Paper is not the enemy
For all the momentum around digital transformation, one fundamental truth remains clear across the industries we serve: when it comes to maintenance, fault-finding, and safe operations, engineering is still a 2D world.
Across mining, energy, infrastructure and heavy industry, asset owners continue to rely on engineering drawings every day. Schematics, single line drawings and technical drawings remain the backbone of how assets are understood, maintained and operated, particularly as infrastructure ages and workforces evolve.
Even the most modern engineer or technician will reach for a drawing to understand how a system works, diagnose a fault, verify a change, or most importantly, work safely. This isn’t a gap in progress. It’s a foundation, and one we believe holds enormous, untapped value.
From metadata management to engineering intelligence
At Waterline, our focus has been on a simple but powerful question: what if engineering drawings could do more than sit in a document management system?
By contextualising engineering drawings, the product we’ve built can generate insights that asset owners can trust and act on. The first step is getting exceptionally good at extracting metadata from drawings and enriching it using our tool to infer what already exists across an operation.
This includes:
- AI-powered metadata enrichment
- Functional location awareness
- Equipment datasheet and manual association
- Intelligent natural language insights
- Faster, safer equipment fault-finding
- Early identification of process and equipment failures
Importantly, engineers remain at the centre of this process. Technology doesn’t replace engineering judgement, it strengthens it by providing better information, faster, empowering frontline personnel.
Real-world outcomes for asset owners
Through client use cases, we’ve demonstrated that we can support our clients with extracting quality metadata, at scale. Shifting a traditionally labour-intensive process into one that is accurate, scalable and efficient, delivering more than 80% accuracy with measurable trust scores.
Through a solution that Waterline has developed—DrawingHub, we have been able to empower asset owners to make better decisions with greater certainty. Revolutionising what was once a very time-consuming and labour-intensive process, to a process that is accurate, efficient and aligns with our clients’ operational requirements and safety.
Investing in innovation is a responsibility
As a multi-discipline engineering consultancy with deep operational experience, we see innovation as a responsibility, not an experiment. Our focus is on practical applications of AI and automation that align with how work is actually done across people, processes and equipment.
We start within our own business, improving efficiency and decision-making so we can spend more time where it matters most: supporting our clients’ projects. From there, we extend these capabilities to our clients, helping them operate more efficiently, work more safely, and keep critical assets performing reliably over time.
For us, innovation isn’t about adopting technology for its own sake. It’s about delivering outcomes that stand up in real operating environments.
Sharing our journey with industry
2026 is shaping up to be a significant year for Waterline, with several opportunities to share what we’ve learnt and connecting with industry.
In February, Waterline will sponsor the YMP Wine After Work event on Thursday 19 February 2026. This event brings together the next generation of engineers, and our Founder and Entrepreneur, Randall Makin, and I will share our AI and automation journey, focusing on practical applications engineers can take back into their day-to-day work to engineer smarter.
From 4-5 March 2026, Randall will present at the Digital Built World Summit, sharing how Waterline has implemented AI to help asset owners unlock real value from their engineering drawings. He’ll be joined by Entrepreneur and CTO Justin Hennessy, and our team will be available at Booth #16 to continue the conversation.
That same week, I’ll attend the Austmine Innovation Exhibition Showcase on 5 March 2026, connecting with industry peers and showcasing how Waterline is supporting asset owners to make more timely, accurate decisions, keeping asset data current while operating more efficiently.
The following week, I’ll be in the Hunter Valley for the Longwall & Underground Coal Mining Conference on 10–11 March 2026, where I’ll be presenting on innovation and how it’s helping operators engineer smarter. The Waterline team will be available at Booth #4, and we’d welcome the opportunity to connect.
It’s a busy period for our team, but an exciting one, and we’re looking forward to the conversations ahead.
Looking ahead
Innovation doesn’t always mean reinventing the industry. Often, it’s about rethinking what we already rely on, focusing on what matters most, and making it work harder, smarter and safer.
The team and I are looking forward to the year ahead, not only because of the innovation we’re delivering for our clients and the broader industry, but also what this means for our people. It creates opportunities for learning, growth and meaningful contribution, while strengthening how we partner with industry to provide safe, sustainable resources to the world.
