A freelance draughtsman for three years, Patrice Hélie has chosen Trimble's Tekla Structures software for his professional activities. It's a solution he's happy to recommend not only to his customers.
After working as a metal welder in the metallurgy industry, as a design technician in a rebar manufacturing company and finally as a draughtsman in various design offices, Patrice Hélie decided to leave in search of freedom. For the past three years, this experienced professional has been working on his own as a freelance draughtsman. "In a design office, you're just an executor, doing what you're told. You're somewhat subject to the deadlines of the trade, and as an employee, you can't spread yourself too thin," he explains. "So I decided to go into business for myself, to have the freedom to choose the customers I want to work with
An enthusiast in search of the "five-legged sheep
For Patrice Hélie, this freedom of choice goes hand in hand with the search for projects that are out of the ordinary: the designer calls them his "five-legged sheep". "The more technical projects are really more interesting, including financially, because not everyone knows how to manage them". Among his favorite projects are engineering structures, but he also has a particular fondness for marine structures.
"To work on this, you need the same skills as for housing. It's all about formwork and reinforcement. But there's still a special kind of thinking required for this type of work. Often, we train for things that are a bit classic, but when the five-legged sheep comes along, you need to have a bit of bottle to adapt."
Experience is undoubtedly essential when it comes to tackling complex, even unusual projects. But it's also essential to have the right tools for the job.
Tekla Structures, the preferred solution
Patrice Hélie knew Trimble's solutions from his years in the design office. "I had attended a presentation. Tekla Structures seemed interesting to me, but at the time, it wasn't the solution of choice for my company." During his years as a salaried employee, he worked with various software packages, such as AutoCAD and Revit. "I found it tedious," he sums up. "When I went freelance, I took the time to experiment with other solutions available on the market. And there are a lot of them!"
