Intergraph Process, Power & Offshore Announces SmartPlant 3D Advanced Plant Design Software; New Technology Targets Faster Project Execution and Lower Costs.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

DaratechPLANT 2003

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2003

The Process, Power & Offshore division of Corporation (NASDAQ:INGR) officially unveiled SmartPlant(R) 3D, the most advanced plant design technology offered by any vendor in the last two decades, today at the 10th annual DaratechPLANT conference.

The result of a seven-year R&D initiative, SmartPlant 3D translates advanced functionality, usability and work process improvement concepts into tangible business benefits to shorten schedules, boost productivity and increase engineering quality. These benefits are enabled by breakthroughs in usability, database architecture, rules-based design, global worksharing, design task and drawing automation, real-time clash detection and operating plant support. Extensibility of SmartPlant 3D includes the engineering enterprise integration and workflow management capabilities of SmartPlant Foundation as well as front-end engineering and design (FEED) applications such as SmartPlant P&ID and third-party analysis software.

SmartPlant 3D advances the process, power and offshore industries well beyond today's 3D CAD technology. The new technology promises to fundamentally change and improve work processes and represents opportunity for engineers and designers to increase effectiveness of their roles.

Initial delivery of SmartPlant 3D (www.intergraph.com/smartplant/sp_3d.asp) in 2003 is through the Early Adopter Program (announced in a separate press release today).

Huntsville, Ala.-based Intergraph Process, Power & Offshore is demonstrating the new technology at the global conference which continues here through Wednesday at the Houston InterContinental Hotel.

Usability Promotes Productivity

The first fully comprehensive multidisciplinary plant modeling system in a single, unified environment, SmartPlant 3D comprises one tool for all major engineering disciplines, including construction. Supported through permissions, project and security controls, part catalogs and associated rule bases, SmartPlant 3D presents an individualized workspace complete with the toolset specific to the user's role and task, such as piping or structural design. SmartPlant 3D eliminates usability disadvantages of today's systems and represents the first plant design software in which ease of use is a major objective. Users concentrate on applying knowledge to design rather than on using software.

In the streamlined SmartPlant 3D user interface, a simplified menu bar and a small number of easily mastered commands replace hundreds of commands, multiple tool palettes and cascading menus typical of current software. One- or two-click operations, drag-and-drop, right button clicks, wizards and other simplified actions are extensively used to reduce complexity. The familiar, consistent Microsoft Windows user interface means that users can quickly learn the tools of multiple disciplines, making it cost effective to use SmartPlant 3D on smaller projects - especially in the operating plant environment - where a small group or a single engineer/designer may be handling all the work.

SmartPlant 3D ease of use dramatically reduces the need for support and administration resources, training and non-productive design time associated with current systems. Running on commodity hardware and software, SmartPlant 3D eliminates the need for high-cost hardware and prerequisite software as well as highly-specialized support experts. Ready availability of a large market of software technicians with Microsoft tool expertise for routine configuration and system administration further reduces IT infrastructure costs.

The Fundamental Edge: Data-centric, Rule-based Design

SmartPlant 3D data-centric architecture and intelligent behavior dynamically enforce design standards and automate routine design tasks. The most crucial advance SmartPlant 3D provides is coupling this functionality with new design work process flexibility. SmartPlant 3D eliminates limitations of existing tools, all of which segregate data either into files or "check-in/check-out" database extracts. SmartPlant object-level data sharing enables novel approaches to design that cannot be provided by existing tools. This unique combination of advanced functionality and unsurpassed work process flexibility will result in compressed project schedules and more optimal plant designs, enabling facility owners to reap substantial benefit.

Rule-based design governs the interrelationships, connectivities and behaviors of all items in the model as represented by intelligent objects. The rules define the practical engineering and parametric behavior of the intelligent objects when they are created, modified, moved or deleted. For example, if a piping engineer resizes a pipeline or changes its piping spec, all parts comprising that line update accordingly. If the designer moves the line, any attached pipe supports automatically resize themselves wherever possible. According to permissions, users can only change the objects for which they are responsible within their assigned role and discipline, system or plant unit area. SmartPlant 3D maintains a "to-do" list based on design inconsistencies which alerts others to changes in the model requiring their attention. Consequently, modifying the 3D model is even easier to accomplish than initially creating it.

Multidiscipline Tool Offers Global Worksharing

SmartPlant 3D is the first plant design software architected specifically for multi-discipline, concurrent global execution. SmartPlant 3D enables organizations to flexibly apply expertise to solving engineering problems, optimizing time use and producing high-quality designs on a consistent, worldwide basis. Regardless of location, all authorized personnel access a single, logical 3D model which eliminates barriers to worksharing flexibility and the heavy administrative overhead posed by current systems. Unlike current modular systems that isolate disciplines, SmartPlant 3D returns users to total focus on design and provides an environment enabling multi-discipline, parallel design cooperation.

