Briefly give us an overview about your key contributions in supporting the infra-momentum?
For more than 36 years, Bentley Systems’ focus has been on providing solutions for advancing both the global economy and the environment for improved quality of life. That principle guides our innovation drive and strategy. Whether it is for transportation networks, such as rail and road, which are the lifeline of an economy; water and sewage networks that support health and sanitation; metro networks that support the daily commute of workers and students; or energy utilities that light up our homes and drive industry, Bentley is there. We are honoured to play a part in engineering, designing, and operating infrastructure.
What are your views on the approach of stakeholders involved in the infrastructure sector in using and adapting tech-tools?
The lifecycle of an infrastructure asset can last a long time, and generally involves many stakeholders that often change at each stage. Adopting technology, or what we refer to as digitalization, is not just about the solutions. It is about developing people, processes, and technology, more or less in that sequence. While the construction sector has been one of the industries slower to adopt digitalization, it is heartening to see that there are a number of entrepreneurs coming up with innovative solutions, right here in India. Bentley has recognized that innovation and has looked for companies in India that would fit well with our mission. For example, earlier this year, we acquired Nadhi Information Technologies, which specializes in project controls, analytics, and decision support for construction supply chains.
What are some challenges faced by tech providers like you while exploring the infrastructure sector?
Our challenges are really the ones that our users face. Project teams in Asia are often held back by conventional construction methodologies and obstacles to public cloud deployments. These difficulties cause them to experience delays and cost overruns as a result of poorly coordinated schedules, the lack of visibility into a project’s status, and poor collaboration among project stakeholders. Project directors and executives that manage CAPEX projects are looking for simple solutions that help increase their visibility into their project. These solutions need to bridge the data silos and the processes that span design and other documents, schedules, budgets, issues and risks, resources, and materials – all in one simple user experience. They have come to realize that innovative IT solutions will play a key role in providing them with a better ROI on their infrastructure projects.
With regard to the acquisition that I mentioned earlier, Nadhi is a pioneer of mobile-enabled project controls. In an offering explicitly configured for the needs of project teams in Asia, the integrated project controls in Nadhi’snPulse software combine data-driven decision support and predictive analytics to warn engineers and construction personnel of potential delays to the schedule risks earlier, which can help advance project planning and execution proactively rather than reactively.
Do you see an increase in the acceptance and willingness toward using these tools due to the 'New Normal' lifestyle and pandemic-driven scenario?
We have certainly observed an increase in the rate of digitalization influenced by the pandemic. However, the move toward digitalization really began with project teams dealing with the pressure of costs, productivity, and competitiveness. The key factor of digitalization is for solution providers to go beyond the technology, while also addressing process development. To address these concerns, Bentley has established the User-Success organization, led by our Chief Success Officer Katriona-Lord Levins. The User Success team is comprised of experienced industry professionals, subject matter experts, and support representatives dedicated to helping our users remove barriers to adoption to derive the most value from their software investment. Embedded within Bentley Systems is our “Voice of the Customer” program, an essential listening post to help us understand our users and capture feedback. In this way, we capture moments of truth that help us improve our solutions and workflows for the benefit of our users.
In India, some of the best-managed construction projects are now using Nadhi’s services to solve these challenges and improve their project delivery using digital workflows. Working with Bentley Systems, they now will be able to support a much larger number of construction projects. The ultimate goal is to empower contractors and owners to begin with our newly acquired nPulse solutions and work their way to a complete 4D construction delivery workflow centered around a digital twin via SYNCHRO over time.
As Dr. Ashit Gandhi, senior director, accelerated business development at Bentley Systems, said, “With the addition of Nadhi’s construction automation to our team, we now see a significant opportunity to help construction projects throughout Asia, especially for road and rail linear infrastructure, in ‘going digital.’ Combining Nadhi’s proven project controls and analytics capabilities with Bentley’s SYNCHRO 4D construction modeling and field-based construction delivery will enable more integrated and efficient digital workflows, tailored specifically to Asian needs.”
What are some of your landmark and recent key projects?
A number of projects in India have been named finalists and winners at the global Year in Infrastructure Awards over the past few years. These projects were submitted to the program by large contractors and owners, such as Larsen & Toubro, Indian Railways, Nagpur Metro, SYSTRA Group, Sterlite Power Transmission, Voyants Solutions, and ONGC, as well as a number of niche consultants such as DTK Hydronet and NJS Engineers. More information can be found here: https://yii.bentley.com/en/award-finalists. Users of nPulse include contractors Larsen & Toubro and Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd.; real estate developers Mahindra Lifespaces and RMZ; and owner-operators DMRC (Delhi Metro) and Welspun Enterprise.
Please share your views on 'Technology as a growth tool in moulding the infrastructure’?
We believe that technology is one part of it. Our tagline is “Advancing Infrastructure,” but it also comprises advancing professions and professionals. As a part of the user-success organization, the Bentley Institute is responsible for keeping infrastructure engineering professionals skilled on the latest processes and technologies so that users and the community are on the cutting edge. The newly revamped Bentley Education program (http://education.bentley.com) now extends to the student community to inform, encourage, and support aspiring infrastructure professionals as they prepare to join the workforce.
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