Around 30,000 plans digitized for conservation and digital consultation

The mission mobilized a full-time technical operator, as well as several Administration staff members (concierge, IT department, History and Archiving unit), involved at various stages of the project.

Project: Digitization of plans within the premises of the Administration des Bâtiments Publics

Choosing to carry out the digitization within the Administration’s own premises was a decisive condition for ensuring optimal protection of the plans. This approach made it possible to avoid complex and risky transport operations, while limiting handling to the absolute minimum. The continuous presence of the team also ensured close monitoring of operations and immediate responsiveness when needed.

Another distinctive aspect of the mission lay in the heterogeneity of the documents. While the collection as a whole was generally well preserved, the types of material varied greatly depending on the production periods. Some plans were physically robust, whereas others — particularly thin tracing papers — proved especially fragile. These constraints required extremely delicate handling and extended processing times due to the necessary precautions, notably the use of protective plastic sleeves during the scanning process.

The challenge therefore consisted in reconciling heritage conservation requirements, image quality and operational efficiency in order to process this very large volume of plans within a controlled timeframe, without compromising the safety of the originals.

Essential access to the plans

In their daily work, plans are an essential tool for architects and their teams within the Public Buildings Administration, responsible for the management of the State’s real estate assets. While recent documents are mostly available in digital format, older plans remain an indispensable reference for addressing specific issues and for carrying out numerous technical and administrative projects.

However, the exclusively paper-based organization of these archives, kept for years in hundreds of drawers, generated significant constraints: long and tedious manual searches, frequent physical movements, limited information sharing and circulation, and a heavy dependence on the expertise of a few individuals thoroughly familiar with the classification system.

The need for an appropriate solution was therefore clearly identified. CK implemented a professional approach to modernize access to these documents, while integrating seamlessly into the Administration’s daily operations

A tailor-made digitization solution integrated into the client’s environment

To address all these challenges, CK designed and implemented a fully customized digitization system. A dedicated space on the ground floor was converted into a digitization workshop and equipped with a state-of-the-art plan scanner (Contex IQ Quattro 4450), ensuring optimal quality even for very large formats.

The system was operated by a scanning consultant from CK’s Outsourcing Services department, assigned exclusively to the project. Each plan underwent a preliminary inspection of its physical characteristics (fragility, cleanliness, thickness, general condition) and verification of its uniqueness to avoid duplicate scanning.

Manual indexing was then carried out according to the client’s defined rules, ensuring reliable, consistent, and directly usable structuring. At the end of the process, the files underwent quality control before being transferred to the Administration’s servers, guaranteeing smooth integration into the existing system.

Given the sensitive nature of the archives, the daily extraction of plans was performed by the Administration’s staff, while the CK collaborator ensured file conformity, coherence of the directory structure, and, if necessary, the correction or inclusion of missing documents.

A project carried out in two phases, in close collaboration with the Administration

LOperations were conducted in two distinct phases:

• A first phase from June 2023 to July 2024, representing 238 working days;
• A second phase from September 2025 to January 2026, i.e., 90 working days.

This gradual organization made it possible to adapt the system to the client’s constraints and to optimize project scheduling over time.

Throughout the project, CK and the Public Buildings Administration established close, daily collaboration. This ongoing communication facilitated the quick resolution of operational issues, the adjustment of procedures when necessary, and the maintenance of a steady production pace, in a true spirit of partnership.

Thanks to this system, more than 30,000 plans were digitized, checked, indexed, and integrated into the Administration’s information system. Beyond the operational gains, this approach establishes the foundations for a modernized and sustainable document management system, on which the Administration can rely for its future renovation or construction projects. CK can support you in the same way for your own digitization projects, by designing and deploying tailor-made solutions adapted to your constraints, technical environment, and business objectives.