Revolutionary Drawing Functions Boost Productivity

SmartPlant 3D is the first plant design application which aims to automate production of all drawing types. The software slashes production from hundreds of hours to a fraction of that time by automatically generating drawings. Increased productivity means that companies can focus resources on design quality, resulting in more constructible designs on shorter schedules. For plant owners, SmartPlant 3D drawing functionality makes plant modification work package creation faster and easier. For engineering and construction firms, SmartPlant 3D eliminates the production bottleneck, simplifying and speeding drawing production for bids, fabrication and construction.

With SmartPlant 3D, drawing production is no longer a series of costly, resource-consuming CAD tasks, because these key deliverables are generated as graphical reports from project data. From a single environment, users can generate numerous drawing types on demand, including piping, equipment, HVAC, electrical, instrument, civil and structural. SmartPlant 3D drawings are designed to be as complete as possible with little or no user intervention required on the resulting deliverables. Changes in the model automatically flag drawings for updates.

Real-Time Clash Detection Helps Compress Engineering Cycle

SmartPlant 3D is the only plant design software to provide concurrent, proactive interference detection. SmartPlant 3D interference detection transforms a major, high-cost multidiscipline undertaking into a streamlined process. This capability replaces a labor-intensive, iterative work process that requires companies to synchronize designs, perform the interference check, analyze results, assign designers and correct the problems. Instead, SmartPlant 3D continuously analyzes interferences and reports problems interactively. By finding problems early, SmartPlant 3D thus aims to reduce the cost, time and difficulty of resolving interferences.

Clashes are visually flagged according to type in the model and displayed in an editable interference list maintained in the engineering data repository. Double-clicking a flagged item in the list locates and zooms in on the clash for a detail view. Users have the option of accepting or resolving interferences as they occur while working with the involved discipline engineers to solve the problem or waiting until related design tasks are complete.

Offers Unsurpassed Application Scope

In addition to task environments for equipment, piping, HVAC, raceway, civil and structural typical to most plant design applications, SmartPlant 3D incorporates features for electric cabling, pipe supports and construction planning which ordinarily are purchased as third-party products and used in isolated workflows. SmartPlant 3D also offers specialized functions for offshore facility and FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) design. Capabilities include penetration management, weight and center-of-gravity management, reinforced plate and connection design, structural manufacturing and shop floor integration.

SmartPlant 3D is fully incorporated into the SmartPlant Foundation engineering data management environment, which also provides application integration services. SmartPlant 3D publishes issued drawings into workflows that automatically e-mail notifications when new or updated drawings are available. Drawings and reports published to SmartPlant Foundation may be accessed via Web browser by project personnel and authorized users outside the firewall.

Likewise, SmartPlant 3D both publishes and retrieves data to and from other applications integrated through SmartPlant Foundation, which is enabled by The Engineering Framework enterprise integration technology. At the end of a project, the entire information asset comprises a digital handover package for the plant owner to use during operations. Together, SmartPlant 3D and SmartPlant Foundation comprise a totally integrated engineering environment, introducing an unprecedented level of new capability specifically tailored for the process, power and offshore industries.

About Intergraph Process, Power & Offshore

With nearly a quarter century of industry experience, Intergraph Process, Power & Offshore enables customers to create, capture and manage plant information as a strategic asset by providing integrated life cycle solutions for the engineering, design, construction and operation of process and power plants as well as offshore oil and gas facilities. Core brands include the SmartPlant(R) and PDS(TM) (Plant Design System) suites, the SmartPlant Foundation lifecycle engineering information management and MARIAN(R) materials, procurement and supply chain management solutions. Intergraph Process, Power & Offshore (www.intergraph.com/ppo) is the acknowledged global leader in the plant creation market (Source: Daratech Inc.). A division of Intergraph Corporation, Process, Power & Offshore is headquartered in Huntsville, Ala. USA, employs more than 800 people and does business in more than 60 countries.

Intergraph Corporation common stock trades on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: INGR.

Intergraph, the Intergraph logo and SmartPlant are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation. Other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. (C) 2003 Intergraph Corporation.

Software prices, availability, functions, features and specifications subject to change without notice. Software and services subject to United States export control laws and regulations. Any prices quoted are in United States dollars and subject to applicable taxes and international currency exchange rates. This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Certain risks and uncertainties of Intergraph Corporation are discussed in the company's Form 10K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies are available without charge upon written request to Shareholder Relations, Intergraph Corporation, Huntsville, Ala. 35894 USA.

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