Siemens and Bentley partner on new digital PLM solution

Siemens PLM Software has announced, with Bentley Systems, an integrated solution for enterprises to deliver capital projects more efficiently, combining the Siemens Teamcenter PLM system with Bentley’s ProjectWise and its Connected Data Environment (CDE). The new offering continues Siemens and Bentley’s strategic alliance that was announced in 2016, and will extend enterprise visibility across program management of capital project engineering and construction.

“In going digital, the work of engineers and constructors is increasingly about the digital context and digital components around, and within, their infrastructure projects,” said Greg Bentley, CEO of Bentley Systems. “As we industrialise project delivery, it is exciting for us to be working with Siemens to extend the reach of our CDE’s digital workflows beyond individual capital projects. With the Teamcenter PLM integration, the connections of project digital twins can now both expand into their enterprise context and drill down into their manufactured components — advancing infrastructure through digital DNA.”

According to Siemens and Bentley, project digital twins automate digital alignment and change synchronisation across the project supply chain, enabling continuous and comprehensive status reviews. Digitalising a plant from the beginning of a project enables the aggregation and dissemination of data in a scalable and manageable fashion. By connecting digital twins with a consistent digital thread, companies can reduce project delivery costs and avoid cost overruns, and can improve operational margins by increasing plant productivity and reducing operational overhead. Enterprises can achieve consistent digital workflows that span project economics, program management and project controls to speed up capital project delivery, reduce cost overruns and improve fit-for-purpose project outcomes.

In the energy and utility industries, for instance, given current energy forecasts, companies need to work more efficiently and cost-effectively when implementing capital improvement projects. Traditionally these extremely complex and expensive projects have many groups, beyond engineering and construction, working independently to drive the project forward. Extending Teamcenter through project delivery, the CDE enables visibility along digital threads of connected 2D and 3D models, dynamically managed to reflect project status. This allows for the continuous assimilation of design and engineering data, to be visually and analytically accessible as appropriate by team members across the wider enterprise and supply chain. Incorporating capital project engineering and construction models in this integrated way enables diverse simulations throughout the project management process to anticipate real-world issues, and more informed decision-making by virtue of real-time understanding of the impact of any design change.

The solution will be available to the market beginning in early 2019.

“Owner-operators and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms in the industry need to lower costs and deliver projects more efficiently, and this new digital solution facilitates data-driven business processes for the optimisation of projects and the plant,” said Tony Hemmelgarn, CEO of Siemens PLM Software. “Powered by the digital twin, this solution allows engineering data to flow between capital project stakeholders and will support a broad set of industry use cases.”

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