CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
29 May 2008
Acquisitions
Bentley Acquires Common Point to Mainstream Construction Simulation
Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced that it has acquired the global business of Common Point, Incorporated, a pioneer and market leader in software products for construction simulation (ConstructSim) and operations simulation (OpSim). ConstructSim has become widely established in plant projects, has been successfully deployed on building projects, and, along with OpSim, can also be applied in civil infrastructure projects. The integration of Common Point’s technology with Bentley’s ProjectWise Navigator platform and comprehensive portfolio of applications and collaboration servers will enable Bentley to accelerate integrated project delivery for infrastructure projects by closing gaps between design, construction, and operations.
About this acquisition, Pieter Diedericks, senior project director, Oil Sands Projects, Petro-Canada, said, “As an owner faced with the challenges of managing our mega projects from end to end across multiple EPCs, we are delighted that Bentley has acquired Common Point to address the construction side of our business. Some time ago, we standardized on Bentley software for engineering design, and we used Common Point’s ConstructSim for construction simulations. We are excited that this acquisition promises improved integration between engineering and construction that will deliver a further step change in project productivity and efficiency.”
ConstructSim, Common Point’s flagship offering, is the first software to model the construction process and provide a construction management environment that links data from design deliverables, schematics, project management, materials, and resource management systems in a virtual and visual model. This linked model allows users to create and track work packages that closely match the actual construction workflow, enabling project managers to more quickly identify issues with time-critical activities or incorrect materials and avoid costly mistakes, schedule overruns, and change orders. This unique “work-facing” orientation of ConstructSim provides an ideal tool for the construction project superintendent or field crew supervisor to organize, manage, schedule, and record the progress of actual installation processes and tasks.
ConstructSim provides vital connections through the downstream construction processes for major infrastructure projects and is viewed as a critical component for integrated project delivery. It has been adopted by leading owner-operators, including BP, ExxonMobil, Rohm and Haas, and Chevron, and also by leading engineering/procurement/construction (EPC) firms such as Jacobs Engineering Group, Fluor, and Zachry Construction. The OpSim product suite is used for the training of operations and maintenance personnel, which can begin before construction of facilities has been completed, through virtual and visual models.
Since its founding in 1999, Common Point has benefited greatly from far-sighted early investments by Zachry (http://www.zachry.com), a leading engineering/construction firm with over 18,500 employees worldwide. Zachry additionally served to validate ConstructSim’s breakthrough modules for steel and piping work packaging.
Zachry Senior Vice President and Common Point Board Member Ed Bardgett said, “It has been exciting for Zachry to contribute to and benefit from our industry’s advancements in software for construction simulation, which we and many others now rely upon extensively to reduce risk and improve project performance. I also congratulate Ted Blackmon and Bill McSherry of Common Point, along with their colleagues, for reaching this significant inflection point in widespread adoption of their visionary technology.”
Zachry CIO Norm Thurow added, “We are thrilled that Bentley will be incorporating ConstructSim and OpSim throughout its solution offerings.”
Commenting on this latest Bentley acquisition, Bhupinder Singh, senior vice president, Bentley Software, said, “We look forward to integrating Common Point’s technology with Bentley’s ProjectWise Navigator platform and comprehensive portfolio of applications and collaboration servers to address the construction and operations of infrastructure projects. The acquisition perfectly leverages the applied research we have prioritized for the last year to support work packaging. This combination will enable infrastructure projects to proactively surmount design-for-construction issues, in particular, through ConstructSim’s unique construction simulation capabilities.”
Ted Blackmon, former president and CTO of Common Point, now Bentley director, Construction Solutions, said, “We are excited about becoming members of the Bentley team as we continue to pursue the vision we have for virtual and visual model technologies. The depth and reach of Bentley’s integrated portfolio and its market position, coupled with its unique strength in collaboration servers, will accelerate the deployment of ConstructSim and OpSim throughout the world of infrastructure projects, to the benefit of their successful delivery.”
About ConstructSim
ConstructSim allows users to aggregate and re-aggregate design, estimating, material, and resource information from many different systems and sources in a unique visual environment. It generates a comprehensive, linked model of the construction process that allows users to create and track work packages that closely match the actual construction workflow. The system can generate schedule simulations, status reports, and work-in-progress punch lists based on available materials and resources as well as dependencies for a particular work package. The comprehensive end-to-end capabilities of ConstructSim enable it to track the construction process closely enough to provide not only timely updates to change orders but also progress tracking.
For more information about Bentley’s ConstructSim and OpSim products, visit http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Corporate/News/Landing+Zone/commonpoint.htm.
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