Coffee Corners

• March 2025: Overview of the Bentley Support and Licensing Transition 

Lunch & Learns

• July 2023: Design and Analysis in SPIDAcalc v8.0 In this lunch and learn, we explored and reviewed connected designs, incorporating new SPIDAcalc v8 features such as terrain CSV imports.
• June 2023: Make-Ready Using Design and Draft Layers During the June lunch and learn, we discussed how design layers, draft designs, and Comparison View can all be used to facilitate the make-ready process.
• May 2023: Best Practices for Implementing SPIDAcalc v8 This month's lunch and learn focused on some considerations and best practices for rolling out SPIDAcalc v8, including updating legacy project files, creating new projects, and more.
• April 2023: Client Editor Updates for SPIDAcalc v8 In this month's lunch and learn, we showed the new clearance requirements in Client Editor as well as discussed how new or existing users may approach these updates.
• March 2023: Intro to SPIDAcalc v8 The March lunch and learn introduced a sneak peek of the new version of SPIDAcalc, focusing on new features and functionality. 
• February 2023: Generating Reports In the February lunch and learn, we reviewed the various reporting and export options available in SPIDAcalc.
• January 2023: SPIDAcalc: Back to the Basics During this lunch and learn, we went back to the basics, reviewing how to navigate the SPIDAcalc interface, how to start a new design project, basic design techniques, and more.
• December 2022: SPIDA Support - End of the Year Wrap-Up During the December lunch and learn, we reviewed the top support questions of 2022.
• November 2022: Advisor Tool This month's lunch and learn covered the basics of the SPIDAcalc Advisor tool, which allows users to perform a diagnostic and analytic review of existing designs.
• October 2022: Using Design and Draft Layers with Comparison View The October lunch and learn covered design and draft layers: the differences between the two, how to use them to maximize efficiency, and using Comparison View to examine variations between pole designs.
• September 2022: Profile View In this month's lunch and learn, we covered Profile View, including measurement types and the available annotations, as well as ways to account for uneven terrain and span inclination.
• August 2022: SPIDAsilk During the August lunch and learn, we explored all things SPIDAsilk, focusing on how to use the software for basic sag and tension calculations. We also walked through a sample use relating to strand-mounted small-cell modeling and calculations.
• July 2022: Getting the Most Out of Collected Photos This month's lunch and learn covered how to import photos into a SPIDAcalc project and use them to assist with pole design and QC efforts.
• June 2022: Advanced Connected Designs The June lunch and learn explored advanced functionality in SPIDAcalc, including features such as the CSV project import, Extend Lead functionality, and more. We also built on those concepts to share helpful tips for building out connected and complex designs.
• May 2022: Client File Maintenance and Updates In this month's lunch and learn, we discussed various strategies in client file maintenance, including tips, tricks, and best practices to consider when client file updates are needed.
• April 2022: SPIDAcalc Analysis 101 During this month's lunch and learn, we explored SPIDAcalc's Client Editor and Analysis Workspace, highlighting the Analysis Summary and Detailed Analysis Results while reviewing pole loading results.
• March 2022: SPIDAcalc Design Tools and Review In the March lunch and learn, we highlighted some of the tools in SPIDAcalc to make designing poles more efficient, also taking look at the Views for evaluating and comparing versions of a pole.
• February 2022: SPIDAcalc and SPIDAstudio Integrations During the February lunch and learn, we dove into SPIDAstudio to highlight the benefits of storing, retrieving, and managing SPIDAcalc designs in SPIDAstudio Design Manager.
• January 2022: Back to the Basics In this month's lunch and learn, we covered the basics of SPIDAcalc, including navigation of the user interface, how to start a new project, basic design techniques, and more.
• December 2021: SPIDA Support End-of-the-Year Wrap-Up The December lunch and learn covered the top support questions of 2021, as well as questions submitted by SPIDAcalc users.
• November 2021: SPIDAcalc Advisor This month's lunch and learn covered the basics of the Advisor tool, which allows users to perform a diagnostic and analytic review of existing designs.
• October 2021: Local and Client Assemblies During the October lunch and learn, we covered the differences between local and client assemblies, utilizing assemblies in the pole design process, and how to create and share local assemblies.
