Decision support for bridge maintenance

Aim and goal

The project’s main objective was to develop a new framework for decision support to enable a rational and scientific basis for decisions concerning maintenance actions of existing transport infrastructure.

Challenge

Maintenance and repair of existing structures, such as bridges, requires that several decisions are made about what to do and when. It is desirable, that the decisions result in using available resources as efficiently as possible, especially since our infrastructure is owned by the society and we want to use our common resources in the best way. Therefore, maintenance decisions need to be taken in consideration of the costs and benefits they give to the society as a whole. However, decisions must often be taken under large uncertainties.

Solution

The idea with the project was to contribute to the next generation of conditions assessments and maintenance. The project team has developed a framework for rational decision making regarding condition assessment and maintenance of bridges, where the focus has been on developing strategies for evaluating different decisions using probabilistic methods.

Effect

The developed decision support makes it possible to differentiate between different decision options and to see which one is optimal, concerning resource efficiency, and gives the most benefits. It was also important to be able to use the methodology in practice and adapt it to real problems. The project contributes to making our infrastructure more sustainable.