Risk Based Inspections For Highway Structures
Risk Based Inspections For Highway Structures
Risk Based Inspections For Highway Structures
Surface Transport
December 2011
TfL Good Practice Guide:
Risk Based Inspections for Highway Structures
Version 1.0
Document Control
DOCUMENT DETAILS:
NAME: TfL Good Practice Guide: Risk Based Inspection for Highway Structures
VERSION: 1.0
VERSION HISTORY:
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TfL Good Practice Guide:
Risk Based Inspections for Highway Structures
Version 1.0
Table of Contents
Glossary ..................................................................................................................... iii
Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. iv
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1
1.1 General .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Purpose ......................................................................................................................... 1
1.3 The Need for Risk Based Inspection Planning .............................................................. 1
1.4 Layout of the Good Practice Guide ............................................................................... 1
4 References .......................................................................................................... 27
Appendix A................................................................................................................ 28
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Glossary
[1]
Asset Physical highway infrastructure and other items that have a distinct
value to a highway authority, e.g. carriageway, footway, structures,
tunnels, lighting, etc.
[2] The purpose of a General Inspection is to provide information on the
General Inspection
physical condition of all visible elements on a highway structure. A
General Inspection comprises a visual inspection of all parts of the
structure that can be inspected without the need for special access
equipment or traffic management arrangements
[3]
Lifecycle Plan A considered strategy for managing an asset, or group of similar
assets, from construction to disposal. A lifecycle plan should give due
consideration to minimising costs and providing the required
performance.
[3]
Maintenance Activities and operations undertaken to manage and maintain an
asset, e.g. inspection, assessment, renewal, upgrade, etc.
[2] The purpose of a Principal Inspection is to provide information on the
Principal Inspection
physical condition of all inspectable parts of a highway structure. A
Principal Inspection is more comprehensive and provides more
detailed information than a General Inspection. A Principal Inspection
comprises a close examination, within touching distance, of all
inspectable parts of a structure.
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Abbreviations
CCS Current Condition Score
CF Consequence of Failure
GI General Inspection
IS Inspectability Score
PI Principal Inspection
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1 Introduction
1.1 General
This Good Practice Guide has been prepared for Transport for London (hereafter
referred to as TfL) by Atkins. This Good Practice Guide describes the methodology
developed for the risk based inspection planning for Highway Structures.
1.2 Purpose
The purpose of this guide is to provide a step-by-step guide to risk based inspection
planning for Highway Structures on the Transport for London road network.
However, the above documents also allow structures owners to increase or decrease
the inspection intervals based on a robust and fully documented risk assessment, i.e.
Risk Based Inspection. The aforementioned documents do not describe the specific
details of the risk assessment that should be undertaken, as such, the majority of
highway structures owners have tended to retain the standard two and six year cycle.
Previous work has shown that whilst there is a general consensus that the time-based
two year General Inspection regime is effective, some organisations feel that the six
year Principal Inspection regime could be tailored using a risk assessment in order to
improve the risk profile, minimise the liability to the structures owner and utilise
inspection resources more effectively.
Section Description
2. The Evolution of Risk Describes how risk based methodologies are utilised to
Based Asset Management support objective and optimum management of Highway
Structures.
3. Framework for Risk Based Defines the approach which should be used to determine
Inspections the Risk based Inspection intervals in a step-by-step
manner.
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[7]
Figure 1: Evolution of Inspection and Maintenance Planning Strategies
Clearly risk is an important consideration in the asset management of highway
structures. Available guidance for three principal areas of application is reviewed below.
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3.2 Assumptions
The risk based inspection framework has been developed to aid TfL in establishing its current
risk profile (i.e. while the time-based inspection regime is adopted) and to allow comparisons
to be made with the risk profile that would result from the application of this framework. It is
anticipated that by using the risk based inspections framework TfL will be reducing its overall
level of risk exposure and hence minimise liability.
It is considered that the framework can be applied at any time to assist in the identification of
the level of risk that may be posed by different assets including parts of a structure, e.g. very
[8]
high importance elements (as defined by the CSS inspection procedure ), individual
structures or a group of structures with similar characteristics. Subsequently, this can be used
to determine appropriate Principal Inspection intervals, thus focussing effort and resources
where these are most needed to ensure that any risks identified can be mitigated and/or
eliminated effectively.
