Within the road and rail infrastructure ecosystem, setec als is a leader in integrating innovative practices into services.
The company’s high performance standards are supported by a quality approach that encourages the development of tools by and for its employees. Using computer-programming skills, a team of experts in different technical areas develops tools and features to meet the specific needs of infrastructure projects and clients and improve processes. Powerful modules developed in-house are used day to day on our auditing and design assignments.
The integration of developers into design teams enables these innovations to be adopted and used by all our employees, as demonstrated in consistent improvement in we provide. Furthermore, this innovation culture enables setec als to respond faster to the changes in processes, software and technologies impacting its business.
A number of tools have already proven their worth:
- SynoGEM, a tool for assisting geometric design, managing variations in road widths (central reservations, traffic lanes, slip roads and hard shoulders). Based on an overview of widths and variations, this software enables engineers to adapt their projects in areas where platform widths are strictly limited (e.g. when widening an existing road).
- OAGrassHopper, a tool developed within Rhinoceros 3D and its plug-in Grasshopper3D to enable parametric 3D modeling of bridges and viaducts, and facilitate design iterations in the early stages of a project (route modifications, cross-sections, positioning of abutments, etc.). These 3D models are then imported into an overall project model and/or serve as a basis for detailed specifications.
- NettoyageProfils, developed in the production phase of shop drawings for the Brittany – Loire Valley and Nîmes – Montpellier high-speed rail projects to address the issue of assembling highly complex cross sections that require a particularly laborious form of manual corrections. The tool boosts both productivity and quality by automating low-value tasks and eliminating the risk of error.
In a constantly evolving environment, these developments enable teams to stay ahead of innovative practices in the design and implementation of major infrastructure projects.
When dimensioning structures, setec als teams mainly use Pythagore, a software package developed by setec tpi. setec als structural engineers help continuously improve this tool by proposing and developing new features.
After joining a motorway design project in spring 2016 as a generalist engineer, I had the opportunity to develop SynoGEM and improve the quality process by facilitating exchanges between the engineers, the computer-aided design and drafting technicians.
