A risk-based decision-support system for bridge management

Based on a study of those actively involved in bridge management this paper presents a novel framework for an advanced bridge management system. The framework has a modular format and includes components for dealing with inspection, data collection and storage, deterioration modelling, structural assessment, economic appraisal of maintenance, repair and rehabilitation (MR&R) actions through whole-life costing, work programme optimisation methodologies and a number of reporting facilities. Of primary importance to the bridge management process is the assessment of structural adequacy. If assessments are unduly conservative, structures will be unnecessarily restricted or strengthened, whereas if the rules are lax, some structures may be left in service without having an appropriate margin of safety against failure. To address this issue a procedure for a reliability-based assessment approach is presented and it is shown how such an approach, when part of the above system, can provide bridge managers with an innovative, rational, risk-based, decision-support tool.