Infrastructure engineers may soon get four to six weeks of advance warning before dangerous conditions emerge, moving beyond the reactive alerts that dominate current monitoring systems. Vahid Abdollahi, an Applied AI Scientist at Bentley Systems, said AI-powered analytics can identify unusual patterns across multiple sensors that traditional threshold-based monitoring misses.
Conventional systems alert operators only after a measurement crosses a fixed limit. By then, the problem has already started. AI approaches analyze relationships between sensors to spot anomalies earlier - distinguishing, for example, between an equipment fault and genuine structural change.
How the prediction process works
The process starts with reliable sensor data. AI systems must first identify faulty, drifting, or abnormal readings before analyzing genuine structural changes. Techniques such as Seasonal-Trend Decomposition can then separate normal seasonal behavior from unexplained changes that may indicate structural problems.
By analyzing relationships between sensors, AI can also distinguish equipment faults from real events. Changes in rainfall, ground pressure, and movement can reveal potential problems such as internal erosion before significant movement occurs.
AI supports engineers, not replaces them
Abdollahi said AI is designed to support engineers, not replace them. Feature-importance analysis can show why a model has identified a risk, while generative AI can turn complex sensor data into clear, prioritized recommendations for engineers.
Bentley Systems' iTwin IoT brings these capabilities together to help engineering teams reduce alarm fatigue, identify emerging problems earlier, and improve the safety, resilience, and longevity of critical infrastructure. For teams working across AI for Real Estate & Construction, these tools offer a way to shift from emergency response to planned maintenance.
Why this matters for real estate and construction professionals
Early warnings of four to six weeks change the economics of maintenance. A detected issue in a bridge, tunnel, or building foundation can be scheduled for repair during normal operations instead of triggering an emergency shutdown. That reduces downtime, avoids rush-order contractor costs, and extends the service life of assets you already own. For construction firms and property managers, the practical takeaway is to evaluate whether your current monitoring vendor offers pattern-based anomaly detection - not just threshold alerts - before your next major project or asset acquisition.
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