A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, synchronized at a specified frequency and fidelity. Digital twin systems transform business by accelerating holistic understanding, optimal decision-making, and effective action. Digital twins use real-time and historical data to represent the past and present and simulate predicted futures. Digital twins are motivated by outcomes, tailored to use cases, powered by integration, built on data, guided by domain knowledge, and implemented in IT/OT systems.

Bentley Systems recently expanded its digital twin offerings with the iTwin Platform, a new platform-as-a-service offering for developers with openness as a guiding principle. The platform supports a broad range of design tools—Bentley and third-party—and file interchange formats including IFC. The iTwin platform provides an open foundation for creating digital twin capabilities for modeling, simulation, project delivery, asset performance, and much more.

Shell Deepwater Projects

Shell’s Deepwater business has selected Bentley’s digital twin approach to streamline its capital projects process and accelerate time to first oil. Bentley’s iTwin platform is ideally suited to providing aligned, secure and visual access to project data across the supply chain and capital projects ecosystem. 

With a plan to deliver several subsea tie-back projects over the next 10 years, Shell Deepwater Projects has recognized a significant opportunity to accelerate capital project delivery and cut project delivery time by implementing an integrated digital project & engineering environment.  The solution spans project conception in the early phase design through to handover. 

“Shell Deepwater Projects is developing an integrated Workflow and Data Platform from system selection to asset handover to streamline our capital projects processes and accelerate time to first oil,” said GT Ju, General Manager Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Projects. “The platform is being developed in partnership with Bentley leveraging Bentley’s iTwin open, scalable Azure cloud-based platform which provides interoperability across owner and supply chain systems. We believe that an end-to-end platform that gives us visibility and transparency to Project and Engineering data across our portfolio will be a key driver to delivering competitive projects.”

Open Platform for Digital Twins

Bentley’s collaboration with Digital Twin Consortium and its global ecosystem of digital twin users underscores its commitment to advancing open solutions for digital twins. Bentley provides iTwin.js, an open-source, software developer library for creating digital twin solutions for infrastructure. Bentley is also a member of buildingSMART International’s Digital Twin Working Group.

In a discussion with CHEManager editor Volker Oestreich, Ann-Marie Walters, Bentley Systems, Industry Marketing Director, Oil and Gas and Manufacturing, underlines: “We have always supported open standards. We've never been a proprietary lock-in company. Our users told us that collating multidiscipline engineering data in order to review and validate it was an obstacle to improving their productivity and quality of work. And it was problematic to track the myriad changes that occur in an iterative collaboration process. In response, we developed Design Review and Design Validation, the first digital twin-enabled workflows, on what has become the iTwin platform. Since then, they have been very well received by engineering firms and have been applied to projects of all sizes. In fact, Design Review and Design Validation have demonstrated a stellar track record of growth, due in part to the current environment and need for support of business critical requirements for web-based, real-time work sharing and collaboration.”

And Alistair Stubbs, Bentley Systems, Vice President Asset Information & Reliability, confirms: “The digital twin is commonly defined as a virtual representation of the physical plant. It should contain the various information about and answer all questions like “What are all the equipment in the plant? What are all of the instrumentation? What are all the set points? Why are the set points established, where they are? That is what you are using to actually execute and operate the plant! Many engineering consultants are exploring ways to offer digital services and solutions that extend into operations and maintenance. They see a role as curators of digital twins and as experts in analyzing and interpreting asset performance data. They are looking to incorporate their specialized knowledge in applications but don’t intend to become software vendors themselves. They are looking for a platform on which they can deliver valued digital services.”

“We have always supported open standards. We've never been a proprietary lock-in company.”

 

Digital Twin Consortium

In December 2020, Bentley Systems has elevated its participation in the Digital Twin Consortium  by becoming a founding member. Having been a groundbreaker member since day one of the consortium’s launch in May of 2020, Bentley as a founding member will deepen its collaboration with Industry, Government and Academic Members to Advance Interoperability of Digital Twins and become a member of the Consortium´s steering committee. One way that Bentley is helping advance the Digital Twin Consortium’s mission is through defining the terminology used to describe digital twins.

As a founding member, Bentley is also contributing its advice and technology expertise to steering committee. Adam Klatzkin, vice president, iTwin Platform, at Bentley Systems, and Casey Mullen, distinguished architect, strategic technologies at Bentley Systems, are helping advance the Digital Twin Consortium’s strategic roadmap, working groups, and governance as members of the consortium’s steering committee. 

Bentley’s collaboration with Digital Twin Consortium and its global ecosystem of digital twin users underscores its commitment to advancing open solutions for digital twins. Bentley provides iTwin.js, an open-source, software developer library for creating digital twin solutions for infrastructure. Bentley is also a member of buildingSmartInternational’s Digital Twin Working Group.

“Many engineering consultants are exploring ways to offer digital services and solutions that extend into operations and maintenance. They see a role as curators of digital twins and as experts in analyzing and interpreting asset performance data.”