Data centers present two distinct OpenDrawing use cases depending on whether the facility is existing or under construction. For existing facilities with legacy drawing archives, the use case is digitization: converting years of accumulated electrical drawings into structured data that feeds DCIM platforms, BMS systems, and capacity planning tools. For facilities under construction, the use case is automated material takeoff: extracting BOMs from design drawings to accelerate procurement and construction estimating.
Digitizing Legacy Data Center Drawings
Older data centers - built before modern DCIM platforms became standard - often have their electrical infrastructure documented only in paper or PDF drawings: original construction drawings, as-built redlines, OEM submittals for UPS and PDU equipment, and incremental modification packages from capacity expansions over the years. When a facility team needs to understand current electrical capacity, plan a refresh, or prepare for a major expansion, extracting the relevant data from that drawing archive is typically a manual, time-consuming exercise.
OpenDrawing processes data center electrical drawings and extracts structured asset records: UPS systems with kVA ratings and battery configurations, PDUs with circuit counts and branch ratings, static transfer switches, generators, automatic transfer switches, switchgear lineups, and associated distribution panels. That structured output populates DCIM platforms (Nlyte, Sunbird, Vertiv), BMS integrations, or facility management systems with the electrical infrastructure layer that drawings already contain but that current systems cannot read.
Automated Takeoffs During Construction
Data center construction projects generate large drawing packages: one-line diagrams showing the complete power distribution topology, cable schedules documenting every power and data run, panel schedules for every distribution board, manhole and conduit schedules for underground infrastructure. Manually taking off materials from these packages for procurement and cost estimating is a significant labor investment on every project.
OpenDrawing automates the extraction from all of these schedule types. One-line diagrams yield component counts and specifications. Cable schedules yield quantities, types, and lengths. Panel schedules yield circuit counts, breaker sizes, and load summaries. Manhole and conduit schedules yield underground infrastructure quantities. Together, the full material list for a data center construction project comes out of the drawing package in hours rather than days.
Drawing Types Supported
- Single-line diagrams (SLDs) - complete power distribution topology from utility feed through data hall PDUs
- Cable schedules - power and signal cable quantities, types, and routing data
- Panel schedules - circuit-level breakdown for every distribution panel
- Manhole and conduit schedules - underground infrastructure quantities
- Equipment schedules - UPS, PDU, generator, and switchgear equipment lists
- P&IDs *(beta)* - process drawings for cooling infrastructure (chillers, cooling towers, CRAC/CRAH systems)
Integration with DCIM and Facility Systems
For legacy digitization use cases, the structured output from drawing extraction maps to the equipment model of major DCIM platforms. Asset records for UPS, PDU, and distribution equipment include the specifications those platforms need: kVA ratings, circuit counts, redundancy configurations, and physical location identifiers. For construction takeoff use cases, the BOM output exports to Excel, procurement templates, or ERP systems in standard formats.
See also AI Bill of Materials Generation from Electrical Drawings and Automated Electrical Takeoffs.