Fabien Villareal:Digital Continuity: Why the True Digital Twin Begins Long Before Construction

 

Digital Continuity: Why the True Digital Twin Begins Long Before Construction

Condensed English adaptation of the interview with Fabien Villareal.

Interviewer: Most people associate Digital Twins with operating factories. Why do you believe they begin much earlier?

Fabien Villareal: A Digital Twin is not created when production starts. It begins with the very first engineering drawing, CAD model, specification, project schedule and cost estimate. Every piece of information created during design becomes part of the factory's digital DNA. Digital continuity ensures this knowledge is preserved throughout the entire asset lifecycle instead of being recreated repeatedly.

Interviewer: Why do you prefer the term 'digital continuity' to 'Digital Twin'?

Fabien Villareal: Digital continuity is a philosophy rather than a technology. A pump defined during engineering should carry the same identity through BIM, project execution, commissioning, maintenance, SCADA, MES and operational Digital Twins without being re-entered multiple times.

Interviewer: What role do PLM and engineering platforms play?

Fabien Villareal: PLM systems capture product knowledge while CAD, BIM and project-management platforms create the technical and economic memory of industrial projects. They should become the foundation for future operational systems rather than isolated engineering repositories.

Interviewer: Does digital continuity continue into production?

Fabien Villareal: Absolutely. Once the plant starts operating, PLCs, SCADA, MES, MOM, ERP, WMS, LIMS, Edge Computing, Unified Namespace and Industrial AI should inherit and enrich the knowledge created years earlier. This creates a living Digital Twin instead of disconnected software systems.

Interviewer: Why is this still uncommon?

Fabien Villareal: Because organizations remain siloed. Engineering, construction, commissioning, maintenance and production often rebuild the same information instead of sharing it. The challenge is no longer exchanging files but preserving knowledge across the factory lifecycle.

Interviewer: What is the role of a Smart Factory Transformation Architect?

Fabien Villareal: The architect designs how information will flow from the first engineering sketch to the last maintenance work order. The objective is an open, interoperable architecture that supports continuous evolution over decades.

Interviewer: Your concluding vision?

Fabien Villareal: A true Digital Twin is not simply a 3D model. It is a continuous industrial memory connecting engineering, construction, operations and maintenance, enabling smarter decisions throughout the entire life of the factory.