Ahead of the Curve

Interchange Planning, Operational Analyses and Geometric Design Course with Joel P. Leisch was a Great Success

Transoft Solutions was pleased to sponsor the 3-day professional development course, which was held on January 10-12. The training was designed for for transportation planners, traffic engineers and highway designers, and instructed by Joel P. Leisch, an internationally recognized expert.

The course was held at Transoft Solutions corporate headquarters with attendees from across Canada. Being instructed by Mr. Leisch was a big draw for attendees because of his extensive knowledge and expertise. He has had more than 40 years of experience as a consultant to 26 Departments of Transportation in the U.S., the USDOT, and transportation agencies in Israel, Japan, Canada, Greece and New Zealand. Mr. Leisch is also the author of the ITE, Freeway and Interchange Geometric Design Handbook.

 

 

Here is some of the general feedback we received from the attendees:

 "Excellent course material, delivered by knowledgeable instructor…very good value for money."

 "Awesome presenter…”

 "Good course overall with a lot of usable information..."

 Here is what some had to say when asked if they would recommend this course to others:

 “Yes. Take advantage of access to a leading mind in the transportation field…”

 “Yes, it was a very comprehensive course for anyone working on interchanges.”

 “Yes. Great topics, lots of case studies, expert instructor.”

Transoft would like to thank Joel P. Leisch, all of those who attended and our team here at Transoft that helped plan and organize this event.

 

COME VISIT US AT THE ITE 2011 Annual Meeting and Exhibit - Booth #232

Stop by our booth and discover AutoTURN Pro 3D - Plus enter to win a Nintendo 3DS!

ITE 2011 Annual Meeting and Exhibit
St. Louis, MO, United States
America's Center  

Transoft Solutions Booth #232
Date: August 13 - 16, 2011

 We are attending the ITE 2011 Annual Meeting and Exhibit in St. Louis. Come visit us at the event and learn how our technology will change the way transportation engineers and planners work.

SEE AUTOTURN PRO 3D IN ACTION

We'll be demonstrating AutoTURN Pro 3D, our latest CAD software that goes beyond simple vehicle swept path checking capabilities in a two-dimensional plane, and enters the realm of true 3D design and analysis.

WIN A NINTENDO 3DS!

Here's another reason to see us: We're celebrating the launch of our first 3D software! Drop by our booth and get our Product Demo CD which contains an entry into a drawing for a Nintendo 3DS!

PREVIEW OF THE UPCOMING RELEASE OF TORUS ROUNDABOUTS 3.0

The new version release of our state-of-the-art roundabout design software is scheduled to launch this Fall! Come by our booth to get a sneak peek at a few new enhancements, including an inter-linking feature between SIDRA INTERSECTION and TORUS which will create workflow efficiencies to enhance the roundabout analysis and design process.

OUR ENTIRE SUITE OF PRODUCTS

Visit Booth #232 for live demonstrations of our latest software versions. See how our user-friendly software solutions will assist you in getting your engineering designs completed on time and on budget.

 

Transoft Solutions Join Forces with SIDRA SOLUTIONS

We have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SIDRA SOLUTIONS, developers of SIDRA INTERSECTION software which is used worldwide by traffic design, operations and planning professionals for intersection capacity, service levels, and performance analysis. In establishing the cooperation, both companies will now provide current and potential users of SIDRA INTERSECTION and Transoft Solutions’ TORUS roundabout design software, access to industry leading traffic analysis and geometric design tools for roundabouts and intersections. This cooperation coincides with the new version release of TORUS, which directly integrates with the SIDRA INTERSECTION software. This integration will be showcased during the upcoming TRB (Transportation Research Board) Roundabout Conference in Carmel, Indiana, May 18 to 20, 2011.

Dr Rahmi Akcelik, Director of SIDRA SOLUTIONS commented, “with new versions of SIDRA INTERSECTION and TORUS software being launched soon, designers who have been requesting the integration of the two products now have their wish granted. Today, we are better equipped to offer superior performance solutions to our governmental and consulting-engineering clients who play an active role in the transportation sector”.

“We are extremely excited and optimistic about our new relationship with SIDRA SOLUTIONS given that their large global user base within the traffic engineering community. This collaboration will result in increased synergies between two giants in the roundabout and intersection software world and we believe this can only lead to improved value to practicing professionals,” said Daniel Shihundu P.Eng, Transoft Solutions' Vice President of Product Management. “Our partnership with SIDRA SOLUTIONS is very strategic as our products can now be linked internally to take advantage of the traffic analysis capabilities available in SIDRA INTERSECTION software. The result is a much more refined workflow for users of both software and it is great to see the two products work seamlessly.”

About SIDRA SOLUTIONS:

Akcelik and Associates Pty Ltd (trading as SIDRA SOLUTIONS) is a multi-award winning research and development company established in 1999 and has been dedicated to the transport profession worldwide for the benefit of the community through contributing to safe, environment-friendly and efficient traffic operations. This has been achieved through the development of new and existing software, and provision of professional training and technical support. SIDRA SOLUTIONS software products are in use in 95 countries in all continents with extensive use in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore, Arabian Peninsula and Europe.