It has been assumed that as a baseline, TfL will hold suitable condition data, inventory and
other relevant data, e.g. structure dimensions, exposure conditions, etc., that can be used to
inform the risk based inspections framework. It is essential that all structures in TfL’s stock
have undergone at least one General Inspection and that the data from this inspection has
been recorded and is readily available.
It is noted that inspection alone is not sufficient to mitigate risk even when it is undertaken at
the intervals identified under this framework. Appropriate action arising from inspection
findings will also be required.
The following were excluded when formulating the risk based inspection framework for the
reasons outlined below:
• Live loading capacity – The inspection intervals that will be identified under the proposed
framework will enable significant deterioration to be identified at an optimum time. As such
it is likely that the appropriate maintenance needs will be identified and the relevant
maintenance activities undertaken so that the structural integrity and the live loading
capacity of the structure will remain un-affected during the service life of a structure.
Where a structure had undergone structural assessment and was found to be
[9]
substandard, it is assumed that it would be managed in accordance with BD79 , i.e. its
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No
Risk-based PI? Schedule time-based GI
Yes
3. Evaluate the Probability of Rapid
Deterioration, Damage or Failure (Section 3.5)
Yes
The risk based inspections framework can be adopted to determine the appropriate Principal
Inspection intervals for parts of a structure, i.e. very high importance elements (as defined by
[8]
the CSS inspection procedure ), individual structures or a group of structures with similar
characteristics. In all three cases the structure type of the structure(s) under evaluation is
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For the selected structure(s) type from Step 1, the appropriate inspection type, i.e. time-based
or risk-based, is identified from Table 3 in Section 3.4. If the inspection type is identified as
risk-based Principal Inspection (PI), proceed to Steps 3, 4 and 5 below. If the inspection type
is identified as time-based General Inspection (GI), schedule a 2 yearly General Inspection. In
the majority of instances both a risk-based PI and a time-based GI are required.
The probability of rapid deterioration, damage or failure is a function of the current condition of
a structure and/or element of a structure, the rate of deterioration, the potential failure mode,
the inspectability, and the Principal Inspection interval, i.e. time-based every 6 years vs. risk
based decreased/increased interval.
The consequence of failure is based on the magnitude of failure and the socio-economic
importance of the structure(s).
Step 5: Determine the Risk Score and the Risk based Inspection Interval
The analysis is initially undertaken for the time-based 6 year Principal inspection Interval and
the Risk score for this scenario is selected from the Risk Score Matrix in Section 3.7 (see
Table 13) by combining the outcomes from Steps 3 and 4 above. The Principal Inspection
interval is then altered, if deemed appropriate; by using the Risk based Inspection Intervals
Matrix in Section 3.7 (see Table 14). The analysis is then undertaken for the proposed
Principal Inspection Interval until an acceptable risk score and risk-based inspection interval is
obtained. The acceptable risk score can be defined considering factors, such as accuracy of
the analysis, level of refinement required, etc. In the current study acceptable risk is defined as
equal to or better than the ‘moderate’ category, i.e. risk score < 60 (see Table 13).
The PI interval, derived from Step 5 above, is used in combination with the last known PI date
to produce a PI programme. For a structure, this means adding the proposed inspection
interval to the last inspection date in order to determine when the next PI should be
conducted.
The resulting programme from Step 6 can be expected to produce an uneven distribution of PI
costs over time, i.e., more resources being required in some years than others. A smoothing
process is introduced in order to smooth the PI cost profile with time. As the first step in the
smoothing process, a desirable target annual cost of PIs needs to be identified. The average
cost required to undertake PIs over a 30 year programme is set as the initial target annual cost
of PIs for each financial year (see Section 3.9).
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The revised risk score of each structure, resulting from the provisional smoothed programme,
is checked against the acceptable risk level. If it falls within the acceptable range then the PI
will be programmed according to the provisional smoothed PI programme. Otherwise, the
inspection programme will be revised until all structures fall within the acceptable risk range.
