Digital can be a game-changer for infrastructure projects

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Bentley Systems chief sustainability officer Chris Bradshaw says that digital twins can be a game-changer if infrastructure owners embrace them.

Ahead of his speaking engagement at the opening session of the FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference in Geneva next month, Bentley Systems chief sustainability officer Chris Bradshaw spoke to Infrastructure Global about the transformative role of digital in the industry.

Chris, you have said that sustainable infrastructure is more than just delivering a project, it’s also about the social outcomes that are delivered and making a difference. Why is it so important for the industry to highlight this?

Sustainable infrastructure is not only about the social outcomes, which are often missed or disregarded, but also environmental and economic outcomes. These three outcomes are interconnected and need to be balanced with full transparency for all, so that the community being served and affected has a voice and buy-in.

What role is technology playing in mitigating risk?

In many places, but the most exciting today is scenario planning. Computers are now powerful enough and cheap enough to enable entire infrastructure systems to be designed, built and operated virtually over and over with different scenarios, including climate, before a single shovel hits the dirt, enabling engineers to understand the end-to-end performance of the system in as many conditions as imaginable.

We are all aware of the challenges on larger megaprojects but what about what is happening on smaller projects that often go ‘under the radar’ but are the industry’s ‘bread and butter’ projects?

It is a tale of two cities. On the one hand, some smaller projects have taken advantage of using new technologies like digital twins, where the scale of the implementation is relatively smaller and quicker and are reaping the benefits. On the other hand, small projects are often less visible, less reviewed and more ‘old school’ because there is a misconception that only megaprojects can benefit from new technologies – not true!

The future is here and now, but how can we better knit together what we need to ensure success?
Look around, pay attention to what other firms are doing, especially new firms who may be leaning hard into new technologies. For example, ten years ago, drone surveying was almost unheard of, only being done by a very few. Last year it was estimated to be a $1.3bn market growing at over 20% per year.

What about the role of owners and clients? How can they make projects run better?

Simply put, by thinking about and managing holistically the entire lifecycle of infrastructure and stop optimising the design silo, then the construction silo and then the operate silo through lowest bidder awards. That starts with them creating a digital twin (or hiring a firm with that capability) of their current infrastructure and new sites and making the long-term commitment to maintain the digital twin, accurately, with live data from sensors in the field. It’s a game changer if every owner of infrastructure does that.

Chris Bradshaw, chief sustainability officer at infrastructure engineering software company Bentley Systems, will be speaking at the opening session at the 2024 FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference in Geneva on Monday 9 September 2024