At Sacyr we build and maintain thousands of kilometers of road infrastructure around the world. Knowing its condition and anticipating its evolution is vital to guarantee its functionality and safety.

The Report on Investment Needs in Conservation 2025 of the Spanish Road Association estimates that the required amount to fine-tune the national road network is €13.5 Bn. This all-time record figure represents a 43% increase compared to 2022.

Recognizing this need, Sacyr is developing Apromac, a tool that predicts the state of road surfaces. To do this, we apply technologies such as Big Data and artificial intelligence to predict the evolution of the main parameters of the condition of road infrastructure.

"Not only do we use data from the infrastructure itself, but in the analysis we also incorporate standardized information from other Sacyr Concesiones roads and studies on the influence of factors like temperature and rainfall," explains Sergio Campos, project manager.

This tool allows us to improve planning through predictive models for deterioration indicators such as macrotexture, ruts (depressions in the wheel path), and the transverse friction coefficient (TFC), an indicator of skid resistance. In addition, various types of models have been trained and validated to identify which one offers greater accuracy in predictions.

The first project milestone was reached at the end of 2023 and the second is planned for the end of 2025.

Apromac was developed using data from several roads managed by Sacyr: Ruta del Desierto and Limarí (Chile); Turia, Pamasa, Eresma and Aunor (Spain); Pamplona-Cúcuta (Colombia); and Pirámides-Tulancingo-Pachuca (Mexico).

This project has a €500,000 budget and will run until December 31, 2025. Once completed, Sacyr Concesiones will have an advanced tool for long-term prediction of road behavior.

Apromac is co-financed by the European Union, with funding from European Funds, the Spanish Ministry of Finance, and CDTI through the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

In the future, this tool will have two major impacts: it will allow for better-informed reinvestment strategies in road tenders, considering factors such as project year and financial impact; and it will facilitate monitoring in the operation phase, enabling more efficient planning and execution of necessary road maintenance based on predicted degradation.

Sandra Angel Gavia, Gerente Calidad, Medio Ambiente y Energía Chile, Germán Silva Higuera, Subgerente Corporativo de Innovación, y Luis Shuffer Mendoza, Jefe General de Terreno, nos explican en el vídeo que acompaña este contenido cómo funciona la industrialización de la construcción, que permite entregar unidades modulares completas, listas para su instalación, con toda la ingeniería y diseño necesarios.

Gracias a este método, la fabricación, el transporte y el conexionado son más rápidos y eficientes. Hasta la fecha, ya se ha instalado el 75% de los 1.000 baños previstos mientras que otros 300 módulos se encuentran en proceso de terminación y montaje.

Beneficios frente a la construcción convencional

Los baños prefabricados ofrecen ventajas clave respecto a la construcción tradicional in situ:

1. Eficiencia en tiempos de ejecución: se fabrican en paralelo al avance de la obra, reduciendo plazos globales.
2. Control de calidad: al producirse en ambientes controlados, se asegura mayor precisión y acabado.
3. Circularidad: se minimiza el desperdicio de materiales, se optimizan recursos y se reduce la generación de residuos.

Próximos desarrollos

Los baños prefabricados son sólo el inicio. Descubre en este vídeo cómo la prefabricación está transformando la construcción en Chile y generando un impacto positivo en tiempos, calidad y circularidad. 

The Spanish Construction Technology Platform (PTEC in Spanish) has granted our Cognitive Hospital project the PTEC Award for Best National Project. The award was received yesterday by Antonio Rodríguez, Innovation Business Partner at Sacyr Concesiones.

This project is being developed by a consortium led by Sacyr, with participation from Sener, Cuatro Digital, Aptica, Fracttal, and Open Ingenius. It has a duration of three years, a budget of €6.1 million, and it is co-financed by the European Union through the Directorate General for Research and Technological Innovation of the Department of Science, Universities and Innovation of the Community of Madrid.

The Cognitive Hospital project aims to create a smart platform integrating advanced technologies such as AI, next-generation algorithms, BIM 7D, VR/AR, and more, all of which will be implemented at Hospital del Henares (Madrid).

PTEC selected this project over other finalists due to its impact on construction. Key factors included its dynamic BIM model, continuously updated with accurate information on systems, facilities, and assets; BIM streamlining tools; and a material traceability system using a digital passport, which contributes to CO₂ reduction.

The intelligent platform will enable real-time data collection and analysis from sensors and existing hospital systems, as well as new ones developed within the project. This will optimize the building’s operation and maintenance, enhancing energy efficiency, air and water quality, and reducing the environmental footprint associated with the infrastructure, from construction to operation.