By Randall S. Newton
Editor-in-Chief
In a move somewhat like adopting one’s nephew, Bentley today announced the acquisition of Logos BV, the Delft, Netherlands-based provider of the isometric software tools PlantSpace Isometrics (formerly known as L/ISO and IsoExtractor) used by many Bentley customers.
Bentley paints the acquisition as a technical advance for Bentley’s DigitalPlant portfolio, which it is. But it is also a tactical acquisition to protect its software assets following last year’s acquisition of Alias Ltd.—makers of the popular Isogen—by Intergraph.
Bentley’s R&D agenda for plant in 2006 focuses on data extraction and the creation of self-describing objects in the context of web services. The Logos tools help because they work well with existing data, and because they allow the user to bypass Isogen.
As it stands today, Bentley Plant users can continue running Isogen, currently embedded in Bentley Piping, for mass production of fabrication isometrics during the engineering and construction phases of a project. For situations in which automatic isometric generation is not feasible or does not meet user requirements, Bentley says the Logos tools allow as-built isometric drawings to be easily sketched and validated against a 3D model or a scanned point cloud model. Looking head, now that PlantSpace Isometrics is a Bentley product, it won’t take the company long to substitute the new technology for Isogen. Using the Logos tools as-is today, isometrics generated can be automatically registered, tracked, and managed alongside the original 3D models. Field or operations changes can also be tracked and constantly merged to provide an accurate as-built 3D piping model throughout the life of the asset.
The up-to-date model is thus available for subsequent ongoing engineering analyses such as pipe stress and fluid flow. Also, because the intelligent isometric contains detailed engineering data that can be managed at a component level, the isometrics can be linked to business and procurement systems to optimize operations and maintenance activities.
Bentley will shortly embed Logos’ intelligent isometric generation and production tools within its DigitalPlant solution. This will enable owner-operators to create and edit intelligent as-built piping isometrics and link this data to their enterprise systems.
The Bentley Spin
“This strategic acquisition,” explained Rob Whitesell, vice president, Bentley Plant, “will help us provide plant owner-operators with enhanced solutions – solutions that offer greater efficiencies in the creation and management of piping isometrics, as well as in other engineering workflows and business processes. PlantSpace Isometrics is a natural complement to Bentley’s DigitalPlant portfolio, which provides comprehensive solutions for the distributed enterprise.”
Added Gerard Klok, CEO, Logos, “As a result of the close cooperation we have had with Bentley over the past four to five years, this is a perfect next step for both our companies. We are very familiar with Bentley’s many capabilities and extensive market reach. We bring to Bentley unique software that, combined with the breadth of Bentley’s DigitalPlant offerings, will enable users to make a step change improvement in the way plant piping is maintained and documented.”