Paper schematics feel “reliable” until they are the reason a shutdown drags on, a cabinet print is wrong, or a tech makes a split-second mistake under pressure. We sit down with Dylan from Lightstream, a Belgian family-owned industrial automation company, to get brutally practical about what it takes to move maintenance from binders and drawers to a digital workflow that technicians will actually use.
We unpack Cabinet Manager, which Dylan calls the digital Swiss pocket knife for technicians. The promise is simple: scan a code at the machine and instantly pull up the right electrical schematics, manuals, procedures, and diagrams in one place, tailored to who you are (electrician, mechanic, PLC programmer). From there, updates and annotations are captured as the work happens, so “as-built” documentation stops being a fantasy and starts becoming a habit.
Then we go deep on augmented reality in manufacturing. Dylan shares real demo data comparing troubleshooting by paper, tablet, and AR, and why AR can slash time because the information is in your field of view and your hands stay free. We also challenge the easy narrative around AI: manuals are not the same as experience, and the real win is capturing tribal knowledge from veteran technicians before it retires out the door. Along the way, we talk safety and lockout tagout, labor shortages, retention pressure from data centers, and why humanoid robots may be more PR than practical in today’s plants.
If you care about digital transformation in industrial maintenance, OT reliability, and safer troubleshooting, this one is for you. Subscribe, share it with a maintenance leader, and leave a review with your take: what is the biggest barrier to going paperless where you work?
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👾 Connect with Dylan
Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylancaufrier/)
Lightstream BE Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightstream-be/)
Lightstream BE website (https://www.lightstream.be/)
Support the show (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2053051/support)
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🎙 About Automation Ladies
Automation Ladies is an industrial automation podcast spotlighting the engineers, integrators, innovators, and leaders shaping the future of manufacturing.
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🎤 Want to be a guest on the show?
https://www.automationladies.io/guests/intake/
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👩🏭 Connect with the Hosts
Nikki Gonzales (https://linkedin.com/in/nikki-gonzales)
Courtney Fernandez (https://linkedin.com/in/courtneydfernandez)
Ali G (https://linkedin.com/in/alicia-gilpin-ali-g-process-controls-engineering)
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🎟 The Automation Ladies Community Conference: https://otscada.com
Learn more about the hosts’ industrial automation conference OT SCADA CON attended by 100+ automation professionals, engineers, integrators, and technology leaders for hands-on learning, real-world case studies, and meaningful industry connections.
🎬 Credits
Produced by: Veronica Espinoza
Music by: Sam Janes
P.S. - Help our podcast grow with ... (https://www.podpage.com/automation-ladies/reviews/new/)
