Bentley Case Studies Hatch Mott MacDonald's Intelligent Rail Signal Design: A Case Study

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	Hatch Mott MacDonald's Intelligent Rail Signal Design: A Case Study Bentley

Hatch Mott MacDonald's Intelligent Rail Signal Design: A Case Study

Bentley

Technology Category	Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases
Applicable Industries	Electronics Railway & Metro
Applicable Functions	Maintenance Product Research & Development
Use Cases	Time Sensitive Networking Virtual Prototyping & Product Testing
Services	System Integration Testing & Certification
Challenge	Global consulting engineering firm Hatch Mott MacDonald was using a conventional CAD-based system to design rail signal systems for its clients worldwide. However, this approach had significant limitations in an industry where building information modeling (BIM) and its processes and standards are becoming critical success factors. Traditional methods meant designs lacked intelligence or connections to related documents, including bills of material (BOM). Designers had no way to model their work in 3D or collaborate on designs, which slowed down projects and made adherence to required standards a challenge. The firm's in-house design workflow, while trusted and proven, was manual, time-consuming, and tedious, with no automated controls to ensure the latest versions of CAD elements were used. Design checking involved significant manual effort, everyone worked sequentially, and there was little collaboration. Read More
About Customer	Hatch Mott MacDonald is a global consulting engineering firm that provides services to public and private clients around the world. The firm was using a conventional CAD-based system to design rail signal systems for its clients. However, this approach had significant limitations in an industry where building information modeling (BIM) and its processes and standards are becoming critical success factors. The firm's in-house design workflow, while trusted and proven, was manual, time-consuming, and tedious, with no automated controls to ensure the latest versions of CAD elements were used. Design checking involved significant manual effort, everyone worked sequentially, and there was little collaboration. Read More
Solution	Hatch Mott MacDonald invested in a new system powered by Bentley software that introduced the required intelligence into the rail signal design process, significantly reducing design time and effort, improving accuracy, enabling collaboration, and driving standardization. The firm used a combination of solutions from Bentley to work with intelligent 3D models linked directly to the electrical schematics required for signal design, costing, and construction. The new system automated the creation of project workflows via templates that also streamlined basic checking processes. The firm operationalized its intelligent system for rail signal design using Promis.e, Bentley Navigator, and ProjectWise. The system allowed designers to leverage information mobility to develop all client deliverables, and as a result, Hatch Mott MacDonald designs held an abundance of information never before seen in rail signal design. With each component placed into a drawing, a bill of material was created automatically along with associated project estimates and updated budgets. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases

Applicable Industries

Electronics

Railway & Metro

Applicable Functions

Maintenance

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Time Sensitive Networking

Virtual Prototyping & Product Testing

Services

System Integration

Testing & Certification

Challenge

Global consulting engineering firm Hatch Mott MacDonald was using a conventional CAD-based system to design rail signal systems for its clients worldwide. However, this approach had significant limitations in an industry where building information modeling (BIM) and its processes and standards are becoming critical success factors. Traditional methods meant designs lacked intelligence or connections to related documents, including bills of material (BOM). Designers had no way to model their work in 3D or collaborate on designs, which slowed down projects and made adherence to required standards a challenge. The firm's in-house design workflow, while trusted and proven, was manual, time-consuming, and tedious, with no automated controls to ensure the latest versions of CAD elements were used. Design checking involved significant manual effort, everyone worked sequentially, and there was little collaboration.

About Customer

Hatch Mott MacDonald is a global consulting engineering firm that provides services to public and private clients around the world. The firm was using a conventional CAD-based system to design rail signal systems for its clients. However, this approach had significant limitations in an industry where building information modeling (BIM) and its processes and standards are becoming critical success factors. The firm's in-house design workflow, while trusted and proven, was manual, time-consuming, and tedious, with no automated controls to ensure the latest versions of CAD elements were used. Design checking involved significant manual effort, everyone worked sequentially, and there was little collaboration.

Solution

Hatch Mott MacDonald invested in a new system powered by Bentley software that introduced the required intelligence into the rail signal design process, significantly reducing design time and effort, improving accuracy, enabling collaboration, and driving standardization. The firm used a combination of solutions from Bentley to work with intelligent 3D models linked directly to the electrical schematics required for signal design, costing, and construction. The new system automated the creation of project workflows via templates that also streamlined basic checking processes. The firm operationalized its intelligent system for rail signal design using Promis.e, Bentley Navigator, and ProjectWise. The system allowed designers to leverage information mobility to develop all client deliverables, and as a result, Hatch Mott MacDonald designs held an abundance of information never before seen in rail signal design. With each component placed into a drawing, a bill of material was created automatically along with associated project estimates and updated budgets.

Impact #1	The new system introduced by Hatch Mott MacDonald significantly reduced design time, improved accuracy, enabled collaboration, and drove standardization across projects. The firm was able to leverage information mobility to develop all client deliverables, and as a result, their designs held an abundance of information never before seen in rail signal design. With each component placed into a drawing, a bill of material was created automatically along with associated project estimates and updated budgets. The BIM methodology also provided the potential for information gathered during the planning and design phase to feed and combine with additional project and asset data collected during construction, delivering greater value downstream. The firm was able to react to scope and design changes with relative ease, and to a degree not seen anywhere else in the industry.

Impact #1

The new system introduced by Hatch Mott MacDonald significantly reduced design time, improved accuracy, enabled collaboration, and drove standardization across projects. The firm was able to leverage information mobility to develop all client deliverables, and as a result, their designs held an abundance of information never before seen in rail signal design. With each component placed into a drawing, a bill of material was created automatically along with associated project estimates and updated budgets. The BIM methodology also provided the potential for information gathered during the planning and design phase to feed and combine with additional project and asset data collected during construction, delivering greater value downstream. The firm was able to react to scope and design changes with relative ease, and to a degree not seen anywhere else in the industry.

Benefit #1	50 percent reduction in time spent on the first level of Hatch Mott MacDonald’s template design workflow, translating into a 20 percent cost reduction.
Benefit #2	An additional 25 percent reduction in design checking time during the second level of the design process, translating into a 28 percent cost reduction.
Benefit #3	Overall cost reduction of up to 35 percent per rail signal design location.

Benefit #1

50 percent reduction in time spent on the first level of Hatch Mott MacDonald’s template design workflow, translating into a 20 percent cost reduction.

Benefit #2

An additional 25 percent reduction in design checking time during the second level of the design process, translating into a 28 percent cost reduction.

Benefit #3

Overall cost reduction of up to 35 percent per rail signal design location.

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Overview

Hatch Mott MacDonald's Intelligent Rail Signal Design: A Case Study

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit