Company says it’s time to bring point clouds to the world of BrIM
PHILADELPHIA – Here at its “Be Together” user conference, infrastructure software manufacturer Bentley Systems announced it has acquired InspectTech Systems, a Pittsburgh, Penn.-based provider of field inspection applications and asset management services for bridges and other transportation assets. Terms of the deal were not released.
InspectTech’s software-as-a-service product “helps asset owners streamline the process of planning inspections, collecting and managing inspection data, and complying with government reporting requirements,” according to a release. Bentley said its goal is to “exploit the full potential of new capabilities for information mobility to enhance asset management by integrating information modeling with inspection processes.”
In a statement, CEO Greg Bentley made it clear he feels Bentley’s capabilities with point clouds can be combined with InspectTech’s offering to increase customers’ understanding of their bridges and put together better long-term plans for their maintenance and improvement.
“We will together,” Bentley said, “be able to associate observed conditions and designed conditions through 3D as-built models – now readily available through point-cloud scans, managed and streamed through ProjectWise Point-cloud Services by way of hypermodels – linking surveyed and digital assets. By incorporating InspectTech services within our AssetWise platform, we will be uniquely able to fully serve bridge and other transportation owners with Bentley’s bridge information modeling (BrIM) benefits including, for example, Exor linear referencing and incident management, and SUPERLOAD permitting. In addition, through InspectTech’s ongoing role in developing for AASHTO (American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials) its PONTIS BRIDGEWare software, we look forward to working more directly with the departments of transportation to meet their bridge planning priorities.”
InspectTech brings a client list that includes federal and state departments of transportation, major transit agencies, toll authorities, counties, cities, and national and local consultants across the United States, as well as a major roadway authority in Australia, according to Bentely.
“On behalf of my colleagues at Bentley,” CEO Bentley further said in his statement, “I welcome these young and energetic entrepreneurs from InspectTech to our company. Mike Schellhase and Jeremy Shaffer, talented computer engineering graduates of Carnegie Mellon, had the vision 10 years ago, right out of school, to apply a scalable server-based IT solution to address one of the world’s most pressing problems – infrastructure operational safety in general, and bridge safety in particular. They focused their efforts on building innovative products to deliver real value and reduced risk for owners and travelers, which has resulted in a fast-growing, highly successful business, already known for its software and services quality.”
To learn more about InspectTech’s users, case studies can be found at www.inspecttech.com/casestudies.asp and www.inspecttech.com/downloads/HDR.pdf.
