Who can use vada?
vada is for registered engineers. Accounts are provisioned by Bernage rather than self-served: you sign in, design your crossings, and issue construction files under your own name and professional registration as the engineer of record. To be set up, request access.
What does vada produce?
For each crossing: a live 3D model, an indicative bill of quantities, and a full construction drawing set: overview, elevations, longitudinal and cross sections, foundation and excavation plans, a river cross-section sheet, and a grouped bill of quantities. Every issue is versioned, and revisions are tracked.
What can I configure?
Arch type (Roman or segmental), span, number of arches, deck width, foundation depth, wing walls and road approaches. All fitted to the river cross-section you survey, with live hydraulics showing the waterway opening against the required flood section.
What does “within the validated envelope” mean?
vada builds standard configurations whose geometry and quantities come from a design basis, the SABA standard, derived from the Enabel manual. Those design tables were assessed by Dr Adrienn Tomor (Rezzona Ltd) using RING software to DMRB CS454, under Enabel’s consultancy SAKIRP 2021/003, “Structural analysis of stone arch bridges in Kigoma, Tanzania”; for the segmental and Roman arches in the tables, with backing and fill complete as designed, that report concludes that the single axle capacity exceeds 11.5 t, satisfying the key requirement for 40 t capacity under DMRB CS454 for normal traffic. vada’s own engine is calibrated against three published full-scale collapse tests and, given the same backing extent and load dispersion as the RING assessment, reproduces its ratings within 7 % on Roman spans of 4 to 15 m and segmental spans of 15 to 20 m. The RING figure is printed beside vada’s on every arch calculation sheet. Configurations outside the standard range are flagged for manual engineering rather than issued automatically.
Who is responsible for the built bridge?
You are, as the engineer of record. vada is a computational design aid and applies standard tables and geometry. Vada does not perform site-specific verification. Hydrology, flood and scour assessment, geotechnical and foundation design, loading and any code checks remain your responsibility, and you review and approve each design (applying any seal your jurisdiction requires) before it is issued. This is confirmed at every generation and set out in the Terms of Service.
What does it cost?
Licensing terms and pricing are being finalised during the pilot. Get in touch below and we will set you up.
