Dreamers & Makers

What inspired you to pursue a career in transport infrastructure?

I have always loved design and technology. In high school, I had several teachers who had a big influence on my interest in engineering and architecture. The year before I entered university, I discovered the part of engineering that deals with the study of the earth and decided to become an engineer in geodesy and cartography.

At the time I entered the job market in Spain, Geographic Information Systems were just starting to be used and gradually became an essential tool for design. After a few years and recognising the potential it had, I decided to specialise and take a specific master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems to gain comprehensive training in this tool.

How did you join Sener?

I was working in another engineering company developing railway projects. In the last period, I was lucky enough to collaborate with ADIF in the evaluation of bids for the Madrid-Valencia High Speed Rail project. This experience allowed me to connect with other companies and explore new opportunities.

During my first interview, I received a detailed explanation of Sener’s organisational structure and the various business areas it covers. As I left that meeting, I was very excited to contemplate the opportunity that lay ahead of me: the possibility of working on multidisciplinary projects spanning a wide range of sectors, including railways, roads, airports, ports and industrial plants, among others. This diversity of projects and opportunities was further enriched by Sener’s expansion into the international market.

What business area do you belong to and what do you do?

I am currently part of the Digital Project Delivery team in the Mobility Technology Unit (UTM). This team started last month to drive the digitalisation of all projects. Specifically, I work within the GIS & Surveying team. For the last 18 years, I have been responsible for the development and coordination of all surveying works for the projects developed in Sener.

In this new stage within Digital Project Delivery, I face the challenge of implementing GIS within Sener Mobility as a new work methodology. We have been working for years to integrate BIM and GIS, but the market is demanding other uses of GIS that we had not implemented in the company until now. To address this demand, we are preparing ourselves in different areas.

What are the most important projects you have worked on at Sener?

Initially, I worked with the Transport Planning and Economics team doing GIS work, but soon I started to combine this with conducting surveying work for projects in the civil section.

As we grew, my time became 100% dedicated to surveying and GIS work, supporting all disciplines. My career evolved with the company, moving from small national projects to large international projects. In recent years, I have had the opportunity to work on projects on four continents, which has been a great professional and personal challenge. Each project presents a number of unique variables, such as language, local regulations and specific client requirements, which make it unique.

How do you think the projects you work on influence the current/future world or society?

Engineering projects applied to transport have a very important influence on improving the accessibility and mobility of both people and goods. This facilitates trade, tourism and access to basic services, contributing to economic and social development.

Optimising transport infrastructures allows for shorter travel times, which not only improves people’s quality of life by giving them more free time, but also increases economic efficiency by reducing the costs associated with transport delays.

From an environmental point of view, it is essential that these projects are designed and implemented in a sustainable manner, minimising environmental impact and promoting cleaner and more efficient modes of transport, such as public transport and electric mobility.

How do you keep up to date with general knowledge and trends in your sector?

In the field of cartography and surveying as well as in geographic information systems, it is of vital importance to keep up to date with the latest developments. Therefore, whenever possible, I participate in conferences, seminars and trade fairs related to our sector such as the CIGEO Geomatics Engineering Congress, the annual ESRI Conference, or GEOBIM. These events are extremely interesting, as they offer opportunities to learn from experts and get to know the trends in the sector.

In addition, I subscribe to specialised publications within my sector, such as “Surveying and Mapping”, “GIS Professional” and “Geospatial World”.

Finally, I participate in online courses and webinars, both from customers and suppliers. Sener also promotes a lot of internal training between different areas of the company.

In your opinion, what distinguishes Sener from its competitors?

Within Sener, I would especially highlight the people. It is a privilege to have an exceptional team of colleagues from various disciplines, highly trained and prepared to carry out projects from the initial design phases to the commissioning of infrastructures or industrial plants. The work methodology at Sener encourages communication and knowledge sharing between different offices or teams, making each project highly enriching.

Personally, I am fortunate to have participated in a large number of these projects, which is a continuous learning experience for me.

In addition, it is important to highlight the diversity of markets in which Sener carries out projects, which has allowed us to stand firm and emerge stronger from more than one crisis.

What new challenges do you see yourself working on in the medium term?

As I mentioned earlier, the main challenge I face in the medium term is the integration of GIS into our work methodology and the incorporation of all our projects into this tool. This challenge is in addition to the task of the integral digitalisation of the company.

These challenges are very exciting and I am looking forward to facing them, as well as to contributing to Sener’s progress in my field, which is constantly evolving.