AI meets plant engineering – How ChatGPT makes Plant 3D planning smart

Those working in plant engineering with Autodesk Plant 3D face a multitude of daily challenges.
These include complying with complex standards, deciphering error codes, navigating disparate data formats, and managing repetitive tasks that are often time-consuming and error-prone.
These challenges require not only technical expertise but also high precision and efficiency to successfully complete projects. This is precisely where artificial intelligence can make a decisive difference. It offers opportunities to complete these tasks faster and with greater accuracy by acting as an intelligent assistant in everyday planning.

By using AI, engineers and planners can transform the way they work and focus on the creative and strategic aspects of their projects.

We'll use ChatGPT and refer to it below. Any other tool will likely be just as useful.
ChatGPT isn't just a "smart tool"—it can become your new digital assistant in your everyday planning.

We see these concrete use cases that planners can use:

1. Technical advice & problem solving, support in Plant 3D

• Understand standards without spending hours poring over technical textbooks
• Quick support for error messages or workarounds – whether in AutoCAD or directly in Plant 3D
• Create custom components, symbols, and P&ID elements
• Structure project folders or configurations

2. Support in the planning process

• Structuring of work steps (pre-feed, basic, detailed planning)
• Coordination between disciplines (e.g., steel construction, electrical and instrumentation, piping planning)
• Decision-making support for software or tool selection
  
  

3. Support in project management

• Work breakdown structures (WBS), milestones, resource planning
• Clear communication with project stakeholders
• Status reports, progress monitoring
• Risk management and claim management
  
  

4. Scripting & Automation

• Support for writing small helpers in Python, SQLite, or LISP
• Fast conversion of Excel spreadsheets into customer-specific formats – e.g., for importing and exporting catalogs.
  

   

5. Quality control & review processes

• Creation of individual checklists for drawing approvals or project-internal standards
  
  

6. Training & Education

• Automatically generate learning materials or step-by-step instructions – ideal for new colleagues or internal training
•  FAQs and troubleshooting guides
  
  

Our conclusion: AI is not a replacement, but a clever companion. Those who use it purposefully work faster, more precisely—and with more fun. Let's seize this opportunity to make plant engineering more intelligent.

EXAMPLES

🔍 Technical advice & problem solving, support in Plant 3D

• Understanding standards
  

Prompts:

„Which DIN standards apply to the planning of pipeline bridges in Germany?“

„Explain to me in simple terms the most important requirements of DIN EN 13480 for piping in plant engineering.“

• Troubleshooting
  

Prompt:
„I get the error 'Project cannot be loaded' when opening a project in Plant 3D. What are the possible causes, and how can I fix it?"

🧭 Planning process

Prompts:

"Give me a to-do list for piping design in the basic phase."

"Which DIN standards apply to the design of piping bridges in Germany?"

"How can I best organize the interface between steel construction and piping in Plant 3D?"

"Which data formats are suitable for data exchange between Revit and Plant 3D?"

📊 Project management

Prompts:

"Create a work breakdown structure for a medium-sized piping project."

"How can I best track project progress using Plant 3D and Excel?"

"Which KPIs are relevant for project management in plant engineering?"

"What should be included in a claim document in the event of a schedule change?"

⚙️ Scripting & Automation

• Little helpers (e.g. Python + SQLite)
  

Prompt:

"Write an SQLite script that searches the Piping.dcf database in Plant 3D. I want to retrieve all entries from the EngineeringItems table where the value in the PartSizeLongDescription column contains an English description. Make sure that only entries whose descriptions contain purely English words are output (e.g., without umlauts or German terms like 'flansch' or 'dichtung'). Print the SQL statement and briefly describe how it works."

• Convert Excel data
  

Prompt:

"I have a pipeline list in Excel format where each row describes a pipeline. The columns are named, for example, line number, nominal diameter, medium, pressure rating, and isometric status.
I would like to transpose the list so that each of these properties appears as the first column and the corresponding values ​​are displayed in columns next to each other – e.g., for a tabular overview per project."

• Further starting points
  

"Write a Python script that marks all pipes with NPS > 6" in a drawing."

"How can I automatically populate an SQLite database field in a Plant 3D specification?"

"How can I generate a component report from Plant 3D using Python?"

✅ Quality control & reviews

• Create checklist

Prompts:

"Create a checklist for drawing approval in piping construction – with a focus on Plant 3D projects. The list should include points such as layer structure, component assignment, and P&ID linking."

"Provide me with an FAQ list for new project members."

🎓 Training & education

•  Generate tutorial

Prompt:

"Create an introductory tutorial for new employees on working with Plant 3D – including project structure, pipe class selection, and simple component placement – ​​in text with clear steps."

• Teaching the basics

Prompts:

"Explain the difference between primary and secondary steelwork to a CAD novice using simple, descriptive language."

"Explain the functionality of pipe spec files to a new Plant 3D user in simple terms."

"How can I standardize and document a Plant 3D environment?"

These prompts serve as a starting point and source of ideas for AI beginners. There are numerous other use cases. Please let us know how you use AI in the planning process. As always, AI responses may contain errors and require review.