About Transoft Solutions

Established in 1991, Transoft Solutions Inc. develops the most thoroughly researched and innovative CAD software for the engineering community. Transoft Solutions suite of productivity enhancing software have become the trusted de-facto standard for over 90% of the Top 100 ENR AEC firms, 85% of North American departments of transportation, and regulatory agencies.

A Message from the President and CEO, Milton Carrasco

The Holiday season is around the corner and once again it’s time to reflect on the past year and to prepare for 2011.

In 2010 we have been hard at work with the launch of new upgrades and new products such as AutoTURN 7.0, TORUS 2.0 and NEXUS 1.0. The delivery of these products would not have been possible without your continued belief and trust in our offerings. While AutoTURN keeps getting huge accolades from many of you, TORUS and NEXUS are making significant marks of their own. TORUS 2.0 has now become the roundabout design software of choice in North America. We truly appreciate and thank you for your continued support. 

The year 2011 is Transoft Solutions’ 20th Anniversary! That is truly hard for us to imagine that the launch of AutoTURN, our flagship software now used by thousands of users in over 120 countries worldwide, occurred back in 1991! Twenty years later, we are a nine product company, all of them developed in keeping with our corporate slogan – Driving Productivity through Innovation. The folk at Transoft are all very, very excited at reaching this milestone and we look forward to all of you joining us in our celebrations. Do keep a watch out for some exciting offers, partnership announcements, and prizes!

To add to these celebrations, we can barely hold our breath on yet another round of great developments to come your way in 2011. I can assure you that you will NOT be disappointed.

I sign off wishing you all the very best for the Season, and good health and happiness to you and your families for 2011!

 

Dynamic roundabout design: Research and development

Transoft Solutions' Senior Engineer, Daniel Shihundu, P.Eng., has recently had his technical paper on the research, development, and workflow of the TORUS software published. 

"Few motorists will appreciate the process that underpins the operational and safety benefits inherent in good roundabout design. High quality design promotes safer driving with improved traffic flow. It is a delicate balance between traffic capacity and physical geometry. This paper summarises the typical roundabout design process with regard to the inter- relationship between layout and traffic speed. Field research conducted in the development of a new dynamic and integrated approach is described with the work flow for one practical modern solution."

Read the entire paper here

Removing the Repetitive Manual Process in Traffic Signing Plans to Place the Sign of the Times

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are a sign of how far we have come technologically. However, as any GPS user knows, they are useful but will never replace traffic signs. Like navigation, development of traffic sign plans has also come a long way. However, with all of the technological advances in hardware and design software, the process for developing and designing traffic sign plans has been largely a time consuming manual process.

With its design features, placement functions, and libraries, SIGMA from Transoft Solutions is a unique software product that streamlines the process of traffic sign planning. Newly designed sign assemblies can be precisely placed in a roadway corridor drawing in relation to other geometric elements while maintaining preset distances from critical geometric elements, such as the edge of pavement. With SIGMA users can create sign assemblies using high quality CAD content from complete libraries of federal and regional standard signs, as well as user generated content – including GuidSIGN signs or user drafted signs.

(read more)

Measuring Your Investment in Training

Sometimes the numbers just get in the way

Return on investment (ROI) is a measure of the monetary benefits obtained by an organization over a specified time period in return for a given investment. Put in the point of view of employee training, ROI is the extent to which the benefits (outputs) of training exceed the costs (inputs) of what the training involves. Seems easy enough to calculate what your ROI would be for the case of training, simply plug your numbers into the equation and analyze what pops out.

But how do you effectively measure something with intangible outcomes (at least in the short term)? It's easy to include all the costs that go into training (i.e. development of courses, equipment and material expenses, the training program itself) but sometimes the benefits or returns aren't as apparent. This is something many organizations all over the world struggle with. And unfortunately, training for many is seen as an expense and not so much as an investment. There are however, certain areas in which the benefits of employee training can be ascertained in a qualitative view without the need of strict formulas and numbers.

Labor Savings
Savings on labor savings occur where, as a result of the training, less effort is needed to achieve current levels of output. It must be understood that savings means there is a reduction in the amount of labor applied to a particular job, not by using some newly available time to accomplish further output on the same job. Labor savings will only happen if the labor applied to a job can really be reduced, whether this comes as a result of redundancies, transfers of staff to new positions or re-allocations of work. Some examples of labor savings include:

• Reduced duplication of work and effort
• Reduction of mistakes on the job
• Less time spent correcting those mistakes
• Quicker access to information and ways to effectively use the gathered information to produce

Productivity increases
When training enables people to achieve more than what they normally would have done without it then the advantages are readily transparent. The organization experiences the desired result of more output with the same amount of personnel. Examples of productivity increases include:

• Improved methodology reducing the effort required to produce the same amount of work
• Increased skill levels which will lead to faster work
• Greater levels of motivation which in turn can mean increased effort

Other cost savings
Cost savings can be achieved in a many number of ways, not just through savings in labor, but in other areas as well. Examples include:

• Fewer system crashes and/or breakdowns, resulting in lower maintenance costs
• Lower staff turnover resulting in lower recruitment and training costs

Transoft Solutions Expands its Training Programs with the Launch of Live Web-based Training

New Web-Based Training Allows New Transoft Solutions Users to Have All of the Benefits of Instructor Led Class Room Training at Their Workstations.

Read the full press release here.