Civil Engineering March 2021 | Vol 29 No 2

Civil Engineering March 2021 57 After some 41 years of developing, selling, and supporting engineering software, Allyson Lawless is finally retiring and handing her structural software busi- ness over to Dagmar Coombes of Polka Engineering Software. Since the inception of the business in 1979, her software developed from basic structural analysis to an integrated analysis and design solution, known as StructurAlly. She later transitioned clients to MasterSeries, and in 1995 a sophisticated fi- nite element analysis package, Strand6, now Strand7, was added to the product offerings. Dagmar joined Allyson Lawless & Associates in 1994 to sell and support the software, so is well-known by customers and well versed in both MasterSeries and Strand7. Says Allyson: “I have enjoyed every minute of my software career and the challenge of developing or customising software for local applications. My clients have become my colleagues and friends and I have been excited to see the design of many stunning structures being com- pleted on our software. Thank you to all who have supported me (and my business) over the years. My best wishes to Dagmar and all my structural colleagues in your future endeavours.” Dagmar took over existing clients from 1 March 2021 and looks forward to adding new clients to the fold. Given the versality of both products and her experi- ence, this should not be a problem! STRAND7 FINITE ELEMENT SOFTWARE Strand7 is one of the most powerful yet cost effective finite element programmes on the market. Its integrated visual environment, combined with a suite of powerful solvers, offer unparalleled functionality. A user comment captures the essence of Strand7: “Honestly the best FEA package I have ever worked on and I am comparing it to other products which costs millions. We really get our money’s worth in terms of the maintenance, far more than any product we own.” The interface allows easy construction of models, detailed analysis, and investi- gation of results. The range of elements and materials supported, combined with dynamic and nonlinear functionality make Strand7 eminently suitable for aero- nautical, structural, marine, mechanical, and mining engineers alike. Strand7 supports a wide range of import and export formats and the API module which provides a programming interface to the Strand7 supports most programming languages. The finishing touches are being added to the next release – Strand7 R3. MASTERSERIES STRUCTURAL DESIGN MasterSeries brings together a unique set of steel, concrete, timber and masonry analysis, design, and detailing modules and can integrate with Revit, AutoCAD, and various BIM systems and applica- tions that meet IFC standards. Over the years local users have designed a range of solutions from the most complex mining headgears to multi-storey buildings and rave about its ease of use. One user com- mented: “MasterSeries has been a great investment. It paid for itself ten times over in the first six months of use, saving both design time and materials.” Allyson Lawless hands structural software business to Polka Engineering Software Dagmar Coombes and Allyson Lawless discussing the handover Powerful Interface User-defined Beam Creep and Shrinkage Reinforcement Design Polka Engineering Software (Pty) Ltd Cell: (083) 675 5666 Email: coombes@polka.co.za