Speaking at Astana Expo 2017, Vyacheslav Alenkov, ASE Director for System Engineering and IT, said the beta version of the platform would be released by 2018. “We will need three more years to finalize the product, streamline all the processes and tune up the new procurement system,” he added. According to Mr. Alenkov, what makes the platform different is that it allows for direct communications between construction project stakeholders, be it customers, suppliers or engineering companies. “It operates like Alibaba trading platform where the customer communicates directly with the vendor,” he said.
The platform can be used to run complex construction and infrastructural projects in the nuclear, petrochemical, oil and gas industries. With all the opportunities offered by the integrated construction management platform, it is without peer globally, Mr. Alenkov added.
Multi D at core
The new digital platform is a logical continuation of project management competencies gained by Rosatom’s engineering divisions in using the Multi D technology in the construction of nuclear and thermal power plants. The technology earned global recognition as an online monitoring tool to guide construction projects through phases, manage project requirements and digital document flow, and process time, progress and technical data to identify gaps, overlaps or collisions in advance.
“Since Multi D incorporates a modeling function, many issues are solved in the virtual environment. Before the technology was developed, we had to draw time schedules by hand so that only a dedicated expert could see collisions and overlaps in the operation sequence. Now you can see them on the screen, and the system identifies mistakes early in the project design phase and fixes them right away,” Mr. Alenkov said.
Less risks, no delays
The Multi D technology reduces the risk of delays in the construction process. A good example is Rostov Unit 3 that was constructed two months ahead of the schedule with the help of the new technology. As Mr. Alenkov noted, reduction in construction time is not an ultimate goal of Multi D, yet unification of construction steps and processes will make it inevitable if the technology enters common usage.
Interest from abroad
Rosatom is currently holding talks with a number of Russian and foreign companies, which are offered Multi D as a tool to manage construction of the infrastructure and power generation facilities. Most interest comes from foreign companies, but the technology will find buyers in Russia and the CIS, Mr. Alenkov assures.
“Our colleagues from Kazakhstan take great interest in it. We are also holding negotiations with a large number of Russian companies from different industries, including oil and gas producers,” he said.
Rosatom is considering two options of providing access to Multi D – users will either have to buy a software license or be granted temporary access for the construction period.
“International engineering companies are interested in the technology. We plan to work with some of them on the promotion of the technology,” Mr. Alenkov said.
