Safran Engineering Services creates new spaces dedicated to innovation

In Toulouse, there is an open innovation space with four separate areas 

“Our space is made for employees to develop their ideas. The different solutions, including virtual reality and 3D printing, can be tested there. It is open to all and enables us to grasp these new technologies while testing and developing innovative projects,” explains Mikael Diaz, Innovation Manager in Toulouse. Here, four application areas have been created. 3D Imaging and Printing, Virtual Reality, Electronics and Connectivity: projects are developing and coming to fruition and everything is in place to present them to sponsors and clients. It’s especially due to this lab and its associated research, in particular into Big Data solutions, that Airbus has renewed its trust in Safran Engineering with contracts.

A shared innovation space in Paris

On the Saclay site, a Fab Lab (“Fabrication Laboratory”) hosts creativity and prototyping sessions and is where innovative projects are led. It is accessible to all employees from the various Safran companies on the site. Safran Engineering Services uses it for its creativity sessions, its “capsule breaks” - short sessions for exploring and discussing specific themes -, for its annual “Innovathon” and to hold themed conferences for its clients. This Fab Lab has all the equipment necessary for carrying out an innovation project. There are teams present on site to help teams with their work and to enable them to complete their projects.

“Virtual reality” expertise in Bordes

The Bordes teams are focused on virtual reality. A team of six software engineers has been trained on this technology. They are responsible for raising awareness among company staff and finding concrete applications for clients. They must find points of convergence between the various departments on the Bordes site to develop new applications and concrete uses for virtual reality. In this way, the offers, activities and services gain added value. “Our backgrounds are varied: we have mechanics, industrial support engineers and software developers... We can imagine applications and services that are useful to our industry and to our clients in a number of areas: design, production engineering, after-sales...” explains Fabrice Mesplou-Candau, software expert at Safran Engineering Services.