Bridges

NZTA has identified that redevelopment of its structures asset management framework is required to support the proactive management of existing state highway structures, and provide an evidence-based approach for funding which will address the risk profile of the asset base. In particular, there are three principal issues driving the need for change, these are digital uptake - accelerating digital uptake is a core part of NZTA’s priorities; funding – there are numerous factors putting significant strain on funding, and so an effort to make sure that money is being invested wisely is paramount; and risk - the current NZTA inspection process only collects data on specific defects on a given element and does not give an idea of deterioration of other elements, or the asset as a whole.

The proposed ‘Data Driven Structures Asset Management’ framework is therefore a fully digital collection of processes that will capture risk in a comprehensive manner, assess risk in a consistent manner, and forecast maintenance and renewals costs in an accurate manner. These processes are: Element Based Condition Assessment Process; Centralised Database and Risk Algorithms; Refined Funding Request Process; Optimised Intervention Forecasting; Structures Asset Management Online Portal.

Once established, the proposed framework will be heavily reliant on the accurate and consistent collection of structural condition data to be able to precisely track the performance of the asset base. Therefore, to make sure that ‘data integrity’ is always maintained, an ‘Inspection Progression Pathway’ will be instigated alongside the production of a suite of new technical documents, training courses and auditing procedures to make sure ‘competency, certification and auditing’ processes are embedded and maintained.

This paper describes the context, purpose, and outcomes of the proposed framework that represents a complete revolution of almost every aspect of how structures asset management will be performed in New Zealand in the future.