Bentley Systems, Incorporated, a leading global provider of comprehensive software solutions for advancing infrastructure, has announced the acquisition of UK-based Synchro Software, a leader (and the market creator) in 4D construction modelling software, for scheduling and project management.

The acquisition broadens Bentley’s ProjectWise construction offerings - which already includes ConstructSim, the leader for 4D construction modeling in project delivery of industrial plants.

With construction project management in 4D, benefits of BIM can extend throughout infrastructure project delivery and asset lifecycles, as traditionally disconnected workflows become digital workflows.

Synchro’s strong growth, since the introduction of Synchro PRO in 2007, has coincided with the burgeoning adoption of BIM for design workflows - which, however, stop short of considering construction planning, scheduling, and project management strategies.

Headquartered in London, Synchro's “construction’s time machine,” has been globally adopted, in particular, for building and civil infrastructure projects.

For London’s Crossrail, Synchro digital construction innovatively applied Bentley Systems’ iModel work packaging to complete the reach of its BIM application portfolio and its CDE, said the statement from Bentley Systems.

Crossrail, the largest European construction project over this period, is now being completed on time and on budget. Synchro has increasingly become the standard for major constructors leveraging BIM through project delivery, it stated.

Synchro’s 2018 4D Digital Construction Conference in Amsterdam brought together infrastructure construction thought leaders from 18 countries, including presentations by Royal BAM Group, Mortenson Construction, Robins & Morton, Shanghai Construction No. 4 Group, Skanska UK, and Larsen & Toubro, who shared their benefits achieved through innovatively applying 4D construction modeling with Synchro.

In industrial project delivery, characterized by EPC (engineer-procure-construct) contracting, integrated processes are already the norm - leading to ConstructSim’s digital workflows for advanced work packaging. However, in vertical buildings and civil infrastructure projects, notwithstanding the advancement of BIM for design and engineering, prevalent design/bid/build contracting has institutionalized disconnected workflows isolating construction planning from BIM data and geometry.

Synchro Software CEO Tom Dengenis said: "This combination reflects my conviction about what’s imperative for finally driving infrastructure construction substantially forward. At Synchro, we accomplished the breakthrough of 4D construction modeling software many years ago, but we have wanted to advance the market faster than our own continuous growth."

"With my 40+ Synchro colleagues in the UK, Boston, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Moscow, I look forward to working more directly with our new Bentley colleagues, thanks to our now so much greater combined power and commitment, to accelerate the global industry in going digital," stated Dengenis.

Bentley Systems said by incorporating Synchro 4D construction modeling through the ProjectWise CDE, infrastructure project delivery can now benefit from unprecedented digital workflow advancements.

For the first time, change synchronization can assure that BIM deliverables are updated for changes which occur during construction, aligning the as-designed, as-constructed, and as-operated digital engineering models to improve both project performance and asset performance, it stated.

“I am very excited about what Synchro brings to Bentley’s capabilities for comprehensive project delivery, not only in terms of technology, but also by virtue of the proven construction expertise of the Synchro team, led by the vision and advocacy of Dengenis,” remarked Stephen Jolley, vice president of construction for Bentley Systems.

"In construction modeling for industrial projects, the market is already converging around ConstructSim’s advanced work packaging and workface planning. In the advancement of going digital for civil and building construction, the needed impetus for these ‘industrialized’ advantages is precisely what we are now announcing. For infrastructure
projects, integrating Synchro’s 4D construction modeling completes the reach of our ProjectWise CDE," he added.-TradeArabia News Service