Interview with Guillem Viñolas, Product Owner of Blue Trust Monitoring at SOCOTEC

Auscultation is essential to ensure the safety and durability of modern infrastructures. This continuous monitoring process allows for early detection of structural problems, ground movements or changes in conditions that could compromise stability. In a context of climate change, structural ageing and increasing urban density, auscultation provides accurate and real-time data essential to prevent failures, extend the useful life of infrastructures and ensure safety.

At SOCOTEC, under our brand "Trust&Tech", we develop our own technologies that revolutionize this field. Our Blue Trust Monitoring system, promoted by Guillem Viñolas as Product Owner at SOCOTEC Spain, exemplifies this philosophy of innovation. Thanks to his experience in geology and specialization in data engineering, Guillem has led the implementation of solutions that offer real-time monitoring, automatic alert systems and efficient integration of multiple sensors, positioning SOCOTEC as a benchmark in the sector.

What does this role of yours as Product Owner consist of?

Guillem Viñolas: Well, first thank you for inviting me to the interview. We in the Auscultation Department work within an area called quality control. What we do is control, as the word rightly exercises, in our projects and in our works. Within the Auscultation Department, we work with direct and indirect methods, depending on whether we have to work inside the field or we can control it or study it from outside. My job is to analyze the data we generate, understand it, comprehend it by relating it to what I have studied, and make decisions at the different stages that the project may have.

The Product Owner, in principle, is a position that is more in software companies, can you explain a little more?

Guillem Viñolas: At SOCOTEC France they started a project within SOCOTEC itself in which in the different countries there are representatives of the Blue Trust Monitoring software, which is a data visualization software. In different countries there are representatives who meet and exchange ideas, we see our projects, what we have gained, what we have lost, and we learn from each other. Each of us has a team behind us that also does a lot of work in software and data engineering, which is what sells today.

We work on it within SOCOTEC. Normally, this type of virtual platform has to be purchased from a third party. The innovation at SOCOTEC is that we have been able to create our own software, called Blue Trust Monitoring, which allows us to be competitors in our sector and also provides us with real-time data visualization of what we have auscultating in the field.

What has been your training path to geotechnics and auscultation?

Guillem Viñolas: As a geologist specialising in mineral resources, I have adequate training to be able to understand how the terrain behaves. Together with the Geotechnical Department we understand the quality of the land and then how it can be moved, moved, what deviation it may have, what effects of hydraulic pressures if there is water... There are many aspects.

At SOCOTEC, you are in charge of onboarding and specific training in auscultation of the new additions to your team. What is this process like?

Guillem Viñolas: Yes, the people who are joining our SOCOTEC team are young, dynamic people, with a lot of control of software, new technologies, data engineering. But, even so, we have to specialize them in what we do: geology, auscultation and geotechnics. I am lucky to be with a team of very diligent people who are willing to learn. We are gaining people and active personnel in the department, which is one of the ones that has grown the most in recent years here at SOCOTEC, disassociating itself from the Geotechnics part due to the large amount of work.

Regarding the technological part of auscultation, how do you think advances in sensorization or the Internet of Things are affecting this field?

Guillem Viñolas: It is a very interesting and accurate question at the moment we are in. Until a few years ago, auscultation was very manual: the staff went to the construction site, took the data and then we processed it in the office. This has changed with the advent of artificial intelligence, telecommunications and sensors are getting smaller but give more information.

Now we can put a sensor in a specific place that, through mobile coverage with a SIM card, emits the data. We collect them and we can treat them more quickly, even automatically. The computer processes are so advanced that we are able to create Python codes that process that data automatically and upload it on this platform.

At the level of security, the fewer hands involved, the safer everything is. In a closed system where everything is computerized, you know perfectly well where the data goes and it is easier to locate errors. Blue Trust Monitoring has the ability to send alerts in the event of detecting an expected movement, generating alarms both to the customer and internally. It is one of the values we are trying to transmit to the customer: "trust & tech", which links technology to offer security and peace of mind.

Do you think it also serves to extend the useful life of infrastructures?

Guillem Viñolas: Sustainability is a very big area. It can be from moving less and generating fewer greenhouse gases, to the fact that many of the sensors we install have a high recyclability capacity. We even take advantage of solar energy to power our sensors, trying to make sustainability a fundamental pillar, especially in terms of automatic sensorization.

Tell us about the international collaboration you have with all the teams.

Guillem Viñolas: There is a counterpart of mine in the different countries where SOCOTEC is based. I have daily contact and use English and French to communicate with people from Vietnam, France, the UK, the United States, among others. First thing in the morning when you have to talk to the US, you have to meet at the last minute, but at the same time it is not the time when Vietnam works. A middle ground must be found.

It benefits us a lot because, for example, SOCOTEC UK has been developing Blue Trust Monitoring for years and has already implemented it. They have an advantage in terms of the type of sensors and data sending protocols, and with these collaborations we learn a lot from them and they also learn from us in areas where we already have experience.

You recently participated in an International Congress in Munich as a Spanish representative. How was the experience?

Guillem Viñolas: It was very enriching. Apart from artificial intelligence, which was the central axis, we realized that there are many areas in other countries, such as the United States, that we can promote more. I was selected based on the type of work I do in Spain. I had the opportunity to work with Amaia from the United States, Joan from France and Sheridan from the UK. We agreed, we made a very powerful and enriching presentation for which we were congratulated.

What challenges and opportunities do you see for Spanish companies in the field of auscultation?

Guillem Viñolas: There are several companies, we are not the only one. Competition requires us to be better, improve and find other mistakes. Although within the sector we are in a very good position in Spain, we have to take advantage of it, we cannot leave it, we have to increase and deepen it.

The challenges may be related to the ease with which we respond to an unfavorable event. For example, in the Camp Nou works, we have participated in the control of topography, sonometry, etc., and it has been key to be able to control the vibrations that were emitted in that work. Auscultation companies are going to be able to give a faster and more accurate response to the problem that may be generated.

As a last question, how do you imagine yourself professionally in 10 years?

Guillem Viñolas: My position is going to evolve towards something more computer-oriented. I think I could integrate the scientific and geological knowledge I have with computer tools that are key. I see myself in the Auscultation Department, in the data visualization platform area, as a Team Leader and with a great team, which I hope will be larger than the current one

Guillem Viñolas' vision as Product Owner of Blue Trust Monitoring reflects the future of auscultation at Socotec: advanced technology and artificial intelligence to offer accurate and fast responses to any eventuality.

Its trajectory from geology to data engineering demonstrates how Socotec integrates scientific knowledge with cutting-edge technological tools to guarantee the security and control of infrastructures.

Blue Trust Monitoring represents Socotec's commitment to innovation and security, a clear example of our Trust&Tech brand