Turning Complexity into Clarity
By Raghu Krishnamoorthy
Singapore, November 21st, 2025. Over the past month, I’ve spoken with several major clients facing a familiar challenge: balancing the operation of legacy design systems such as PDS while adopting modern 3D solutions like Smart 3D. Many agree that a full transition to Smart 3D is the logical next step, yet the difficulty of migrating existing plant data and drawings often holds them back.
Raghu Krishnamoorthy, Chief Operating Officer for TecSurge, is based in Singapore. With extensive experience across a full range of Engineering Applications, Raghu previously worked with CAXperts and JGC.
At first glance, referencing existing data directly in the new environment seems like a practical shortcut. However, this approach usually requires maintaining the legacy system — along with its infrastructure and the increasingly hard-to-find expertise needed to support it.
An alternative is to remodel the entire plant from scratch, but this approach is slow, costly, and prone to human error. At the other end of the spectrum, some tools promise to automate the entire migration process, yet the complexity of plant models and the many variations between platforms make a one-click conversion unrealistic. Fully automated translations rarely produce models that match the quality and usability of manually built ones.
TecSurge offers a balanced and proven solution that addresses these challenges head-on. Plant Model Migration is one of our core competencies. Our engineering digitalization framework spans all major project phases and serve industries such as oil & gas, chemicals, mining, and EPC firms. As an ISO 9001-certified provider, we ensure quality, traceability, and compliance in regulated environments.
We’ve developed a structured, reliable process that blends intelligent automation with expert semi-automated validation — achieving the optimal balance of cost, quality, and delivery speed. Whether you’re moving from PDS to Smart 3D, or between other systems such as E3D, CADWorx, AutoCAD Plant 3D, or Bentley OpenPlant, we can support your transition efficiently and confidently.
Here’s how our migration process works:
- Assessment – We begin by reviewing the project scope and data requirements. This typically involves a short questionnaire and sample data submission (under NDA).
- Proposal – Based on the assessment, we provide a fixed-price quotation and timeline for completion.
- Conversion – Using a combination of our custom-built automation tools and skilled manual refinement, we convert your data accurately and efficiently.
- Quality Assurance – We employ automated QA checks and detailed validation reports to confirm the integrity and completeness of the converted models.
This structured approach allows us to deliver migration projects that are both predictable and high in quality, eliminating the uncertainty that often surrounds such complex transitions.
One recent example is a successful PDS-to-Smart 3D migration we delivered for a major client — on time, on budget, and with excellent accuracy.
Beyond data conversion, our service also covers the full migration lifecycle: capturing existing assets, configuring target environments, consolidating and cleansing data, and ensuring your models are fully aligned with your operational and engineering needs.
If your organisation is planning to retire its legacy systems and move confidently into the Smart 3D era, TecSurge can help make that journey smooth and cost-effective.
To learn more about how our Plant Model Migration service can simplify your transition, unlock the full potential of your digital plant data and to meet a partner who understands both the software and your business reality, leave me a comment below or contact us today to discuss how we can achieve success together.