{"id":98682,"date":"2024-08-01T09:22:03","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T23:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/?p=116984"},"modified":"2024-08-01T09:22:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T23:22:03","slug":"shining-a-light-on-modern-infrastructure-delivery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=98682","title":{"rendered":"Shining a light on modern infrastructure delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image\/Bentley Systems<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bentley<\/a>\u2019s Illuminate symposium<\/a> is a highlight of the Australian infrastructure calendar \u2013 an event where leaders from across the sector gather to debate the critical themes reshaping the landscape of infrastructure engineering.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This year, those leaders included Colin Ellam, Chief Executive of Cohesive, Bentley\u2019s digital integrator business. Cohesive provides value-led digital solutions, such as digital twins, as well as advisory support, to owners and operators of complex infrastructure assets in sectors including transport.<\/p>\n

With its deep rail expertise Cohesive is currently supporting programmes including HS2, Europe\u2019s largest rail project. In partnership with HS2 Ltd, Cohesive\u2019s team has established what is known as HS2\u2019s \u2018visualisation hub\u2019 \u2013 a secure platform which connects up the vast volume of complex and disparate data sets (GIS, BIM, CAD models, asset, safety, and project controls data) being created and procured on the programme and making it readily accessible to HS2\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n

The hub will ultimately become a digital twin of the railway – a virtual replica of the physical railway and how it functions as a system of interconnected systems.<\/p>\n

The benefits of structuring and ordering data in this way and using it to unlock insights, inform decision making and drive operational efficiencies are becoming ever clearer to transport owner operators today. And this so-called \u201cinfrastructure intelligence\u201d was one of the core topics at Illuminate.<\/p>\n

But when we talk about \u2018infrastructure intelligence\u2019 what precisely do we mean? \u201cInfrastructure intelligence means different things to different people,\u201d explained Ellam. \u201cAn owner-operator\u2019s view will be quite different from a contractor\u2019s view.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenges of leveraging infrastructure intelligence vary too, he said, depending on the stakeholder and its unique needs. \u201cFrom owner-operators, to tier-one contractors and supply chain companies, the need for insights differs at each level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaushik Chakraborty, senior vice president, regional executive, Asia Pacific at Bentley Systems, was also steering the debate at the event. He explained the value that a digital approach and the utilisation of data brings to today\u2019s major programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDigital delivery provides the ability to build intelligence into reviews. We can now track decisions made during the design phase, understand why they were made, and see their impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s construction professionals, he said, have opportunities to review decisions made and the impact they have in a way that was not historically possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo use an analogy, in the old days of film-based cameras, you had one chance to capture a shot and had to develop the film to see the results,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we take multiple shots and choose the best one. In the design, build and operate phases of an infrastructure lifecycle, especially in complex, high-cost, high-CapEx projects like rail, getting it right is crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Digital: Driving forward rail projects<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chakraborty provided a thought-provoking statistic – that 20 to 30 per cent of the costs on rail projects result from the design and construction phases, while 70 per cent are generated in the maintenance and operation phases.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore and more owners understand that rail assets will be in operation for at least 50 plus years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are focused on ensuring that the information they have when they start running their railway is so up to date that they don\u2019t need to rely on outdated paper maps, which lack intelligence. Traditionally, our industry has created 3D models, made 2D plans, printed them out, and marked them up in red, blue and green pens onsite.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started with intelligent data but made it less intelligent by converting it to 2D. Today, we are changing that. Technology now allows us to have a digital twin of the asset from design all the way through construction. At handover, the owner has a comprehensive understanding of why and how it was designed, by whom, and what decisions were made during the design cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellam agreed, adding that traditionally, everyone has concentrated on the capital expenditure \u2013 the cost of that project in isolation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut – to Kaushik\u2019s point – looking at the total expenditure and the full lifecycle costs of the asset might dictate that you spend more during the construction phase to capture more data, gain more insights, and have a true \u2018as-built\u2019 representation of the asset that will last for the next 60 to100 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Chakraborty said that, in the past, engineering projects were constrained by two factors, cost and time. Today, the list of considerations includes climate change, resiliency, accessibility for local residents, and the user experience of the infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about building a train; it\u2019s about the entire experience. For example, the London Tube traditionally had signs advising passengers to mind the gap. Today, a safety ramp automatically extends when the door opens. That\u2019s the level of experience we expect now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs our expectations increase, owners need to up their game. When you start designing a rail project today, by the time it\u2019s constructed and operational, it\u2019s seven years later. What will the future of that rail line be in seven years? How can we ensure a brilliant experience?\u201d<\/p>\n

