Digitalisation in construction sector can contribute significantly to risk reduction and enhance bankability of infrastructure projects, according to Greg Bentley, CEO, Bentley Systems.

Apart from enhancing the efficiency of project implementation and cost control, digitalisation will also help improve the viability of infrastructure projects and the lifecycle of the asset. Large civil construction projects are ideal for digitalisation and automation. However, the sector is used to the traditional work process, and the challenge is to encourage them to adapt to the change, said Bentley.

He was addressing mediapersons ahead of the international conference, Year in Infrastructure 2017, organised by Bentley Systems.

Increasing demand for infrastructure globally, aging workforce and limited resources make digitalisation an imperative, he felt.

Bentley Systems, a multinational in software solutions for infrastructure, is organising the infrastructure conference along with its alliance partners, Bureau Veritas, Siemens and Topcon. The event will be on up to October 12.

Tie-up with Topcon Ray O’ Connor, President and CEO, Topcon Positioning Systems, a multinational player in positioning instruments for construction and survey, said every major construction equipment manufacturer is now integrating such technology into their products. “There were none doing it five years back,” he said. Autonomous trucks are a reality in mining sites, excavators have become more efficient and help reduce costs, he said.

Topcon and Bentley Systems are working together to enhance awareness of digitalisation among construction industry professionals.

Helmuth Ludwig, Global Head, Siemen’s Information Technology, said Siemens has invested over $10 billion over the last decade in acquisitions to strengthen its capabilities in digitalisation.

At the event, while announcing the launch of ProjectWise CONNECT Edition cloud services powered by Microsoft Azure, Bentley said the company will leverage Microsoft’s capabilities in machine learning. Project delivery organisations will benefit from digital workflows on a shared platform.

The company also introduced iModel 2.0, a cloud platform and a new service, iModelHub, to expedite digitalisation for users of its ProjectWise design integration service. This service is considered a workhorse application by leading design firms.

Acquisition Bentley also announced the acquisition of ACTION Modulers’ water modelling software business based near Lisbon, Portugal, with expertise in applying numerical modelling tools to complex water situations such as flooding.

(This correspondent is in Singapore at the invitation of Bentley Systems)

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