Vanguard Synapp

Verification software for calculation engineering

From the simulation results to the deliverable regulatory report, without intermediate spreadsheets

Vanguard FSI designs and verifies equipment that operates at the limits of the design codes required by each project: pressure vessels and reinforced concrete foundations, evaluated through numerical simulations. Until now, each verification was calculated in spreadsheets and the report written by hand, with the effort increasing with each component, each code, and each revision. With Vanguard Synapp, the platform developed by Mecexis, the team uploads the simulation results, sets the parameters once, and receives all the verifications and their reports in PDF format, ready for delivery.

Design and verification of equipment that works at its limit.

Specialized in equipment for high temperature, pressure and severe thermal cycles

Vanguard FSI is a design and simulation engineering company based in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona) with a history dating back to 2006. It designs and verifies equipment operating at its limits, under severe temperature, pressure, and thermal cycling conditions, for EPCs, manufacturers, and operators worldwide, simulating the fluid and structure as a single problem. Its core expertise lies in molten salt tanks for concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, having participated in the design and calculation of tanks for major CSP plants in South Africa.

Each project culminates in a comprehensive calculation report, with all checks documented: verification that each component complies with the applicable design code, in a level of detail that a client or regulatory body can review. The initial data already existed in the results of their simulations. What was lacking was a way to convert this data into verifications and reports without having to recalculate manually each time.

A manual calculation that did not scale with complexity and volume

Handwritten spreadsheets and reports

Each verification was performed using spreadsheets, and the report was written by hand. The method works for a single component and code, but it becomes ineffective when complexity and volume increase simultaneously: more points of analysis, more load cycles, multiple code snippets combined in the same scenario, and revisions that require repeating the entire process. Each report cost hours of expert work that provided no critical analysis, only transcription.

Added to that cost is traceability. A spreadsheet doesn't keep a history; two versions can diverge without anyone noticing, and a parameter changed manually in a cell leaves no trace in the report. For a document that a third party is going to audit, that's a risk. The question Vanguard posed to Mecexis was clear: can the entire workflow be centralized, from the simulation results to the deliverable PDF?

The difficulty lay in the scope. It wasn't a single code, but several coexisting ones: ASME with its variants, national annexes, and ACI. Each with its own parameters, material tables, and acceptance criteria. The tool had to speak the engineer's language, not impose its own.

A platform that applies the codes and leaves the judgment to the engineer.

Vanguard Synapp is a web application that transforms the results of a numerical simulation into the regulatory verifications required by the project and the reports that document them. The engineer provides the simulation results and the relevant parameters; the application applies the design code and returns each verification with its corresponding report. The application handles the repetitive calculations; the engineer retains the decision-making skills required: which parameters to use, what to verify, and how to interpret the results.

From simulation results to a working scenario

Each case is organized as a scenario: a design code, verification parameters, and the simulation results that feed them. The import process recognizes the results, shows the engineer what will be incorporated before confirmation, and stops the process with a clear warning if something doesn't fit. A scenario can be updated with new results without losing its existing configuration.
Pressure equipment: the complete verification chain

For each scenario, the complete set of verifications required by the chosen design code is generated, each one checked against its acceptance criteria. The parameters are defined once for the entire scenario and are customized only where necessary. The engineer chooses whether they want the complete chain or only the part that interests them at that moment.
Foundations: each reinforcement against its code

For reinforced concrete slabs and walls, the engineer defines the geometry, materials, and reinforcement to be verified, and the application checks each against code requirements, displaying the formula applied and the substituted values. The verification can be run on the entire assembly or on a part of it.
The report is the deliverable

Each verification generates a PDF report with its tables, charts, and detailed calculations. The complete scenario report compiles the input data and all verifications into a single, structured document, ready for delivery. A scenario summary shows at a glance what meets and what doesn't, before even opening a single report.
Codes and materials are configuration, not programming.

The materials and parameters specific to each design code are managed directly within the application, without intervention from the development team. The forms only offer options consistent with the chosen code, so the application doesn't allow combinations not covered by the code. Adding a material or variant takes only minutes.
Prepared for daily work

Calculations and report generation run in the background while the engineer continues working, with the status of each process visible at all times. A scenario is duplicated with all its data and parameters to test variations without having to start over. Access is protected with differentiated permissions, and each scenario retains its change history.
Production-ready architecture

A solid technological foundation, with background processing, protected files, and automated deployment. The same discipline that Mecexis applies to every project, applied to a tool whose reports end up in the hands of a regulatory body.

Continuous development, cycle by cycle, with a clear roadmap

A platform that grows with real work

Vanguard Synapp has evolved since its inception. Mecexis works with Vanguard on a continuous development basis: each cycle incorporates a defined set of features, prioritized with the engineering team based on their daily work needs, and is deployed to production before the next cycle begins. The roadmap is explicit and shared, so Vanguard makes decisions at each step based on the previous version already in use.

This pace is what allowed them to cover such a broad area without losing strength. Every new design code and every new area, from pressure equipment to foundations, was built on the same foundation, with improvements applied incrementally.

The parameters that were once a single cell in a spreadsheet have become defined and validated data. Where judgment is needed, the engineer provides it. The platform acts as a specialized tool so that the engineer can make the most of it.

From the handcrafted report to the generated report

The engineer's time, dedicated to judgment and not to transcription.

+15
Automated verification types
+620
Verification parameters calculated in seconds
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Complete PDF report with all verifications, generated with one click

A solid foundation on which to add new codes, materials, and verifications

Each new need is a new piece, not a structural change.

Vanguard Synapp's architecture was designed to grow incrementally: adding a new material, design code, or check is like adding a piece without checking the previous ones.

Development continues cycle by cycle on the roadmap shared with Vanguard, so the platform can adapt to any future requirement, whether it's new code, a new domain, or a new report, while maintaining the same solid foundation that is already in production today.