BENTLEY Systems, a leading provider of comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, says it new Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) program offers breakthrough technology for the integrated engineering management of underground utility networks for water, stormwater, gas, and electric services.

The new software which is built on OpenRoads – Bentley’s collaborative BIM (building information modelling) advancement for multi-discipline civil engineering projects – brings together data from multiple sources and geo-coordinates it for 3D modelling, interactive inspection, and utility conflict detection and clash resolution.

“By providing a framework of powerful software tools and rich content to quickly and easily generate high-fidelity, intelligent 3D feature-based models of the buried construction zone, SUE mitigates the risks of building in utility-congested, ‘call-before-you-dig’ underground environments,” says a spokesman for the company.

These risks can range from project delays to damaged subsurface utilities to explosions that threaten below- and above-ground infrastructure as well as human life.

Commenting on the new offering, Bentley Systems’ CEO Greg Bentley says: “Our Subsurface Utility Engineering software uniquely provides across disciplines a powerful new information modelling application. Its use will empower project teams to comprehensively understand, and more effectively and efficiently resolve, underground infrastructure conflicts.”

SUE automatically creates 3D models from survey information, CAD data, GIS (geographic information system), Excel spreadsheets, Oracle databases, and other industry standard sources of information. In addition, it maintains a relationship between CAD and GIS utility sources and tracks civil features to ensure that data is always synchronised and up to date.

Using the visualisation and clash detection capabilities of SUE, users can readily identify and resolve conflicts between new construction features and existing utilities during the design phase. This helps mitigate risk during construction, lowers costs, and sustains asset performance, the spokesman points out.

SUE further enables immersive modelling by empowering users to combine active plan, profile, and cross-section views with innovative 3D modelling technology, providing additional context for decision making.