on the enclosure.

However, the immediate benefit is not just that of huge savings in paper. The digital version also makes work easier and saves time. Thanks to consistent digital processes from engineering to construction, all the data is available to create digital machine and system documentation rapidly.