Chakraborty touched on two projects in which Bentley and Cohesive are collaborating – the Crossrail Elizabeth Line in the UK, one of the first true digital projects for rail in the world, and High Speed 2 (HS2), a more than 120-kilometre line from London to Birmingham.<\/p>\n

For both projects, the United Kingdom (UK) government realises the value of a digital handover. So, when they are built, there will be a physical rail and a digital twin, a true digital representation.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you have the digital representation, and you\u2019re running and operating that asset, the digital interpretation keeps gaining more insights and intelligence,\u201d Chakraborty said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can model and simulate training, plan for egress in the station, and do much more with that digital twin in terms of maintaining and operating the asset effectively. In Australia, projects are moving towards this approach, especially in Victoria and New South Wales.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an evolution of how fast the industry can get there. The UK had the advantage of a government mandate driving digital delivery and innovation. While the rest of the world may not have such mandates, they are seeing the value demonstrated by the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellam explained the value that technologies such as digital twins bring to major programmes \u2013 value that extends far beyond the construction itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we don\u2019t just consider the construction of the railway; we also consider how it will interact with the community it\u2019s serving. When you look at the new stations on the Elizabeth line, for instance, as well as those that will be on HS2, they\u2019re virtually like communities in themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe designs include shops, retail, easy in and out, a simplified ticketing regime \u2013 all of which is simulated and modelled in a digital twin. The project team must make sure it all works before they build it, so they don\u2019t get these natural bottlenecks of humans trying to get through turnstiles, for instance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact is amazing, but you can also layer on an \u2018economic twin,\u2019 if you like. So, if you build that station, that way, in that area, what\u2019s the immediate impact? It allows us to consider the impact on things like local schools and housing estates. It\u2019s all represented in the digital twin of the asset.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cohesive is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bentley. It was developed to have a closer relationship with owner-operators of large, complex assets as part of Bentley\u2019s strategy to get closer to the operating end of the asset life cycle.<\/p>\n

Ellam explained: \u201cWe work alongside our Bentley colleagues in the wider business, but we provide the advisory and consulting layer on top.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe discuss with the owner-operators where they want to go with their digital strategies, the outcomes they\u2019re seeking, and why they want to pursue a digital path.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe then work with our Bentley colleagues to devise solutions and identify the tools that we can bring into play to enable that strategy and realise it for the owner-operators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chakraborty elaborated further, stating the aim was for owner-operators to gain a true integration of engineering, IT, and operations technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cBentley, with our user base, provides a lot of information on the engineering side, but all of that has to sit within IT systems because these systems run the assets in this day and age,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to ensure that we are relevant to IT departments and that they can easily use the digital information created during the engineering and construction phases to operate more effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where Cohesive comes in with its information and knowledge. They work to understand the organisation\u2019s goals, the change management processes that need to be put in place to achieve them, and then collaborate with Bentley to identify the technology that will enable these outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Shining a light on modern infrastructure delivery<\/a> appeared first on Rail Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Image\/Bentley Systems<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bentley\u2019s Illuminate symposium is a highlight of the Australian infrastructure calendar \u2013 an event where leaders from across the sector \u2026 <\/p>\n

The post Shining a light on modern infrastructure delivery<\/a> appeared first on Rail Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4856,165,4354,163],"tags":[10376],"class_list":["post-98682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-industry-infrastructure","category-rail-industry-events","category-rail-industry-news-australia-new-zealand","tag-rail-express"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98685,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98682\/revisions\/98685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}