Gulf Construction Online - Voice-based automation boost for Bentley

Drones & Digitalisation

NoteVault expands Bentley’s Synchro digital construction environment.

Voice-based automation boost for Bentley

01 July 2020

Bentley Systems, a leading global provider of comprehensive software and digital twins services for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, has announced the acquisition of NoteVault, a San Diego-based provider of voice-based field automation for construction management.

The acquisition expands Bentley’s Synchro digital construction environment with industry-leading mobile field applications to track and manage labour, materials, and equipment. Together, these comprehensive offerings further extend the value of digital twins across construction management, enabling projects to combine immersive 4D models of the construction progress with detailed up-to-date reports on resource expenditures, allowing more effective management of cost, schedule, and risk, leading to better project outcomes.

NoteVault’s reporting automation solutions are used widely by both large and small construction companies across the global ENR Top 400 Contractors, says Bentley.

Designed to simplify and accelerate job site information collection, NoteVault’s SaaS solution is deployed via mobile devices, uniquely offering natural language automated speech-to-text, augmented with automated machine learning, and human transcription to ensure accuracy, the company says.

Because NoteVault has been engineered specifically for construction site mobile field reporting, it recognises construction-specific language for accurate transcription, and enables automated translation, so non-native English speakers can submit daily reports more easily using their native language. With NoteVault on their mobile devices, construction professionals can help synchronise status reporting effortlessly while saving time and money, reducing the risk of contractual disputes, according to Dustin Parkman, Vice President, Project Delivery, Bentley Systems.

“Digital twins continue to transform the way projects are delivered and operated. Inherent in every digital twin is a stream of continuously updated data, and for construction, automating the semantic interpretation of field reports can now be one of the richest sources of live project information. With the addition of NoteVault’s market-leading resource tracking capabilities, the Synchro 4D construction environment delivers the most comprehensive construction digital twin solution available. We are excited to continue advancing the scope of construction digital twins,” says Parkman.