Inspectability *
Consequence ^ Yes No
Very High Time Based GI + Risk Based PI Time Based GI + Risk Based PI
Criteria Definitions:
* Inspectability
Can the necessary information about the condition of the structure(s) and any significant
safety concerns be readily obtained without any access difficulties?
^ Consequence
• Very Low – No fatalities, no injuries and no/minor disruption to service
• Low – No fatalities, fewer slight injuries and minor disruption to service
• Moderate – Fewer serious injuries, and some slight injuries and moderate disruption to
service
• High – Possibility of a fatality, some serious injuries and a significant number of slight
injuries, and major disruption to service
• Very High – One or more fatalities and widespread disruption to service
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PrddfS = (CCS + RoDS + FMS + IS) x FPII but not < 1 or > 100
Equation 1
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CPIAv CPICrit
CPI Range
(All structure elements) (Worst Critical Element)
90 ≤ x ≤ 100
5 5
80 ≤ x < 90
15 10
65 ≤ x < 80
30 20
40 ≤ x < 65
50 30
0 ≤ x < 40
Not Permissible: Appropriate maintenance is required
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The Rate of Deterioration Score, RoDS, takes account of the above considerations and can be
selected from Table 7 which is implicitly based on a 6 year PI interval and distinguishes
between the different deterioration rates and exposure severities.
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Cantilever Truss
Cantilever Beam
Embedded
Cantilever
Gravity
Portal
Truss
Truss
Beam
Walls
Arch
Arch
Pipe
Slab
Slab
Box
Box
N/A
Structural Form
Masonry S N/A N/A N/A S N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A S M N/A N/A S N/A
N/A
Mass Concrete S N/A N/A N/A S N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A S N/A N/A N/A S N/A
N/A
Prestressed Concrete
N/A S S N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A S N/A S N/A N/A S N/A N/A N/A
(Pre-Tensioned) N/A
Material Types
Prestressed Concrete
N/A S S N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A S N/A N/A N/A
(Post-Tensioned) N/A
Steel (regularly painted S S S S S S N/A N/A N/A S N/A S N/A S N/A S N/A N/A N/A F
and maintained)
Weathering Steel N/A S S N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
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Structure and/or elements of a structure: Elements protected from salt spray with
cladding or by a protective enclosure.
Generally exposed to mild weather
conditions, i.e. may be sheltered or in an Deck soffit and piers of integral bridges
environment that results in little or no where the obstacle crossed is not a
exposure to severe weather conditions; road, i.e. elements are not subjected to
and spray from salted road.
Not exposed to any aggressive agents, e.g. Tenanted arch bridges.
Mild no exposure to road de-icing salts or 10 m
Half-joints or hinge joints overlaid with
away from traffic spray, not exposed to or
functional expansion joints
buried in aggressive soil agents, no
exposure to contaminated water, etc.; and
With no ventilation or condensation
problems or where poor ventilation or the
level of condensation are unlikely to
increase the rate of deterioration.
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Exposure Severity
Slow (S)
5 15 30 40
Deterioration
Rate of
Medium (M)
15 30 45 60
Fast (F)
20 45 60 80
Brittle 10
Ductile 0
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All elements significant to structural integrity (except foundations) are visible (not
0
hidden) and can be adequately inspected during a General Inspection
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• Truss/beams/cantilever
• Transverse/horiz. bracing elements
Gantry • Columns/supports/legs
• Base connections
• Support to longitudinal connection
Mast
Mast
Base Connection
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PPII
FPII =
6 years
Equation 2
Equation 3
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Local damage 10 10 10 10
Structural collapse 40 45 65 85
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Waste
Ground/disused/non-
Obstacle crossed by the structure
0 20 30 50
navigable watercourse
Unclassified, Cyclist
and Pedestrian 10 30 50 70
Navigable watercourse
and A Class / Principal 50 70 90 110
Road
Railway
70 90 110 120
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Very Low
Very Low Very Low Low Moderate Moderate
1 – < 10
1 15 25 40 60
Low
Very Low Low Moderate Moderate High
10 – < 30
15 25 40 50 70
Moderate
Low Low Moderate High High
30 – < 50
25 30 50 70 80
High
Low Moderate Moderate High Very High
50 – < 70
30 40 60 80 90
Very High
Moderate Moderate High Very High Very High
70 – 100
40 60 80 90 100
Table 14: Risk based Inspection Matrix for Amending Principal Inspections Intervals
A risk rating of ‘Very Low’, ‘Low’ and ‘Moderate’ is considered to represent structures
that have inspection intervals which are broadly acceptable or negligible in terms of risk
mitigation. This does not preclude the analysis being repeated for structures with ‘Very
Low’ and ‘Low’ risk ratings with an appropriately increased inspection interval so that
the associated resulting risk rating would be ‘Moderate’. A risk rating of ‘High’ and ‘Very
High’ represents structures that pose critical risk(s) and are considered to have
inappropriate inspection intervals. For these structures the analysis should be repeated
with an appropriately decreased inspection interval so that the associated resulting risk
score would be ‘Moderate’.
