Renowned multidisciplinary design agency resolutely opts for Information Engineering

Data and information are increasingly important in a rapidly changing world. It’s no different in the infrastructure sector. Many changes occur during a project’s long lead time. Through Information Engineering, Infranea maps these changes from the beginning to the end. This leads to a wealth of information at the project’s completion.

Bruno De Saegher continues, “Clients expect a project to be armed against change; in other words, robust. The total implementation of an infrastructure project can take 15 years or even longer. So the traceability of changes is crucial. In addition, information engineering helps reduce failure costs. Plus, the design process and information processing become shorter and more efficient. In short, robustness, traceability, a reduction in failure costs, and an increase in efficiency are the four benefits of information engineering.”

Full lifecycle partner

Together with its clients, Infranea is committed to being involved before, during, and after the construction phase. By taking on information management from A to Z or in phases, they become a full lifecycle partner for the client. The vast knowledge of infrastructure works, on the one hand, and digitalisation and processes, on the other, has been pooled. Jaap de Boer, Director of Operations at Infranea, states, “We position ourselves as Information Engineers for complex, large infrastructure projects. In concrete terms, this means that we support our clients by converting project data into information that is usable to make the right decision at the right time, for example in terms of maintenance and/or renovation. Besides designing and generating information, we also focus on managing it for the entire lifecycle.”

To say that the infra world has undergone a metamorphosis in recent decades is an understatement. Bruno De Saegher continues, “We’ve evolved from connecting two places by means of a road, for example, to a data environment. On this ‘road’, users, managers, and infrastructure themselves process and create data. We measure, observe, and inform. Managing that data and information is the challenge for many clients today.”

Detecting problems in advance

Infranea recently helped the Flemish Institute for Mobility investigate environmental influences on road users’ behaviour. Jaap de Boer explains, “For example, simulations were used to test the effect of the cast shadow of wind turbines on road users. Other examples of Information Engineering are the A16 tunnel project in Rotterdam or the swing bridge at Sluiskil. Digital twins were made of both of these. By combining Virtual Reality with the installation’s actual control software, the client could perform virtual tests, validate the project with stakeholders, and use the digital environment for education, training, and exercises. In addition, information engineering also contributes to efficient asset management. By pairing digital twins with sensors, we can analyse and simulate expectation patterns.”

The fact that Infranea is leaning into Information Engineering is not entirely surprising. As cited earlier, all the know-how and experience are there. “Because we combine different competences digitalisation, processes, and infrastructure the client can finally find a solution with us. We help reduce failure costs, increase traceability, and thus make their project robust over time. With this niche service, VK architects+engineers, together with its subsidiary Infranea, is further strengthening its ambitions as a full lifecycle partner,” concludes Bruno De Saegher.

Source: GWW-Bouw.be