Harnessing digital reality innovations to drive sustainability across the industry

In an exclusive interview with Energy Connects, Joseph El Bitar, Vice President and General Manager at Hexagon Asset Lifecycle Intelligence, formerly known as Hexagon PPM Middle East, shares his views on the company’s global leadership in digital reality solutions and how the industry can harness HxGN EAM’s powerful platform to extend asset life, increase safety and improve profitability.

Please describe the business of Hexagon and its presence in the region.

Hexagon is the global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies – putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector and mobility applications.

We believe in a world where economic growth does not come at the expense of the planet and its people, and that we should drive sustainability efforts in every aspect of our business.

In the Middle East Hexagon´s Asset Lifecycle Intelligence known as “Hexagon PPM Middle East” is well established with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. The regional Hexagon team comprises more than 120 individuals. Looking ahead, we plan to establish other business offices across other GCC and Middle East countries. We are collaborating with more than 50 key players, including all the major owners, EPCs and others in the region.

Can you provide a helicopter view of digitalisation's impact in the region?

The Middle East region has been a hub for significant construction, infrastructure, and hospitality development projects, and the Architecture, Engineering, & Construction (AEC) sector plays a crucial role in shaping the built environment.

The Middle East has witnessed rapid urbanisation and economic growth, leading to a surge in construction activities. Major cities in the region have been marked by iconic skyscrapers, innovative architectural designs, and ambitious infrastructure projects. Countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have been at the forefront of these developments.

Key trends in the Middle East's construction industry include a focus on sustainable and smart building technologies, the integration of digital tools and Building Information Modeling (BIM) for efficient project management, and a commitment to meeting international standards for safety and quality.

How can customers unlock the full potential of Hexagon’s EAM Solution?

HxGN EAM is an industry-leading asset management solution designed to extend asset lifecycles and improve productivity. With over three decades of experience and ongoing innovation, HxGN EAM empowers organisations to evolve from EAM to Asset Performance Management (APM). It offers a wide range of risk, condition, and reliability-based maintenance instruments. Applied technologies like AI and ML can deliver accurate, trusted data and strategic insights to drive better decision-making while ensuring policy compliance.

Pressure to get greater efficiency from existing assets is continually increasing for organisations of all sizes and industries. To achieve this objective, many organisations turn to a strategic enterprise asset management (EAM) framework for guidance.

HxGN EAM addresses these issues head-on with industry-specific editions that are easily scalable and highly configurable yet can fulfill most of your users’ needs straight out of the box. HxGN EAM empowers you to make better, more strategic decisions that extend asset life, increase safety and improve profitability.

HxGN EAM core modules:

• Asset Management
• Asset Performance Management (APM)
• Work Management
• Materials Management
• Procurement Management
• Budget Management
• Inspection Management
• Compatible units
• Project Management
• Asset Management Services
• Safety Management
• Reports
• Intelligent Nonconformity Tracking

HxGN EAM Mobile enables workers to harness HxGN EAM’s functionality on a powerful mobile platform – access, capture and manage information directly from the job site or service location. HxGN EAM Mobile consists of mobile-native applications available for devices such as smartphones or tablets. Users can view, add, modify, and delete information and update the HxGN EAM database without the need to work from a fixed terminal. The use of this technology provides greater mobility and allows them to spend more time on equipment upkeep, problem detection, maintenance and performance verification rather than entering information into the system at a workstation.

In addition, the HxGN EAM includes some add-on modules such as:

• Calibration
• Requestor
• GIS Interface
• Advanced Reporting
• Fleet Management
• Energy Performance
• Electronic records and signatures
• OpenCAD
• OpenCAD BIM
• Reliability, planning, and analysis
• Alert Management
• Web Service Integration
• Constraint Optimizer
• Activity Dispatch
• Asset Investment Planning

How can customers benefit from Hexagon´s Smart Digital Reality and how has it helped the construction sector?

Hexagon’s value is unique: to achieve operational excellence with Smart Digital Reality. We leverage the Digital Backbone to operate, maintain, and secure mission-critical operations, processes, and maintenance tasks. This includes managing shift handover, alarm management, control of work, process safety, and others with the correct data at the time and place needed. 'The single pane of glass', based on roles, aims to deliver safety, efficiency, quality, and productivity. The ultimate goal of this proposition is to ensure that these values are measurably connected to work processes.

What are HxGN EAM´s key differentiators?

Hexagon’s purpose-built asset management software is designed to address the unique challenges of asset-intensive organisations. Its key value drivers are:

• Asset Utilisation: Optimising asset utilisation results in higher production output and therefore lead to increased revenue.
• Cost Optimisation: Efficient operations drive effectively control the cost of maintaining mission-critical equipment.
• Capital Allocation: Effective capital allocation increases asset service life; reduces capital expenditures; improves spare part inventories and reduces working capital requirements.
• ESG & Compliance: Sustainable asset management helps to achieve decarbonisation goals, auditability helps compliant operations.
• Digital Operations: Sustainable asset management helps to achieve decarbonisation goals.

How does Hexagon EAM complete the Hexagon Smart Digital Reality Vision proposition?

HxGN EAM streamlines asset and work processes, and drives efficiencies throughout the asset lifecycle by providing and leveraging data via the Digital Backbone to optimize:

• Asset & Work Management (AWM) - Planning, scheduling and execution of work efficiently at any stage of the asset lifecycle.
• Asset Performance Management (APM) – Maximising the performance of assets throughout the lifecycle using analytics and industry best practices and methods.
• Asset Investment Planning (AIP) – Modeling and planning for optimal investment strategies for assets at any stage.

What is Hexagon´s strategy for EAM in the region?

We are evolving our EAM strategy in the region and have increased our reach through Hexagon regional offices and partner network. Hexagon has a strong alliance and partner ecosystem providing EAM implementation services complemented by direct consulting from the Hexagon consulting team. We are working to expand this ecosystem further, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where we are seeing strong growth. We would welcome discussions with resellers who can work with us and extend the value of Hexagon solutions.