Bentley buys sophisticated Siteops land development software

The takeaway

Bentley buys powerful software for exploring site design, software it can repurpose for other engineering tasks. One retail company brought in an additional $140 million in sales by using the software to design all its new stores. Cloud + Generative Analytics make the difference.

The details

For the past few years Bentley Systems has been using the word “optioneering” to describe the systematic automated exploration of engineering alternatives in construction and civil engineering.  It is a technique that has only become possible with the rise of recent advancements in CPU technology that makes it possible to process large amounts of data at speeds not previously possible on the desktop.

The five stages of conceptual site design (from the bottom up): Topological data import, initial site layout, grading and storm water runoff, swept path layout, 3D visualization. (Source: Bentley Systems)

Now Bentley has advanced their optioneering capabilities substantially with the recent purchase of Blue Ridge Analytics, maker of Siteops, which moves beyond the confines of the desktop by processing engineering data in the cloud, where CPU availability is virtually unlimited. The result is the ability to lay out and analyze millions of site development options, including piping, grading, and drainage, to come up with an optimal layout in hours instead of days or weeks.

The purchase price or other terms of the transaction were not disclosed; both Bentley Systems and Blue Ridge Analytics are privately held.

Happy users

Lowes Home Improvement is a fast-growing chain store, averaging more than two stores a week. “Working early with Siteops was very innovative and beneficial for us in terms of time required to take a site from start to open for business,” says David Shelton, recently retired as Senior VP for Real Estate at Lowes. “Each day we saved in this process equated to approximately $100,000 in sales revenue. We were able to save conservatively 10 days per store while opening an average of 140 stores per year. You do the math.” OK, we’ll do the math:

• 140 stores open 10 days early = 1,400 store days
• 1,400 store days times $100,000 average sales revenue per day = $140 million.

“In 2 hours we went through six access road options and so many parking lot changes I lost count,” says Karen White of Ensign Engineering about one recent project. “It was the first time I was ever asked to split a parking lot so that a misdirected semi-trailer could get through the parking lot, but in less than five minutes I had them a semi road and the parking lot redesigned to still meet the magic number of 300 stalls. Let’s just say I impressed our military group and won the project.”

Generative design

Bentley was one of the first AEC software companies to invest in generative design, the use of algorithms to determine optimal design based on pre-determined rules or constraints. Siteops takes generative design to the next level by harnessing cloud computing for additional CPU resources.

Siteops can solve complex engineering problems in record time, comparing millions of combinations in search of an optimal solution. Move a building, and Siteops automatically redraws parking, driveways, islands, grading, storm water piping, and more.

Blue Ridge Analytics focused on Siteops as a tool for continuous improvement to conceptual design, says former Blue Ridge CEO Mike Detwiler, now a Bentley VP. “Now, within Bentley’s comprehensive portfolio, Siteops’ BIM advancement can contribute throughout project delivery. Accordingly, an initial priority will be to complete the end-to-end workflows that Bentley is uniquely able to offer – from site development through detailed design and construction modeling.”