Overhead Transmission Line Design and Optimization Training

This is not a software tutorial. It is a complete, practice-tested design methodology for 33kV–500kV overhead transmission line projects, covering everything from raw survey data to final plan-and-profile deliverables — taught by a practicing design engineer who has personally delivered projects across Pakistan, the Gulf, and Australia, and trained teams at organizations including DEWA, Larsen & Toubro, K-Electric, NTDC Pakistan, Petroleum Development Oman, and SMEC Africa.

Most PLS-CADD training covers the software's buttons. This course covers the engineering judgement behind them: why a stress-strain error can compromise an entire line, which "small" tension-criteria mistakes cause tripping years after energization, and how to review a design the way a client or main contractor would — before it becomes a costly field problem.

Who this is for: transmission line design engineers, survey/GIS engineers moving into OHL design, consultants and EPC reviewers, and engineers preparing to take on design-review or lead-designer responsibility.

Format: Video-based modules with a fully worked project carried through from survey data to final deliverables, plus dedicated sessions on real design mistakes and how to catch them.

Get oriented before touching a single tool.

• Complete walkthrough of the PLS-CADD environment and workflow
• Full presentation of one completed project — every report, plan, and profile sheet explained
• OHL design philosophy: how the pieces fit together end-to-end
• Route selection fundamentals and the key factors that decide a good route
• Overview of governing design specifications and criteria

Build a design-ready terrain model from any data source you're given.

• Sourcing free EGL (existing ground level) data with no site survey — for early-stage project evaluation
• Digital Elevation Models (DEM): what they are and how to bring them into PLS-CADD
• Topographic survey setup for new projects — setting out angle points before detailed survey
• Topographic survey for existing lines (reverse engineering)
• 3D survey data explained; GPS vs. Total Station — how each actually works
• Reflectorless (no-prism) Total Station methods for capturing wire coordinates
• Checking vertical clearance between existing lines using a Total Station
• Bringing GPS, Total Station, and LiDAR data into PLS-CADD; generating surface/TIN models
• LiDAR data classification inside PLS-CADD
• Importing survey data from multiple formats and sources; catching and correcting survey errors
• Building TIN (Triangular Irregular Network) surfaces, including from aerial/drone LiDAR
• Cross-checking drone/LiDAR accuracy against traditional survey methods
• LandXML data transformation into PLS-CADD

Set a project up correctly the first time — most rework starts here.

• Data management practices before starting any OHL project
• Starting a new project the right way and setting project preferences
• Full tour of menus and toolbars, plus custom menus and shortcut keys
• Creating feature codes for every item type found in the field
• Coordinate systems: explanation and correct project assignment
• Importing survey data via five different methods (Notepad, Excel, and more)
• User-defined filtering for extracting specific XYZ data
• Handling break lines / grade break lines
• TIN surface creation, contouring, and elevation assignment
• Attaching DXF and bitmap references to plan, profile, and sheet views
• Extracting ground elevation from an existing DXF contour file
• Creating route alignments: freehand, from angle points, or traced from an old PDF/JPEG map
• Managing multiple alignments and multiple routes within one project
• Automatic interpolated point generation after TIN + alignment creation
• Activating/deactivating/deleting points to keep large projects light
• Reassigning point groups between feature codes
• Building and smoothing centerline and side ground profiles at custom offsets
• Terrain width: how it affects object visibility in profile view
• Merging TINs from multiple projects into one
• The PFL (Profile) method — designing with minimal survey data: setup, advantages/disadvantages, and how it differs from a full XYZ project

The section every serious client will judge your competence on.

• Conductor, OPGW, and earth wire types and technical properties
• Modelling conductors in PLS-CADD from a manufacturer's technical data sheet
• Permanent deformation, creep, and why they matter in OHL design
• Effects of high temperature on creep and strength reduction
• Reading and applying stress-strain charts — the backbone of every project
• Where to source reliable conductor data (.wir files) and cross-version compatibility
• What actually makes a conductor model reliable — and what breaks it
• Why incorrect stress-strain values cause serious downstream problems
• Setting design standards/codes and weather cases in PLS-CADD
• Setting conductor tension criteria correctly — including for automatic sagging
• The critical mistake engineers make when setting allowable tension percentages
• Initial vs. final sag and tension, and the temperature-shift concept
• How poor conductor modelling and poor tension criteria lead to real-world tripping (swing, galloping, clearance failure)

From single-line concept to a fully strung structure model.

