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ANALYSIS
Digital twins
Digital Twins: The Foundation of Improved Decision-making MIDDLE EAST
Debabrata Chakraborty, regional director, MENA and Turkey, Bentley Systems, highlights how digitalisation is improving the way the industry is operating and thinking
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ndustries, communities, and organisations are increasingly dependent on data. As buildings and cities become smarter and provide us with growing
amounts of information, the software used to design, manage, and maintain them needs to be smarter as well. Engineering, architecture, and construction industries are changing as they embrace digitalisation and data-driven decision-making. Since industry professionals need to access the most accurate and reliable information possible, they are increasingly utilising digital twins, as they are essential for decision-making and can enhance efficiencies in design, planning, and implementation. WHAT ARE DIGITAL TWINS AND HOW DO THEY WORK? A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical asset. It creates a real-time representation of the project using data from multiple sources including historic data, on-site sensors, and predictive modelling tools, providing asset managers with a deeper understanding of the asset’s performance and use. A digital twin can take the form of a building, an
December 2021 | MEConstructionNews.com
infrastructure asset such as a railway or bridge, or complex connected assets such as an office park or a city. In public infrastructure such as road networks, project managers traditionally rely on visual inspections to determine when to schedule maintenance. Digital twins enable virtual inspections, which help managers calculate the best time for seamless and more efficient maintenance while reducing the costs for unscheduled site visits and preventing potential traffic disruptions. Digital twins also make decisionmaking more inclusive. Asset information is centralised in the twin and can be easily accessed by all, which facilitates effective collaboration between stakeholders. With multiple data streams and technologies incorporated in a shared platform, a digital twin enables a seamless exchange of information that is needed for coordination. Digital twins also complement building information modelling (BIM) methodologies by taking collaborative
Inclusive decisionmaking Digital twins makes decision-making more inclusive as information can be easily accessed by all.
Ease of transition Asset managers familiar with BIM solutions will find it easy to transition to digital twins.
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Number of days K&A had to develop a digital model for an Omani project
