Supply Side: Bentley Systems, Trimble

Mapping/Grouping; Exporting quantities to EC3 from an infrastructure digital twin (via the Bentley iTwin platform). Image courtesy of Bentley Systems.

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Bentley Systems) announces integration of the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) with its iTwin platform for infrastructure carbon calculation. Also, Trimble introduces rail module for real-time monitoring software.

Bentley Systems

Engineering software company Bentley Systems on Nov. 7 announced at COP27 expanded integrated workflows for embodied carbon calculation in its iTwin platform, an open, scalable, platform-as-a-service offering that “enables developers to create and bring to market solutions that solve real infrastructure problems by leveraging digital twins.”

The new integration, Bentley Systems says, “enables carbon assessment in infrastructure digital twin solutions, empowered by the EC3.” Developed by the nonprofit Building Transparency, EC3 is a “no-cost, open-access tool that allows benchmarking, assessment, and reductions in embodied carbon, focused on the upfront supply chain emissions of construction materials,” the company added. “Building Transparency provides the education, resources, and tools–including EC3–to address embodied carbon’s role in climate change. The EC3 tool and its subsequent effect on the industry are driving demand for low-carbon solutions and incentivizing construction material manufacturers and suppliers to invest in disclosure, transparency and material innovations that reduce the carbon emissions of their products.”

According to Bentley Systems, the EC3 integration allows the company’s infrastructure digital twin solutions, powered by iTwin, and third-party applications built on the iTwin platform, to “simplify and accelerate the generation of carbon reporting and insights based on the no-cost, open-source EC3 carbon database and calculator.”

“This new integration in Bentley’s infrastructure digital twin platform exemplifies our strategy for empowering our users to achieve sustainable development goals,” said Bentley Director of Empowering Sustainable Development Goals Rodrigo Fernandes. “EC3 from Building Transparency is a perfect example of purpose-driven open, ecosystem collaboration, by which the private sector can come together to support and accelerate climate action.”

“We are excited to now be part of the Bentley iTwin platform ecosystem,” said Building Transparency Executive Director Stacy Smedley. “It is great that the integration is built upon an open-source framework–foundational for both EC3 and the iTwin platform. We see this integrated workflow as a significant opportunity for AEC companies, ISVs and digital integrators to link carbon analysis to infrastructure digital twins while ensuring complete control of their data, applications and IP.”

“We see the EC3 integration as a critical feature for the Bentley iTwin platform, further driving us toward the sustainability vision for the platform,” said Kaustubh Page, Director of Product Management, iTwin platform for Bentley. “We are delighted to see our users taking advantage of our Carbon Calculation Service on the Bentley iTwin platform to achieve carbon workflows, such as reporting, project optioneering and optimizing material selection. We are glad to integrate an additional lifecycle assessment tool to unlock decarbonization workflows.”

“Microsoft was the first large corporate user of the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator and is piloting the tool (hosted in Microsoft Azure) on its 17-building redevelopment project at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash., targeting an embodied carbon reduction of 30%. We are proud to be one of the early supporters of EC3, and, simultaneously, strategic partners of Bentley Systems,” said Katie Ross, Global Sustainability Lead for Real Estate and Facilities at Microsoft. “Seeing the EC3 tool and the Bentley iTwin platform converging is a great example of how we aim to accelerate sustainability through collaboration and demonstrates the power of data democratization.”

According to Bentley Systems, the added integration with EC3 “not only creates time savings with improved accuracy but also provides uncertainty estimations of the EPD data and increases carbon transparency due to Building Transparency’s open-source/open-access strategy.” Users, Bentley Systems says, can incorporate engineering data created by various design tools into a single view using the Bentley iTwin platform, generate a unified report of materials and quantities, and share it with different carbon analysis tools–now also with EC3–via cloud synchronization.

According to Bentley Systems, one of the mutual users interested in this new integration is WSP, applying both the EC3 database and the Bentley iTwin platform on infrastructure projects, such as the Interstate Bridge Replacement program. “For WSP, carbon footprint analysis and reduction are imperative in planning, designing, building and operating an infrastructure project from beginning to end,” said WSP USA Vice President Thomas Coleman. “Enabling better iTwin integration with EC3 is game-changing for us on multiple infrastructure projects. Implementing this link will significantly reduce the time and cost of generating EC3-based detailed embodied carbon analysis and reports along the design and construction stages. Ultimately, in the long run, we see this collaboration as one more step toward open, evergreen infrastructure digital twins, where carbon calculation and optimization are intrinsic and transparent in all infrastructure lifecycle stages across the entire value chain.”

Trimble

Trimble on Nov. 7 announced at its Dimensions+ Conference Trimble® 4D Control™ (T4D), software version 6.4, which features an add-on rail-specific monitoring solution. According to Trimble, T4D is a software suite for real-time displacement monitoring and detection, adding that the rail module, which is expected to be available in December 2022, “simplifies the data collection process and reduces up to 95% of the office work required to automate movement detection.”

Monitoring rail track geometry is necessary to help identify deformations caused by activities, such as tectonic movement, heatwaves and nearby construction, Trimble says. The real-time data captured can be used to evaluate track conditions, which can enable operators to make informed decisions regarding track maintenance. This process provides support for continuous rail traffic flow and passenger safety. 

According to Trimble, the T4D Rail software module, in combination with a Trimble total station, automates time consuming rail monitoring data collection. Conventional data collection methods, which require surveyors to manually collect each data point along the rails, often cause disruption to traffic flow and increase risk to workers. Additionally, Trimble adds, the module “automates complex calculations to generate rail track geometry analysis and deliverables, reducing the number of errors that may occur with manual calculations.”

“This unique solution provides a comprehensive perspective and a great opportunity to standardize rail monitoring data and deliverables,” said Florian von Matt, Geomatics Engineer at Wild Ingenieure AG. “The T4D Rail module is simple to understand and will make work much easier for stakeholders that need to interpret and prepare data for analysis.”

According to Trimble, key features of the T4D Rail module enable surveyors and monitoring professionals to:

• “Seamlessly integrate accurate rail as-builts collected with the Trimble GEDO system or with the track measuring bar paired with the Trimble Access™ Track Gauge Survey app.
• “Automate calculations for track geometry parameters, generate analysis charts and trigger alarms.
• “Expand business opportunities by reducing crew field time and simplifying calculations, which minimizes the learning curve that goes along with sophisticated rail monitoring processes.”

The T4D Rail module, Trimble says, presents a “streamlined total station-based rail monitoring workflow.” Informed by current rail authority standards, the module assists professionals to meet comprehensive deliverable criteria. According to the company, the automated process “reduces field time, repeat site visits, rail traffic disruptions and improves worker safety.” Additionally, Trimble adds, the software module provides real-time alarming for early awareness of critical impacts and supports informed decision-making. “This module allows more professionals to adopt rail monitoring as part of their business and for the work to be completed efficiently while meeting rail project standards,” the company says.

“The T4D Rail module enables our customers to make more informed decisions on track assets and safety,” said Trimble Monitoring and Tunneling Marketing Director Riley Smith. “This is done by automating and simplifying complex processes so resources can be better utilized on high impact projects and other business opportunities.”