Expanded Relationship Includes Bentley’s Contractual Development of Substantially Enhanced Version of AASHTOWare BrM (Pontis 5.2), Enabling States to Exceed MAP-21 Requirements and Adopt Industry Best Practices
PITTSBURGH — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 15, 2012 — Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, today announced its signing of a memorandum of understanding with AASHTO, an association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The MOU provides a framework for the incorporation of Bentley’s integrated InspectTech modules for advanced bridge inspections, mobile applications, and 3D models with AASHTOWare Bridge Management (BrM) software (formerly Pontis). With InspectTech software modules offered through the AASHTOWare catalog, transportation agencies will have access to a comprehensive system providing options that span advanced bridge inspection to capital planning, and featuring an unprecedented level of information mobility and integrity across the bridge management solution. The MOU also establishes Bentley as the contract developer of a substantially enhanced version of AASHTOWare BrM (Pontis 5.2), and lays the groundwork for Bentley’s further support of this new end-to-end transportation asset management system with options for training, customization, and software-as-a-service hosting.
The new system will improve efficiency and risk-based decisions in sustaining transportation infrastructure while helping agencies to proactively address the requirements of the U.S. Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) that went into effect Oct. 1, 2012. MAP-21 creates a performance-based surface transportation program designed to increase innovation and improve efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in the planning, design, engineering, construction, and financing of transportation projects. It calls for the deployment and use of 3D information modeling, while also requiring significant new data requirements for bridge and tunnel inspection and asset management, at the level of structural and related elements. The comprehensive solution that AASHTO and Bentley are developing and configuring will enable transportation agencies to not only exceed these requirements, but also to adopt industry best practices in bridge inspection, management, and operations.
Commenting on the MOU with Bentley, AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley said, “We look forward to collaborating with the Bentley team as our organization continues to serve as a catalyst for excellence in transportation by offering smart solutions and best practices, direct technical assistance to states, and unchallenged expertise. AASHTOWare has a 20-year history of providing unparalleled bridge management capabilities to transportation professionals, and the enhanced version of AASHTOWare Bridge Management will be even more comprehensive and empowering in capabilities. By adding optional additional inspection services through the incorporation of Bentley’s InspectTech modules, we are redefining ‘smart solution’ for sustaining transportation infrastructure.”
Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley said, “We are committed to working smarter, together, in this extended alliance with AASHTO to meet the challenging needs of U.S. DOTs and other transportation agencies. Sustaining transportation infrastructure is of paramount importance to not only public safety, but also long-term economic resilience and growth. With this joint initiative, AASHTO and Bentley combine our rich histories of providing proven software to help the community of state transportation professionals be successful in this crucial role. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with AASHTO and its members, and to helping bring AASHTOWare into a new generation of technology and innovation.”
AASHTOWare Bridge Management Software
AASHTOWare BrM will continue to undergo a major upgrade through work being done via contract by Bentley under the direction of an AASHTO task force and committees comprising U.S. state department of transportation (DOT) representatives. With key inputs and guidance from DOT practitioners, AASHTOWare BrM will further expand its position as the most comprehensive bridge management system in the world. It will provide a new web-based architecture and significant new features for multi-objective analysis, risk-based decisions, improved deterioration models, interactive dashboards, lifecycle cost analysis, planning, enhanced reporting, and new technology enhancements to support XML and other interfaces. For additional information about AASHTOWare BrM, visit aashtowarebridge.com.
Bentley’s InspectTech
As a result of work to be completed under this MOU, the InspectTech advanced inspection modules will now be available through AASHTOWare to significantly enhance AASHTOWare BrM’s existing inspection interface. Users will be able to have functionality for complete inspection reviews and workflow, inspection scheduling and planning, email alerts, plans of action, records archive and management, credentialing, underwater details, fracture critical forms, and more. In addition:
- InspectTech’s new mobile applications will support AASHTOWare BrM and allow more efficient means for field-based data collection and review.
- InspectTech’s 3D/Complex bridge module will be integrated with AASHTOWare BrM to give transportation agencies the option to conduct detailed 3D-model-based inspection.
- InspectTech’s maintenance management module will be integrated with AASHTOWare BrM to provide transportation agencies the option of identifying and planning for needs, as well as assigning needed resources and tracking the work on those needs through to completion.
- With AASHTOWare BrM’s new web-based architecture and InspectTech’s existing web architecture, the combined solution can be offered reliably to entities around the world in a SaaS format.
