engineering

VSL International

VSL International is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand VSL International rather than just read about it. In short: VSL International (for Vorspann System Losinger) is a specialist construction company founded in 1954. VSL contributes to engineering, building, repairing, upgrading and preserving transport infrastructure (bridges, tunnels, retained earth walls for roads), buildings and energy production facilities.

Key takeaways

VSL International belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect VSL International to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of VSL International from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

VSL International (for Vorspann System Losinger) is a specialist construction company founded in 1954. VSL contributes to engineering, building, repairing, upgrading and preserving transport infrastructure (bridges, tunnels, retained earth walls for roads), buildings and energy production facilities. Based in Switzerland, VSL is owned by French construction company Bouygues. VSL specialises in post-tensioned concrete, stay-cable systems and heavy lifting, while its subsidiary Intrafor focuses on ground engineering and foundations. The company has also developed its proprietary systems, mostly related to post-tensioning and stay-cable, and has 370 patents.

History In 1943, the Swiss construction company Losinger started to build post-tensioned bridges and began the development of its own post-tensioning system. The patent of this wire-based system was registered in 1954 and Vorspann System Losinger was created to help develop this activity. The patent was first applied in 1956 for the construction of the Pont des Cygnes bridge in Yverdon, Switzerland. In 1966, VSL launched its strand post-tensioning system. In 1978, VSL's stay cable system was installed for the first time on the Liebrüti bridge in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland. While the company developed internationally from the 1970s, in 1991, VSL joined the Bouygues group following the purchase of Losinger. In 2001, VSL diversified its activity to ground engineering.

Organization VSL is headquartered in Bern in Switzerland, where the company was founded. In 2015, Jean-Yves Mondon was appointed chief executive officer. VSL operates in more than 30 countries, mostly in Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe and South America.

Key figures Workforce: 4,000 employees Patents: 370 3 manufacturing plants (in China, Spain and Thailand) 6 technical centre with offices in Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Spain, Thailand and Dubai

Activities VSL's activities are organized in 4 business lines to engineer, build, repair, upgrade and preserve transport infrastructure (bridges, tunnels, retained earth walls for roads), buildings and energy production facilities:

Systems and technologies: post-tensioning systems, stay cables, damping systems for buildings and civil works, bearings and joints. Construction: bridges, buildings, containment structures, offshore structures, heavy lifting. Ground engineering: foundations, ground improvement, ground investigation, mechanically stabilised earth walls, ground anchors. Repair, strengthening and preservation, including structural diagnostic, upgrade and retrofitting (de-icing, fire protection…) and monitoring.

Projects Among the most important projects VSL has carried out or taken a part in are:

Ganter Bridge, in Valais, Switzerland (1980) Tsing Ma Bridge, Hong Kong (1994) Petronas Towers's sky bridge, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1995) Burj Al Arab hotel (1997) Stadium Australia, in Sydney, Australia (1998) Dubai Metro, UAE (2006) Venitian Macao resort hotel, China (2007) Second Gateway Bridge / Gateway Bridge duplication, in Brisbane, Australia (2010) Marina Bay Sands, Singapore (2010) Hodariyat Bridge, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2012) Baluarte Bridge, Mexico (2012) the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world Newmarket Viaduct replacement, in Auckland, New Zealand (2012) Queensferry Crossing, United Kingdom (2017) Bandra–Worli Sea Link, Mumbai, India (2009) Cable-stayed bridge on the Mumbai Metro, India (2012) Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1, Vietnam (2017) Other known projects include:

The Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping mall Incheon Bridge, South Korea Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, Hong Kong Nhật Tân Bridge, Vietnam Rạch Miễu Bridge, Vietnam Stonecutters Bridge, Hong Kong Tarban Creek Bridge, Australia Wadi Leban Bridge, Saudi Arabia VSL also provided heavy lifting (with hydraulic jacks) for fifteen segments of the CMS detector of the Large Hadron Collider.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with VSL International

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what VSL International claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to VSL International before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about VSL International ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of VSL International

In research: VSL International appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses VSL International in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: VSL International is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bouygues, Bridge companies, Companies based in Bern, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for VSL International outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study VSL International in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what VSL International means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain VSL International out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is VSL International in simple terms?

Why does VSL International matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study VSL International?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on VSL International.