Hexagon unveils HxGN Smart Sites for managing complex sites

HxGN Smart Sites, a real-time data visualization and location intelligence solution for complex site operations such as industrial facilities, airports, hospitals and entertainment venues, has been announced by Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division.

HxGN Smart Sites combines any type of real-time, dynamic and static data into a 3D common operational picture – a digital twin of facilities and their operations. It turns disparate data into usable information and brings shared situational awareness to all stakeholders in any closed environment with critical infrastructure.

BASF is a pilot customer for HxGN Smart Sites, which grew from a solution Hexagon originally built for BASF using Hexagon’s Luciad technology for data integration, visualization and analysis. The BASF site in Antwerp is the largest chemical production site in Belgium and the second-largest BASF site in the world. The site has 360 miles of underground pipelines, 3,500 employees and 50 production installations.

“BASF and Hexagon look back on a successful cooperation of more than 20 years,” said Albrecht Helmer, BASF’s manager of digital engineering.

Interactive maps and big data visualization

HxGN Smart Sites provides a holistic view of any complex site by connecting with other data sources and systems, such as computer-aided design (CAD), building information modeling (BIM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and workforce systems. By easily integrating and converging data from existing operational systems, HxGN Smart Sites helps streamline workflows, maximizing the safety and resilience of operations and enabling better and faster decisions.

High-performance interactive maps and visualizations of large volumes of data are also key features. Users can zoom in and out, pan around, select specific features and query underlying data to easily find information and put it in context.

“The value of HxGN Smart Sites is in its name – it transforms complex facilities and operations into smart sites with connected and integrated environments,” said Dirk Wagemans, vice president, commercial, Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division. “As BASF can attest from its successful use of this technology, having full situational awareness is key to keeping a site running smoothly and efficiently, no matter how large or complex.”