• Wind and ice loading in PLS-CADD; gust response factor
• Structure loads and safety factors using the M3 and M4 methods
• Setting clearance-checking, wind/weight-report, and galloping criteria
• Automatic clearance-checking across an entire line
• Design specifications and criteria for poles, lattice towers, and gantry structures
• Single-line diagram to M1 structure modelling — done properly
• Common mistakes experienced designers still make, and how PLS-CADD's built-in standards should actually be used
• Design errors that lead to flashovers post-energization
• Building M1 stick models (suspension/tension) for poles and lattice towers
• Gantry and tap-off (T-off) structure modelling
• Building structures from scratch with leg and body extensions
• Configuring stringing sequence and conductor attachment points (7-set, 3-set, 1-set)
• Structure load files: what they are, when to create them, and extraction from a complete project
• Worked builds: 400kV M1 horizontal-configuration structures; 132kV vertical-configuration structures
• Assigning structure strength and swing-angle limits for suspension structures

Turn a modelled line into a clearance-compliant, constructible design.

• Manual structure spotting in profile view
• Automatic spotting for angle and suspension structures/poles
• Snapping structures to surveyed points — when and why
• Structure-spotting constraints and prohibited-zone definitions
• Parameters for auto-placing structures at road-crossing locations
• Manual and automatic (whole-project) conductor/OPGW stringing and sagging
• Setting ground clearance lines and projecting the lowest wire for clearance checks
• A proven sequence for resolving wire-to-ground clearance violations
• Reading wind/weight span reports for criteria violations
• Using structure and section-check bitmaps to visualize results
• Generating multi-temperature sag curves; simulating wind-induced conductor swing for phase/structure clearance
• Modelling crossing lines and checking vertical clearance between them
• Wire-to-structure body clearance using M4 pole and lattice models
• Automatic leg-extension analysis for hilly/uneven terrain
• Mid-span and tower-leg diagonal cross-sections
• Tap-off connections at towers and mid-span
• Vertical clearance methods: true-vertical-at-center vs. minimum-to-TIN
• Vegetation and other feature-code clearance reporting
• A professional, time-efficient method for reviewing a completed project
• Mid-span cutting: what it is and when it's required
• Counterweight calculations for suspension strings
• Displaying warning spheres on OPGW/earth wire
• Offset clipping, and adding custom points at any (x,y) location

Everything a client, contractor, or regulator will expect to see.

• Conductor/OPGW drum schedule creation and estimation
• Plan-and-profile sheet generation
• Exporting the staking table to Excel for field tower spotting
• Stringing charts
• Sag & tension charts — initial and final condition
• Wind span / weight span reports
• Exporting a 3D project view showing conductor swing and minimum clearances

Assess, upgrade, and re-certify lines that already exist.

• Modelling existing lines and structures from field-captured GPS/Total Station data using graphical sagging
• Doing graphical sagging correctly
• Building present-condition sag & tension charts by graphical method
• Calculating sag-tightening requirements to restore vertical clearance near infrastructure
• Multi-temperature sag curves for worst-case scenario analysis
• Superimposing road/bridge cross-sections in profile view
• Application: road-crossing and bridge clearance assessment, and upgrading existing lines

Fast, standalone calculations without a full model.

• PLS-CADD vs. PLS-CADD (Lite): when to use which
• Full practical use of Lite for single-span and multi-span sag/tension calculations
• Sagging method comparisons
• Creating load files for structures modelled in TOWER, PLS-POLE, and PLS-CADD
• Extracting loads from Lite for towers with multiple cables in multiple directions

The capstone module — what separates a designer from a design authority.

• How to review an OHTL design and identify mistakes
• What input data to request before starting a review
• What can safely be deprioritized in a review — and what must never be compromised
• The critical, high-consequence mistakes every reviewer must catch
• Building the judgement and confidence needed for design-review, lead-designer, and consultant roles

• Built from real delivered projects, not generic examples — every module reflects issues encountered on live 33kV–500kV work
• Engineering judgement, not just software steps — the course repeatedly flags the specific mistakes that cause field failures, tripping, and flashovers, and shows how to avoid them
• Covers the full lifecycle — new-build design, reverse engineering of existing lines, and design review/QA, so it serves designers, reviewers, and consultants alike
• Taught by a practitioner with 25+ years across Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Australia, and a track record training engineers at major utilities, EPCs, and consultancies