In October, I had the opportunity to attend the Bentley System’s Year in Infrastructure Conference 2017. This annual meeting brings together executives, government leaders and representatives of industry organizations from around the world to share innovative practices in infrastructure, project design, engineering, construction and operations. This year, the conference took place at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and was the first time the event was held in Asia.

Getting to Singapore was not without its challenges. With one delayed flight, which meant a missed connection, one canceled flight and an errant suitcase that got lost along the way; I didn’t arrive at my hotel until 3 a.m. on October 9. The incredible architecture of the Marina Bay Sands and stunning landscape surrounding it made up for the fatigue I experienced later in the day.

Unfortunately, because of the missed connection, I did not get to Singapore in time for the Media Day Dinner. I did have the pleasure of attending the Welcome Reception at the ArtScience Museum.

In keeping with this year’s conference theme “Going Digital” Bentley sent out a link in advance of the event to download the “Year in Infrastructure” app. Of the myriad conference apps I’ve tested over the past few years, this was by far the easiest to use. It had all of the information I needed. There was also messaging capability to contact others at the conference or set an appointment with them.

To make it easier for attendees to focus on the specific areas of infrastructure in which they operate, conference sessions were broken down into six industry forums: Building and Campuses; Digital Cities; Industrial; Rail and Transportation; Roads and Bridges; and Utilities and Water.

Today’s utilities must be ready to respond to changing business environments, regulatory constraints, grid modernization and renewables integration. On top of that, much of the infrastructure is old and in need of major upgrades. Utilities must determine how to face these challenges by investing in and implementing new technologies while also responding to increasing service demands. The Utilities and Water forum explored these industry challenges and shared case studies on how others in the industry have successfully addressed them.

The event culminated in a black tie dinner and ceremony that honored winners of the before 2017 Be Inspired Awards. These awards recognize the greatest Building Information Modeling (BIM) advancements in infrastructure. Of the 409 nominations received from organizations representing 50 different countries, 51 finalists were selected.

For each of the 17 categories of the Be Inspired Awards, jurors selected three finalists. Leading up to the awards ceremony, the finalists presented their nominated projects, explaining how, with the use of Bentley’s solutions, they were able to overcome a number of stumbling blocks they encountered along the way.

I was most interested in hearing from the finalists in the BIM Advancements in Utilities and Industrial Asset Performance and the BIM Advancements in Utilities Transmission and Distribution categories.

For the Advancements in Utilities and Industrial Asset Performance, jurors looked at enterprise deployments in the operation, inspection, maintenance and management of utility plants and networks, power generation facilities, oil and gas production facilities or any other industrial site that provided improved reliability, integrity, performance and operational efficiency and effectiveness, along with enhanced safety and reduced risk.

The finalists In the Utilities and Industrial Asset Performance category were:

• AES Indianapolis Power and Light – T&D Implementation of Asset Risk at Indianapolis Power & Light – (Indianapolis, Indiana, United States)
• BP – Khazzan Central Information Store (CIS) – Khazzan Field, Block 61, Ad (Dhahirah Governorate, Oman)
• North Caspian Operating Company N.V. – Kashagan Oilfield Corrosion and Inspection Management Project in the North Caspian Sea and Bolashak Operating Production Facility – (Atyrau Region, North Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan)

BP was the award winner in this category.

For the Utilities Transmission and Distribution category, jurors selected from utilities and communications network projects that demonstrated excellence in the planning, design, construction and operations and maintenance of electric, gas or communications network infrastructure for distribution or transmission.

In the Utilities Transmission and Distribution category, the finalists were:

• Hubei Electric Power Survey and Design Institute – Macheng Caijiazhai Wind Farm Project – (Macheng, Hubei Province, China)
• Pestech International Berhad – Automation and Integration of Substation Design Work for 230kV Project – (Kratie and Kampong Cham, Cambodia)
• Pacific Gas & Electric Company – Reality Modeling in Bentley Substation – (San Francisco, California, United States)

Receiving the award for this category was Pestech International Berhad.

The summary of this project was included in the description of the finalist’s presentation as follows:

Diamond Power Limited awarded a USD 100 million contract to PESTECH International Berhad to design, supply, erect and commission a 230-kilovolt substation and transmission system from the town of Kratié to the city of Kampong Cham, Cambodia. PESTECH also secured a USD 92.2 million EPC contract upgrade to build, operate and transmit, followed by a 25-year concession to operate and maintain the power transmission system.

PESTECH replaced the manual design process of past projects with Bentley Substation, which provided an integrated platform for electrical and power design. Working with Bentley Channel Partner Hertford MES Sdn Bhd, the project team also implemented ProjectWise, Promis.e, MicroStation and Bentley Navigator to enhance productivity, facilitate collaboration, minimize errors, and enforce standards. Bentley applications helped the team to cut design work from weeks to days, saving an estimated 70 percent in project time.

Not all who embark on major infrastructure projects have the budget or technology to execute end results like those of the Be Inspired Award winners, but listening to the comments of fellow attendees during the conference and around my table at the awards dinner, it is clear people truly are inspired by the vision, innovation and collaboration of those who, in the last year, completed some of the world’s most notable and complex infrastructure projects.

Whether it was in a keynote address, industry forum, finalists talking about their projects, or the awards ceremony, the quality of presentation and video production was topnotch. The Bentley staff was efficient, helpful and accommodating. Best of all, I made contacts with others in the utility space whom I look forward to seeing at the next conference.

I thought getting to Singapore was complex and required a lot of patience, but hearing from infrastructure experts who deal with so many aspects of the projects they execute, I have a greater appreciation for what true complexity and overcoming real obstacles looks like.

Check out our media kit for 2018 to see what topics we will be covering. If you would like to contribute an article, or have an idea about interesting technology, solutions, or suggestions, please email me at Elisabeth@ElectricEnergyOnline.com.

Elisabeth