Bentley extends use of hypermodels in asset performance management

Design documentation becomes the virtual edition of the physical plant for on-going operations.

A new release of Bentley Systems’ AssetWise APM (asset performance management) extends the use of its pioneering hypermodels technology into asset operations and maintenance. Hypermodeling is Bentley technology for merging 2D drawings, 3D models, and related project data into one spatial viewing environment, where the visual and related textual data is easily accessible on demand from one location.

Access to all aspects of the design documentation allows not only project engineers and the construction team access to all related information, but when the plant or other asset is constructed the data continues to be available for operations and maintenance, using AssetWise APM as the virtual edition of the physical plant. Bentley refers to this as immersive asset performance management.

Bentley says the immersive visual approach to operations helps converge the engineer’s mental model of the plant, network, or other asset with its performance and representation in IT systems. As Alan Kiraly, Bentley senior vice president, server products, said, “What differentiates Bentley’s AssetWise APM V7.2 is the unique capability to interact with the virtual plant and connect asset health data to 2D and 3D models of the plant. Bentley users can walk an inspection prior to going to the asset and make better decisions faster.”

An example of using Bentley hypermodel technology to interrogate a model. (Source: Bentley Systems)

When used in AssetWise APM, Hypermodels allow users to directly link to asset condition indicators, enabling inspection indicator readings to be associated with the visual model. AssetWise draws the data from many sources, including specification sheets, corrosion loops, indicators, checksheets, and more. Bentley says the visual workflow works well with both greendfield and brownfield operations.

Integrity management

Also new in AssetWise APM version 7.2 are analysis techniques used in risk-based inspections (RBI) and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) procedures. Capabilities include demand scenario risk analysis based on the consequences of economic, health and safety, environmental, and company reputation effects; risk matrices support for failure mode criticality evaluation; and degradation rates updated from failure modes, analysis based on economic feasibility of maintenance strategies, and probability based on time between failures. AssetWise APM makes it possible to use one integrated reporting platform to support both RCM and RBI asset strategy development methods.

In related news, a new version of Bentley’s APM Supervisor Dashboard app is now available for Windows 8.1, and the APM Process Maturity Module is now aligned directly to ISO 55000.