Bentley Systems, a leading global provider of comprehensive software solutions for advancing infrastructure, has announced a new global framework agreement with energy giant Shell.

The agreement serves to improve Shell’s capital project construction execution through automated 4D/5D construction management solutions provided by Bentley as a managed service.

The solution, based on Bentley’s ProjectWise ConstructSim, will be deployed as part of Shell’s ProjectVantage program.

This innovative offering, which simplifies work packaging for engineering, construction, and installation, adheres to the Construction Industry Institute’s (CII’s) Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) methodology.

The agreement with Bentley underlies Shell’s ProjectVantage program, a multi-vendor integrated data-centric approach to capital project delivery.

This industry-leading program is aimed at delivering safer and better projects faster by:
•improving cross-discipline and supplier collaboration;
•controlling data throughout the capital project lifecycle; and
•applying standards and enabling replication.

Shell said it had selected ProjectWise ConstructSim as the foundation of its construction management solution to mainly:
•enhance its ability to visually plan and execute work safely, avoiding premature mobilization and downtime and removing constraints that can impact safety, logistics, materials, labor availability, permits, and documentation;
•ensure more effective “engineering readiness” through the application of advanced work packaging to improve constructability; and
•improve field productivity, which optimizes schedule reliability, maximizes time on tools, increases safety, and mitigates risk, resulting in substantial cost savings.

Greg Bentley, the Bentley Systems CEO and executive sponsor of the company’s Shell relationship, said: "Shell deserves credit for leading the energy industry to find innovative ways to continue to improve the affordability of capital projects, through the efficiency and predictability achievable through CII’s Advanced Work Packaging playbook."

"By championing AWP through ProjectVantage for its own projects, Shell is also helping their EPCs toward project delivery performance breakthroughs - leveraging software technologies and cloud services, for the benefit of every project," stated Bentley.

"Shell’s experience to date in applying 4D and 5D initiatives on major projects corroborates both CII’s findings about productivity gains attainable through AWP, as well as ProjectWise ConstructSim’s contribution," he added.

Martin Swaine, Shell 4D/5D programme manager, said: "We are pleased with the trend of benefits seen during our projects’ increasing use of ProjectWise ConstructSim. Together with Bentley, we look to build on these improvements with our supply chain to collectively deliver safer and better projects.”-TradeArabia News Service