Case Study
CableBlock
BetaSubstation and industrial power infrastructure. Custom software build. Now in beta.
About This Case Study
This case study demonstrates how Enblock approaches software architecture as a Commercial Solutions Architect. We did not build a simple diagram tool. We engineered a system for real-time collaboration, field-level change tracking, and production deployment.
A project engineer working on substation and industrial power projects was producing cable block diagrams manually from Excel cable schedules. These spreadsheets contained hundreds of cables, documenting every connection between switchboards, marshalling panels, junction boxes, protection panels, and voltage transformers.
The cable block diagram is a deliverable at the preliminary design stage. It verifies panel destinations, drives cable procurement, and serves as a maintenance reference for the life of the installation. The schedule was the source of truth. The diagram had to be drawn from it by hand.
On a project of this scale, that process took 50 hours.
The Problem
The diagram contained no new information.
Every device in the diagram already existed as a row in the schedule. Every connection was already documented in the From and To columns. The diagram was a visual transcription of a table that was already complete.
When the schedule changed, the diagram had to be redrawn. Review was sequential: one person at a time, working from a static file. Version drift between the schedule and the diagram was constant. Downstream teams — procurement, installation — were referencing documents that may not have reflected the current design.
What We Built
The schedule goes in. The diagram comes out.
CableBlock reads the cable schedule and generates the diagram from it directly. Devices are derived from the From and To columns and become nodes. Cable rows become connections. Sections become visual groupings. When the schedule changes, the diagram updates.
Multiple reviewers work on the same live diagram simultaneously. Changes made by one team member are visible to others in real time. The schedule and the diagram are the same data. There is no version to drift.
The cable schedule inside CableBlock — the single source of truth that drives the diagram.
The Architecture
A diagram tool is straightforward. A diagram tool that multiple engineers can edit simultaneously without losing data is architecture.
Real-time Collaboration
Engineers working on the same schedule see changes instantly. Conflicts are prevented through presence awareness and change coordination so multiple teams can contribute without overwriting each other's work.
Change Tracking
The system tracks changes at the field level. Every modification records which user made it and when. Auditable design workflows are built into the architecture from the start, not bolted on later.
Access Control
The project owner controls who can edit. The schedule can be shared with viewers via read-only access link. Access is enforced at the application level.
Deployment
Database, backend, and frontend are separate layers — each can be deployed, scaled, and updated on its own. We run CableBlock on AWS in production and can support deployment on other enterprise cloud platforms when your organisation requires it.
Why This Matters Commercially
- Teams work in parallel without bottlenecks — projects move faster
- The foundation can be customized to support audit requirements as your organization needs them
- You deploy on enterprise cloud infrastructure you control — security and compliance on your terms
- The codebase is lean and maintainable — hand off or expand with confidence
The Outcome
50hrs
Manual diagram production removed per project
Live sync
Diagram always reflects current schedule state
Parallel
Design reviews became concurrent, not sequential
Single source
Procurement and installation reference one document
Now in Beta
Join the Beta
CableBlock started as a custom build for one project engineer. The same pattern applies to any practice producing cable block diagrams at project scale: schedule-driven generation, live sync, and collaborative review.
Version 3 is now in beta. We are looking for electrical engineering firms working on substation and industrial power projects to test it, provide feedback, and shape the product.
What You Get
- A working diagram tool — schedule to visualization in seconds
- A tested architecture — real-time collab, change tracking, production deployment
- A product that can scale — from one team to enterprise
Interested in building something similar for your operation? Enblock is a Commercial Solutions Architect. We identify which manual workflows cost you most, then engineer the software to eliminate them. CableBlock is the proof.