1. Best Practices for Bridge Management and Inspection
Jeremy Shaffer, Ph.D. InspectTech Systems

2. Outline Overall Goals/Purpose Bridge Inspection
Basics and Requirements
Details of Approaches
Bridge Management
Needs/Approaches
Examples
Utilizing technology to improve
Conclusions
Questions

3. Goals for Bridge Inspection and Management
Ensure optimal safety and operational capability in the most efficient manner.
Inspection is used as the eyes/ears of the program to find and document the current condition including any problems
Management utilizes the inspection data along with the organization’s priorities to determine the most efficient way to ensure goals are met (i.e. safety, performance, capacity)

4. High-Level Current State of Affairs
Aging Infrastructure
High Construction and Maintenance Costs
Tighter Budgets
Data Overload on Owners
New Regulations
Bigger Need + Fewer Resources = ?
No room for errors or wasted efforts

5. Need for Inspections Regulations/Laws Liability
New FRA requirements
State/Intl. specific laws
Liability
Insurance or bond requirements
Best Practice for Maintenance
Much cheaper to fix problems early than later
Sustaining Reliable Operations

6. Types of Inspection Visual Inspections
Primary type
Cusory, In-Depth, Special, etc.
Performed yearly (most locations)
Identify overall conditions and areas for additional exploration
Advanced Technology for Detailed Data
NDE/NDT approaches
Destructive testing
On-going monitoring/sensors

7. Inspection Requirements
Often driven by disasters; some examples related to highway bridges
Silver Bridge Collapse 1967
Mianus River Bridge Collapse 1983
Schohaire Creek Bridge Collapse 1987
Hoan Bridge Failure 2000
I-35W Bridge Collapse 2007
When disaster happens, new rules can come quickly

8. Critical Parts of Inventory/Inspection
Inventory of all Bridges/Culverts
Need to know what is there and basic properties
Geometric data, material information
Drawings/Plans (with all repairs/rehabs)
Condition data on all structures
Current information
Past information

9. Inspection Condition Data
Quantification via a Rating Scale
Need to be able to compare relative conditions within a structure and between structures
Subjective results via Narrative Text
Need to be able to have descriptions indicating the scope and nature of the condition

10. Supporting Information
Pictures
Digital pictures for overall inventory and every deficiency
Videos
Can be appropriate to show time based effects of live loads or multiple angles
Sketches/Drawings
Test/Sensor Results
Boring information, Stress readings

11. Level of Detail
Level of detail of inspection data can vary greatly from entity to entity
Minimum requirements can be less than 1 page per bridge
Some entities collect over pages per bridge.

12. Level of Details Span by Span vs Entire Structure
Can inspect and rate every span and pier individually
Can group similar spans and rate as a group (ex:approaches, main span, approaches)
Entire structure as a single entity

13. WMATA Inspection Program
Structures are divided into primary sub-parts (Abutments/Piers, Spans, CrossBox, etc.)
Forms are unique for the type of the sub-component (i.e. Steel Box Girder vs. Concrete Box Beam)
Multiple inspectors work on the same bridge independently, rolled up to bridge summary of all parts.

14. Example Form

15. Component or Element Level Inspection
Detailed Component Level: track conditions and problems to specific main components (specific: bearing: joint, or chord)
Element Level: Quantify specific elements of the structures (i.e. superstructure steel) and specify the exact amount in different condition states

16. Shortline Report Example

17. Shortline Report Example

18. Shortline Report Example

19. Detailed Inspection Example (Individual Bearings)

20. Importance of QA/QC
Studies have shown results from visual inspections can vary significantly by inspector
Having detailed review process is highly recommended to help ensure accuracy of results obtained
Inaccurate results can lead to poor decisions via bad prioritization and/or wasted effort
Common approach is to spot-check 5-10% of structures and/or critical components

21. Bridge Management Basics
Few entities have unlimited funds. Setting and developing priorities is an important function of bridge managers.
Bridge funding must be justified against other priorities.
The options available for management can be limited by extent and detail of current and past information available
Deterioration and trade-off modeling possible with extensive details

22. Bridge Management Basics
Maintaining and monitoring a scheduled maintenance activities program for a bridge can significantly extend service life
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” – Ben Franklin
Would you drive your car and never change the oil? Do we effectively do that with many bridges?

23. Bridge Management Need a repository of all bridge data Tools
Easily accessible (from multiple locations)
Searchable format to quickly find data
All current/past data
Tools
Maintenance Need Prioritization
Budgeting and Capital Planning
Visualization via Mapping/CAD

24. Risk Based Management
Risk Based Management takes into account the multiple variables/objectives
Example of two part metric
Likelihood of Failure
Consequence of Failure
Can weight different factors based on importance
i.e.: Safety, Capacity, Detour length, Cost

25. Individual Maintenance Needs Tied to Risk (Example)

26. Life Cycle Costing
Important to Consider Overall Life Cycle Cost of decisions from design to repairs
Often lower initial cost leads to much greater costs over time
Example: A slightly cheaper design may save $20,000 initially but cost $150,000 more over a 100 year life-cycle in greater inspection and maintenance costs

27. Plans of Action
Plans of Action develop a predefined series of actions that should be taken
Event Based
Floods (level exceeds certain threshold)
Seismic (over certain magnitude)
Time Based
Every 5 years do an Underwater Inspection
Every 10 years re-inventory all data

28. Utilizing Software to Assist
Inspections generate a large amount of text and file based data
Ideal for software to assist in collecting and managing
Allows information to be easily searchable and retrievable

29. Benefits of Computerized Inspections
Eliminate mistakes during the transcription process
Ability to integrate in detailed manuals and error checks
Easy incorporation of pictures and other attachments
One-click generation of reports
Field/Office data entry options

30. Benefits of Computerized Management
Ability to instantly retrieve all information
Current and Past
Text and Pictures
Maintenance needs and actions
Prioritize based on desired metrics/variables
Integrated Mapping/Visualization
Standard or ad-hoc report generation

31. Many Reporting Options
Estimated Remaining Service Life

32. Visualization (Mapping)

33. Visualization (CAD)
Increasing use to allow for detailed location and easy visualization of any problem

34. CAD Details 3D Solid Model or 2D plan views
Represent only the details that user cares about
Utilize color for different layers – condense to single color for search results
Ability to turn on/off layers
Information all driven off database and web-interface

35. Many Possible Tools but Remember Purpose
To ensure a safe and reliable infrastructure for customers/users.
To protect the investment into the infrastructure by detecting structural problems before they deteriorate to the point where they create unsafe conditions or threaten operations.

36. Conclusions Inspections form the foundation of a good bridge program
Active management is important to the most efficient use of funds
Software can significantly improve the ongoing management of bridge data and provide useful tools for engineers

37. Questions