Nathan Marsh shares how Bentley Systems’ software solutions are advancing infrastructure
Several years ago, I spent seven years in the military. My final three or four deployments were focused on post-conflict, regional regeneration,” begins Nathan Marsh, SVP of EMEA, Bentley Systems (Bentley). “This exposure piqued my interest in the importance of infrastructure for a safe, secure, sustainable and prosperous society.
“After I left the military, I worked for a global insurance and risk manager, that provides insurance and risk management solutions within the infrastructure industry. I was then lucky enough to be asked to join a Big 4 consultancy. I was in their advisory and then corporate finance business, designing investment programs for infrastructure. I ended up setting up and running their smart cities business in the UK and Europe. After almost ten years there, I was headhunted by a global engineering consultancy, and again focused on smart infrastructure, before being invited to join the Executive Management of a UK Tier 1 construction company. I was their first ever CDO, focused on technology in infrastructure.
“Following that, I joined a global major-program advisory business, and more recently, worked for a private equity fund investing in infrastructure. It was at that point that I went to see Bentley to discuss the market, and was then, very flatteringly, asked to join them. So, the culmination of a career in infrastructure has resulted in partnering with infrastructure professionals and leveraging data to improve industry performance, which is a great place to be.”
Founded in 1984, Bentley was built by engineers for engineers, and its history reflects the digital evolution of the infrastructure profession. A partner to infrastructure professionals, Bentley helps them do their best work by leveraging data to its fullest potential to improve project delivery and asset performance. Infrastructure is essential, and so are the professionals who make infrastructure possible. Bentley champions the sector with its comprehensive offerings, global presence, and commitment to sustainability. Bentley is more than a software provider and its successes are determined by the skills, dedication, and engagement of its extraordinary colleagues.
“Over the years,” Nathan continues, “Bentley has experienced transformational growth. I’ve been a customer of the company in the past and it is much more than a software partner, rather a leader for our global community of infrastructure. Today, the company is looking ahead to the next 40 years under renewed and reinvigorated leadership.”
Controlling complexity
Bentley provides engineers and infrastructure professionals with intelligent solutions they can trust to advance infrastructure. Whether customers are responsible for designing, constructing, or operating infrastructure, Bentley has an ideal solution.
“Our solutions are grounded in reality, combining artificial and human intelligence. I feel very privileged to be here and I lead the Europe, Middle East and Africa business, which constitutes approximately one-third of our business globally. I’m relatively new to the organization, but I’ve got a brilliant team, and we’re very much focused on taking the business forward and maintaining our position in the vanguard of infrastructure, design, delivery and operation.
“Our software is designed to help control the complexity of big infrastructure projects and our SYNCHRO solution, for example, can help do exactly that, by putting all infrastructure construction management in one place,” he shares. As such, teams can plan and better manage people, materials and equipment, more easily and affordably. SYNCHRO’S digital solutions, from field to office, increase the visibility, predictability, and productivity of construction projects so customers can deliver winning projects, from design to project execution and handover.
“Equally, newer propositions like OpenSite+ can rapidly design construction sites that are safer, greener, and more consciously planned. It’s crucial to get things right on any site but for long-term sites where the construction process can take years, it’s important to maintain safety and relevance. I’m not sure we’ve solved all the problems yet, but we’re striving to solve the most pressing ones. We’ve been investing in AI for several years, both within our core business and within our products and propositions. Our approach, however, is judicious and considered, which is both responsible and refreshing. When you consider our complex, critical national infrastructure programs, we need to be certain that we understand how any technology with automated capability is built, and how it behaves.
“We’ve also invested heavily in our carbon analytics capability to work out how we can reduce carbon emissions, considering the cement industry is one of the largest producers, and then prove that we are reducing it. Our carbon analysis capabilities help our customers assess their own performance and drive decision-making. Typically, I think the sector has been slow to adopt these technologies. The sector tends to be a lower margin. As such, introducing anything new or different is going to engender an element of risk. That said, technology uptake, and particularly during the early stages of construction, is gaining momentum and, in most cases, we’re seeing value added to the performance and safety of projects.
“The upfront cost can often be a hurdle for some, so it’s important to consider the impact and returns of really driving performance and productivity improvements through software and build a resilient and expansive business case for implementing technology. By enabling risk identification and avoiding rework, technology can deliver considerable savings. While we all respect and require the seasoned experience of those with a longer period of exposure to infrastructure and construction, having new, fresh talent join the sector brings balance and a potentially greater propensity to adopting innovation. As such, it’s important to ensure our amazing industry is an alluring proposition,” Nathan continues.
“The processing and computational power of AI is freeing up a lot of frontline colleagues to effect work that requires more complex decision making. Digital operating environments provide access to multiple data sets and can harness the full power of supply chains, but in a controlled manner and with network security. Alongside this, software solutions offer enhanced visualization and immersive experience. An open digital operating environment can help drive a complex supply chain forward. External data sources, third-party tools, and different analytical abilities can all come together for a unifying purpose.
“What’s interesting and progressive is understanding the true economic value of data. If you consider an end-to-end digital twin, incorporating business case data, planning data, design, engineering, and construction data, then you have a comprehensive data asset to hand over. When an organization gets the physical keys to an asset, they can, of course, operate it. When they get the digital keys, however, they have absolute certainty right from the start, over who did what, what went where, and who provided what; everything needed to maintain that asset. This level of data should provide foresight, enable early intervention, and reduce risk, which I think is going to be increasingly valuable for years to come,” he concludes.
Nathan Marsh
www.bentley.com