Software provider advances into infrastructure market with acquisition
PHILADELPHIA (May 15, 2012) – Bentley Systems, Incorporated, which provides comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, announced that it has acquired InspectTech Systems, Inc., a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based provider of field inspection applications and asset management services for bridges and other transportation assets. Among current InspectTech users are federal and state departments of transportation, major transit agencies, toll authorities, counties, cities, and national and local consultants across the United States, as well as a major roadway authority in Australia. The InspectTech software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution helps asset owners streamline the process of planning inspections, collecting and managing inspection data, and complying with government reporting requirements. Benefits include a disciplined and systematic process, automated compliance reporting, reduced cost of inspections, and the ability to make better, more-informed decisions, leading to increased transportation safety. Bentley’s goal is to exploit the full potential of new capabilities for information mobility to enhance asset management by integrating information modeling with inspection processes.
Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley said, “On behalf of my colleagues at Bentley, I welcome these young and energetic entrepreneurs from InspectTech to our company. Mike Schellhase and Jeremy Shaffer, talented computer engineering graduates of Carnegie Mellon, had the vision ten years ago, right out of school, to apply a scalable server-based IT solution to address one of the world’s most pressing problems – infrastructure operational safety in general, and bridge safety in particular. They focused their efforts on building innovative products to deliver real value and reduced risk for owners and travelers, which has resulted in a fast-growing, highly successful business, already known for its software and services quality.”
He continued, “We will together be able to associate observed conditions and designed conditions through 3D as-built models – now readily available through point-cloud scans, managed and streamed through ProjectWise Point-cloud Services by way of hypermodels – linking surveyed and digital assets. By incorporating InspectTech services within our AssetWise platform, we will be uniquely able to fully serve bridge and other transportation owners with Bentley’s bridge information modeling (BrIM) benefits including, for example, Exor linear referencing and incident management, and SUPERLOAD permitting. In addition, through InspectTech’s ongoing role in developing for AASHTO (American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials) its PONTIS BRIDGEWare software, we look forward to working more directly with the departments of transportation to meet their bridge planning priorities.”
Jan Wiley, Bridge Management Engineer, Iowa DOT, said, “We are excited about the acquisition of InspectTech by Bentley Systems. We work closely with both companies and have received excellent support and service from both. We are confident, with Bentley’s history of acquisitions, that we will continue to see growth and integration of the InspectTech products and services that we depend on. Iowa DOT is a user of Bentley SUPERLOAD, and we feel one of the greatest benefits of this acquisition is that it will bring about improved workflows for bridge inspections and overweight and oversize solutions from Bentley. This will further improve the DOT’s ability to keep up-to-date information readily available and easily accessible for improving safety for routing and permitting operations.”
Mike Schellhase, InspectTech founding CEO and now Bentley product development director, said, “Jeremy and I, with our entire team, are enthusiastic about working with our new Bentley colleagues to globalize and integrate our InspectTech inspection workflows. It will be exciting to further advance what’s possible, as information mobility progresses rapidly in the convergence of designed and surveyed conditions – what we might call ‘as-operated’ information modeling – to improve asset performance and safety.”
He added, “As we’ve learned so much about transportation departments’ urgent needs and priorities in this respect, we are eager to scale up, through Bentley, to serve them all!”
In InspectTech’s SaaS solution, the Collector server software is used to manage inspection workflows, schedule inspections, and to receive and store completed inspection information. The Collector mobile application is installed on a laptop or tablet device and is used by the inspector to gather and record inspection information in the field. The Manager server software is used to analyze and report upon the accumulated inspection information that is gathered for each asset over time.
Bentley is dedicated to providing architects, engineers, geospatial professionals, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. Bentley’s mission is to empower its users to leverage information modeling through integrated projects for high-performing intelligent infrastructure. Its solutions encompass the MicroStation platform for infrastructure design and modeling, the ProjectWise platform for infrastructure project team collaboration and work sharing, and the AssetWise platform for infrastructure asset operations – all supporting a broad portfolio of interoperable applications and complemented by worldwide professional services. Founded in 1984, Bentley has grown to nearly 3,000 colleagues in more than 45 countries and over $500 million in annual revenues. Since 2003, the company has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.