Smart Digital Reality

(1) data acquisition – the capturing of data from a multitude of sources about the operational state of a plant or facility. This can be real-time information from sensors, asset related metadata and documents like specifications and 3D models and even reality capture data like point clouds, mesh, and panoramic images.

(2) data quality management – processes designed to ensure the data to be used for analysis and decision-making is complete, accurate and consistent. These practices account for the correction of errors as well as good data governance.

(3) data contextualization – the intent is to augment data with additional information (metadata, tags, timestamps, locations, etc.) so that it is more understandable and useful for analysis and decision-making. Bringing information together with greater context provides a richer understanding of the industrial environment.


While some may consider an IDM solution to be part of the information technology (IT) environment due to its nature as a software solution, the real value is in the convergence of IT with both operational technology (OT) and engineering technology (ET).

Ultimately, the goal of an IDM solution is to drive operational excellence. Doing so, however, requires insights into many discrete data sources, processes, and perspectives from different people in different roles. As such, an IDM solution also needs to strive for scalability to adapt and grow to changing needs over time, as well as deliver greater automation where manual processes are eliminated wherever possible to increase data quality and workforce efficiency. Further, with the growing interest and potential of artificial intelligence (AI), a consistent, high-quality source of data is the baseline requirement to move that potential into realized business value. IDM can serve this purpose.

Verdantix Evaluation of Hexagon

In identifying Hexagon as an innovator, Verdantix spotlighted several ways that industrial firms can enhance the realization their asset management, engineering and process safety strategies:

• Leadership in Unstructured Data for the full Asset Lifecycle: “For unstructured data management across the entire industrial plant life cycle, Hexagon leads amongst all vendors in this study.” Notably, Hexagon achieved a “near-perfect” score for indirect industrial data acquisition, exceeding the study average by nearly 60%.
• World-Class Data Contextualization for Engineering: The Verdantix Green Quadrant analysis finds that “Hexagon provides world-class data contextualization, 3D data and engineering document management" specifically calling out the ability to “utilize correlated data within its richly visual interface – comprising 3D models from point clouds, P&IDs and real-time workforce data from HxGN EAM.”
• Strong IDM for EPC and operations-focused firms: Verdantix cited Hexagon’s interoperability including a use case where 15 different operating and manufacturing systems were integrated using the HxGN SDx® platform to provide better visibility into operations, while boosting process safety and resource utilization.

As alignment between Engineering, Procurement and Construction firms (EPCs) and Asset Owners becomes more critical, from project handover to creation of digital twins to keeping data accurate and evergreen, the collaboration facilitated by Hexagon solutions is invaluable.

Exploring Hexagon’s Industrial Data Management Offering 

To fulfill IDM market requirements of the full asset lifecycle, Hexagon introduced HxGN SDx2.  The vision is to create a Smart Digital Reality, where a virtual representation of physical assets, infused with real-time and time-series intelligence and context to automate processes and analytics, increasingly removes the need for human intervention. With wide role-based access to a singular digital thread of data, organizations achieve transformative improvements in safety, quality, efficiency and productivity. 

Built on top of a next generation digital backbone, SDx2 leverages a powerful set of sharable data and application services to deliver fit-for-purpose ‘solution areas’ to optimize industrial projects and operations. Key capabilities include:

• Asset Lifecycle Data & Information Management: Lay the foundation for success with a data-centric approach, consolidating and contextualizing Hexagon and third-party data to ensure it remains current, accurate and available throughout the asset’s lifecycle, including AI-driven data take-on.

• Asset Modeling & Visualization: Effortlessly build and maintain an evergreen digital twin, ensuring smooth handover between contractors and owner operators. Leverage powerful visual modeling and intelligence reporting to support decision-making across the asset lifecycle. Gain contextual insights across 2D design, 3D models, geospatial information, point clouds and panoramics.

• Engineering Change: Streamlined with a fully integrated work process that efficiently manages all updates and design changes, improving quality and reducing rework. Create, review and approve change requests while identifying potential conflicts and conducting impact analysis.

• Work Packaging: Establish digital binders of asset information to support decision making during the design, build, operate and maintain phases of the asset lifecycle. Create and approve work packages and workflows and markup/annotate drawings and documents as needed.

• Document Management & Document Control: Ensure organized, secure and efficient handling and approval of document workflows for engineering projects and operational use. Control the status and routing of each project document between stakeholders with integrated task handling.

• Design Review & Issue Management: Transform engineering projects with an integrated, shared approach to design review including side-by-side 2D/3D visual intelligence reporting. Reduce review cycles, drive efficiency and improve consistency by centrally managing requested or compliance-driven changes to assign, assess and resolve issues.
 

Industrial Data Drives Digital Transformation 

Choosing the right IDM solution to power your organization’s path ahead is critical.  It serves as a holistic ecosystem from ingesting data (regardless of source or vendor), ensuring data quality, contextualizing that data for clarity and utility, and then leveraging it to drive project and operational excellence.

At Hexagon, our success is our customers’ success, ensuring that they actually realize the value that our solutions promise.

We invite you to read the exclusive IDC Analyst Brief, “Unlocking Industrial Transformation with a Unified Digital Thread from Engineering to Operations,” offering an additional independent perspective on the criticality of strong Industrial Data Management.