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FIG. 023EEngineering

OpenPlant Modeler

by Bentley Systems

Bentley's 3D plant modelling application built on MicroStation for piping, equipment, HVAC, cable tray and steel. It uses an ISO 15926-based data model and can reference models from other plant design systems.

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Specification

Vendor
Bentley Systems
Categories
3D Plant Design
Phase
EEngineering
Status
Active
Deployment
Desktop
Licensing
Subscription
Standards
ISO 15926 ISO 10303/STEP
Official site
bentley.com

Capabilities

  1. aSpec-driven piping and parametric equipment modelling
  2. bHVAC, cable tray and structural steel layout
  3. cClash detection while modelling
  4. dPoint-cloud and reality-model referencing
  5. eImport/export of DGN, DWG, IGES and STEP

Assessment

A standards-minded plant modeller that fits naturally into Bentley-centred organisations and mixed-vendor brownfield work. It trails the two leaders in large-project adoption.

  1. Capability25%7/10

    Spec-driven piping, equipment, HVAC, cable tray and steel modelling on MicroStation, with clash checks during modelling.

  2. Interoperability20%8/10

    Uses an ISO 15926-based data model, supports STEP and DGN/DWG exchange and can reference models from other plant systems.

  3. Scale15%7/10

    Capable on multi-discipline projects, but less often chosen as the backbone for the very largest greenfield EPC programmes.

  4. Usability15%7/10

    Familiar to MicroStation users and lighter to adopt than the two market leaders.

  5. Deployment10%7/10

    Desktop application sold on Bentley subscriptions, with connections into Bentley's iTwin cloud services.

  6. Ecosystem15%6/10

    Strong where Bentley is the corporate standard, thinner talent pool elsewhere in plant design.

Strengths

  • ISO 15926-based data model
  • References PDS, SP3D and PDMS models
  • Natural fit with ProjectWise and iTwin

Considerations

  • Smaller plant-design community than AVEVA or Octave
  • Best value inside a Bentley stack
  • Fewer owner-operator mandates

Editorial assessment from public documentation, 23 October 2026. Not a hands-on benchmark. Methodology

In the same circuit · 3D Plant Design

  1. 01
    AVEVA E3D DesignAVEVA
    82
  2. 02
    Octave Forte 3DOctave
    81
  3. 03
    Cadmatic 3D Plant DesignCadmatic
    74
  4. 04
    OpenPlant ModelerBentley Systems
    71
  5. 05
    Octave Forte 3DWorxOctave
    68
  6. 06
    AutoCAD Plant 3D toolsetAutodesk
    65
  7. 07
    M4 PLANTCAD Schroer
    61
  8. ··
    AVEVA PDMSAVEVA / Discontinued
    n/a
  9. ··
    AVEVA Unified EngineeringAVEVA
    n/a

Compare head to head

Documented integrations and data exchange, in either direction.

Sources

  1. OpenPlant ModelerBentley Systems · accessed 22 October 2026

Plate updated 22 October 2026 · revision 1