• September 2021: Client File Maintenance September's lunch and learn covered the basics of the Client Editor, including ways to make reviewing, updating, and distributing a client file as efficient as possible.
• August 2021: Data Collection Through Forms In this lunch and learn, we covered SPIDAcalc forms, exploring how an organization can leverage both project and location forms to streamline data collection.
• July 2021: Getting the Most Out of Analysis View July's lunch and learn was all about using SPIDAcalc for pole loading analysis, including the basics of pole loading and the different analysis methodologies available.
• June 2021: Applying Damage to a Pole Design The June lunch and learn focused on reviewing damage types in SPIDAcalc and their associated properties, how to apply damage to a pole design, and how the calculated RSM value can impact analysis results.
• May 2021: Using Design and Draft Layers with Comparison View This month's lunch and learn focused on design and draft layers: the differences between the two, how to use them to maximize efficiency, and using Comparison View to examine variations between pole designs.
• April 2021: Wire Types in SPIDAcalc In April's lunch and learn, we discussed the two wire types in SPIDAcalc v7.3, the tension calculation options available to the user, and how these inputs can impact sag and tension outputs.
• March 2021: Getting the Most Out of Collected Photos The March lunch and learn focused on how photos can be imported into a SPIDAcalc project and used to assist with pole design and QC efforts.
• February 2021: Profile View for Clearances February's lunch and learn focused on the elements used for clearances, such as labels, calculated vs. measured heights, and using weather case examples to show the process.
• January 2021: SPIDAcalc: Back to the Basics During this lunch and learn, we went back to the basics, reviewing how to navigate the SPIDAcalc interface, how to start a new design project, basic design techniques, and more.
• December 2020: SPIDA Support: End of the Year Wrap-Up During the December lunch and learn, our support staff discussed the top support questions of 2020, including questions directly from the users.
• November 2020: Joint Use Attachment Request Use Case Do you have joint use attachments to consider in your pole loading design? In this month's lunch and learn, we ran through some of the steps involved in various aspects of the make-ready process.
• October 2020: Introducing SPIDAcalc - v7.3 Golden The October lunch and learn introduced the upcoming release of SPIDAcalc; new features we covered include an all-new Profile View, topography and elevation enhancements, advanced wire calculations to account for creep, and more.
• September 2020: Implementing SPIDAsilk In this month's lunch and learn, we learned about SPIDAsilk, an upcoming, standalone product designed to produce precise wire tension and conductor installation charts.
• August 2020: Getting the Most Out of Collected Photos During this month's lunch and learn, we focused on how photos can be used to improve pole design accuracy. We reviewed the options for obtaining height data from a photo, as well as how to leverage photos for QA/QC.
• July 2020: Understanding and Applying Connectivity in SPIDAcalc Have you ever wondered what the benefits of designing in connected space are, or how connectivity can affect analysis results? In the July lunch and learn, we addressed both questions while working with use cases involving both wire and design connectivity.
• June 2020: Adding New Materials to Your Client File In June's lunch and learn, we taught users what information is needed and how to build new structures in a client file.
• May 2020: Evaluating and Correcting Troubled Designs This month's lunch and learn featured SPIDAcalc's Advisor tool. If you've ever wondered why your SPIDAcalc design is failing or how to correct it, this could be the tool for you.
• April 2020: Next-Level Assemblies April's lunch and learn showcased how to build assemblies in SPIDAcalc that go beyond an organization's overhead standards – by including equipment, third-party attachments, and more – to save time during the design process.
• March 2020: Getting the Most Out of the Analysis View The March lunch and learn built on February's session and examined all aspects of Analysis View, including results, charts, detailed inputs, and load case details.
• February 2020: Review of Analysis Methods The February lunch and learn featured a review of the Loading tab in Client Editor and covered the basics of pole loading, as well as the different analysis methodologies available in SPIDAcalc.
• January 2020: SPIDAcalc Design 101 Following the recent release of SPIDAcalc v7.2 – Arrow, we spent this month's lunch and learn how to design a project from start to finish using a variety of tools. These included design layers, the CSV import, assemblies, bundles, new Map View features, and the integration with SPIDAstudio for design storage.