Planning is a critical task in any infrastructure project, and improving this phase and speeding up its timelines is crucial for subsequent success.

For this reason, we've launched an initial innovation pilot using Miranda AI, an artificial intelligence tool, which will assist our Planning department in this vital task.

This tool was developed in collaboration with CrataAI, a startup that answered our call in the "DesafIA" challenge program of the Madrid City Council.

"We proposed a challenge to reduce deadlines in construction projects, and the Madrid City Council saw its potential to include it within the DesafIA program," explains Raúl Crespo, Planning Manager at Sacyr Engineering and Infrastructure.

"This project has allowed us to solve a business challenge through open innovation, participating in a Madrid City Council program, and selecting a startup, CrataAI, which convinced us with their thorough understanding of the proposed use case and the flexibility of their solution," adds our Open Innovation Manager, Mario Ibeas.

Miranda AI can provide significant time savings for repetitive tasks, reducing the time it takes to develop the initial planning we do when undertaking a project, automating many of the steps thanks to the use of artificial intelligence.

What does Miranda AI do?

1.    Automatically analyzes technical documentation
2.    Generates complete construction plans in minutes, ready to validate
3.    Identifies measurements, materials, yields, and dependencies
4.    Detects gaps, missing activities, and planning risks

The AI will help the Planning team gain reliability in deadlines and agility to make work hypotheses. "We cannot guess what will go well or badly, but if we know that the weather will be adverse, we can make plans. We would gain a clearer vision of what might happen to us in the future," explains the Planning Manager.

"This is an innovation challenge that we had tried to address in the past, but the technology was not yet mature. Now, with the Crata pilot and the opportunity to collaborate in the DesafIA program, it has become a reality," emphasizes Mario Ibeas.

"The objective is to have a base program to work on, not to replace work, but to change manual work for work of greater value, more focused on being able to do analysis or look for optimizations," explains Raúl Crespo.

For the moment, Sacyr is evaluating the tool. The ultimate goal is for it to be able to execute any type of work: civil, building and industrial. The first stage of this process could be completed in three or four months.
 

Rota de Santa Maria (Sacyr Concesiones) is implementing an innovative high-speed load-control system for trucks on the RSC-287 highway in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil).

“This is a decisive step toward a smarter, safer, and future-ready roadway,” says the Concessionaire’s CEO, Leandro Conterato.
The new system, known as HS-WIM (High-Speed Weigh-In-Motion), relies on quartz (piezo-quartz) sensor technology—one of the most advanced solutions available today.

Its purpose is to monitor vehicle weight limits automatically. The process does not affect travel speed: weight sensors embedded in the pavement work together with cameras and laser detectors installed on overhead gantries to classify and identify each vehicle.

 

As vehicles pass under the overhead gates, they are scanned and weighed automatically, providing an instant data readout.

“This technology makes it possible to inspect 100% of freight vehicles, 24 hours a day, with greater efficiency and without disrupting traffic. Beyond helping reduce harmful emissions, it delivers significant gains in sustainability, safety, and logistics competitiveness” the CEO highlights.

HS-WIM represents a major leap compared to traditional weighing stations, which require trucks to slow down or come to a complete stop.

Along with more effective load monitoring, the system brings clear environmental and operational benefits: shorter travel times, fewer accidents, and lower fuel consumption—all of which contribute to reducing atmospheric emissions.

Rota de Santa Maria is developing a calculation tool to estimate the volume of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided through the implementation of the HS-WIM system.

Construction works for this system are well advanced, and testing is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026.

About Rota de Santa Maria

Sacyr Concesiones, through the Rota de Santa Maria concessionaire, has been responsible since 2021 for operating 204 km of the RSC-287 highway. Major widening and improvement works are underway, including the duplication of 200 km of road.

This corridor connects the key cities of the central region of Rio Grande do Sul with the state capital, Porto Alegre.