Transformation in the Post Pandemic World of Engineering and Construction, the keynote session of Bentley Systems’ two-day webinar titled Infraweek Asia-Pacific Digital, kicked off the proceedings on digital transformations of transport, water utilities, energy utilities, and real estate sectors.
The session was moderated by Anup Kataria, Senior Marketing Specialist at Bentley Systems, and the introductory note was given by Kaushik Chakraborty, VP & Regional Executive, Asia South & Southeast Asia of Bentley Systems. “The pandemic has surely helped accelerate the digitalization journeys, and has forced many AEC firms to envision new ways of delivering their projects,” Chakraborty said.
Steve Cockerell, Industry Marketing Director, Transportation, Bentley Systems, talked about how the population was going to ‘rocket’ in the coming 30 years, adding stress on urban infrastructure. Cockerell said that this would greatly impact the roads and the railways as in the foreseeable future, they would be the only way to keep cities moving. “It’s very clear that the future has to be more sustainable,” said Cockerell, who identified road vehicles as the single-largest contributor of CO2 emissions.
Sustainability and transport
“In my mind, at least, it is an engineering problem to solve.” That might come about through smarter decisions, optimized designs, and use of different materials or methods of construction. “But the bottom-line is, we have to be more sustainable in all that we do,” added Cockerell.
Digital transformation after Covid, a survey
A report (2021 GII Summit: Project of the future) by McKinsey & Company — where Bentley was a participant — highlighted how businesses, in this case construction, can emerge stronger after coronavirus, with different short-term and long-term focuses through increased digitization, remote working, reliance on BIM and simulation, and using end-to-end digital twins.
Guillaume Estegassy, Worldwide Lead, Smart Places & Smart Buildings, Microsoft, talked about how the partnership between Bentley Systems and Microsoft was “two-way,” and Amit Shrivastava, Director, Business Development, Digital Twin Solutions, Bentley Systems, talked about the importance of how the alignment of Bentley and Microsoft served people and the industry.
Shrivastava talked about the progress of the industry, from CAD to BIM, and now to digital twins, and how it has provided better outcome for users. Estegassy noted that “the people component” between the asset and the space it is in gave a “new dimension” to the concept of digital twins.
“The coining of the term ‘digital twin’ could be new for a lot of us, but we have been using a part of that information over a period of time,” observed Shrivastava. Noting the impact Covid had on the industry, he added, “Covid has been a disruption, but it has also been an accelerant.”
“Dublin is a fantastic example of how you use a technology like digital twin to engage with your citizens,” commented Estegassy on the use cases of digital twins, adding that when people were involved, newer ideas came to the fore.
