Extends use of laser scanning to maintenance and operations
THE HAGUE – Just as SPAR Europe prepares to open exhibits and conference programming, Hexagon has announced the release of TruView Integrator for SmartPlant Enterprise, “extending the benefits of laser scanning from its traditional use of providing accurate as-built information for capital projects to important new uses in daily plant operations.”
While Leica Geosystems’ laser scanning capabilities have been previously integrated into Intergraph’s SmartPlant Enterprise to benefit plant engineering and design, Leica TruView Integrator for SmartPlant Enterprise marks the first time, the company said, the technology has been used to improve processes in the operations and maintenance of plants. Working with owner-operator customers around the world, Hexagon has made it so Integrator allows plant workers to access plant data and documentation from anywhere – on the plant floor, in remote locations without internet connectivity or in the back office.
“Today, plant workers performing inspection and maintenance activities spend too much time locating the items they need in the plant,” said Ludwig Englmaier, head of the Engineering Department for AlzChem AG, in a statement. “SPO Mobile with photorealistic TruView visualisation will help our plant workers carry out their work safer, quicker and better than ever.”
According to Hexagon, plant workers can now use photorealistic, intelligent laser scans to access plant information and documentation when carrying out inspection and maintenance activities. Additionally, offline mobile device support for SmartPlant Enterprise for Owner Operators (SPO) “brings the intuitive representations of plant assets directly to workers on the plant floor, significantly improving efficiency.”
Bill Van Butzelaar, business improvement manager, Woodside Energy Limited also provided validation in a statement: “The use of a photorealistic representation of a plant as an intuitive user interface into asset information will drive significant improvements in efficiency. With laser scanning and photo capture, the time to capture ‘as-exists’ physical asset information is greatly reduced. When combined with the rapid capture of other plant information using Intergraph’s SmartPlant Fusion, the time required to find and access specific plant data or documentation on a daily basis is dramatically reduced. Additionally, when you consider the reduction in health and safety risks as a result of reduced on-site time, it becomes very obvious that photorealistic plant information browsers will play a very important role in the industry in the future.”
“It is hard to imagine a more intuitive way to access plant engineering information than by means of a photorealistic plant browser,” said Gerhard Sallinger, Intergraph Process Power & Marine president, in a statement. “We are bringing it to the plant floor and remote operations locations where there is no network connectivity. These are game-changing and unmatched solutions that will significantly improve the way engineering assets are maintained.”
“This is the first major integration of Leica TruView into other software,” said Hexagon AB President and CEO Ola Rollén, in a statement. “Enabling day-to-day plant operations and activities such as maintenance and inspection to be carried out safely, quickly and cost effectively is just one of the many ways our brands are joining forces to solve challenges and shape the future of engineering.”
Look for more information on this release as SPAR Europe continues.