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Note: The RBI process described through Sections 3.4 to 3.7 can result in an uneven
distribution of the PI costs over time, i.e., more resources being required in some years
than others. This leads to difficulties in resource management and securing budget for
inspections. A smoothing process is introduced in order to smooth the PI cost profile
over the programme and hence ensure that there is not wide variation between
inspection resource requirements between different years.
A 30 year period is considered to get a reasonable estimate for the annual average cost
of inspections. However, the PI planning can be done for a shorter time frame (e.g. 12
years) using this target value, if preferred.
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smoothed PI programme. If the risk score is outside the acceptable range, i.e. in high or
very high risk category in Table 14, then structures will undergo Step 8 in Figure 2 (i.e.
provisional RBI programme). This process will be repeated until all structures fall within
the acceptable risk range.
Note: If it is not possible to maintain the target annual average cost without exceeding
the acceptable risk level in a particular year, then all the structures, which are identified
as requiring a PI in that year, need to be inspected in that year (or in earlier years). This
ensures that the methodology gives the higher priority for the safety over the cost.
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Risk Profile
Time Based PI Regime Unsmoothed Risk Based PI Regime Smoothed Risk Based PI Regime
300
250
200
Number of Structures
150
100
50
0
1 15 25 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Risk Score
Figure 3 : Example showing risk profiles for time based, unsmoothed RBI and smoothed
RBI approaches
Figure 4 shows an example for comparison of the PI programmes, i.e. Time Based,
Unsmoothed RBI and Smoothed RBI, over a 30 year period.
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30 Year PI Programme
Time Based PI Regime Unsmoothed Risk Based PI Regime Smoothed Risk Based PI Regime
£1000k
£900k
£800k
£700k
Annual Cost (£)
£600k
£500k
£400k
£300k
£200k
£100k
£k
12/13
13/14
14/15
15/16
16/17
17/18
18/19
19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27
27/28
28/29
29/30
30/31
31/32
32/33
33/34
34/35
35/36
36/37
37/38
38/39
39/40
40/41
41/42
Financial Year
Figure 4 : Example showing PI profiles over 30 years for time based, unsmoothed RBI and smoothed RBI approaches
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4 References
1. CIRIA C677: Whole-life infrastructure asset management: good practice guide for civil
infrastructure, Construction Industry Research and Information Association, 2009.
2. BD 63 Inspection of Highway Structures, DMRB 3.1.4, TSO.
3. Management of Highway Structures: A code of Practice, TSI, 2005
4. Value Management of the Capital Renewals Programme 2010/11, Part 1: Overview, TfL, 2010.
5. Inspection Manual for Highway Structures, TSO, 2007.
6. Framework for Highways Asset Management, County Surveyors Society, April 2004.
7. A.K. Lee, C. Serratella, G. Wang & R. Basu, ABS a Flexible Approaches to Risk-Based Inspection
of FPSOs, Offshore Technology Conference (OTC 18364), Houston, Texas, U.S.A., 1–4 May
2006.
8. Highways Agency & CSS Bridges Group, Guidance Document for Performance Measurement of
Highway Structures, Part B1: Condition Performance Indicator, Atkins, 2007.
9. BD 79: The Management of Substandard Highway Structures, DMRB.
10. Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works, Volume 1: Specification for Highway Works,
Series 1900: Protection of Steelwork Against Corrosion, TSO, 2005.
11. ISO 9223 Corrosion of Metals and Alloys - Corrosivity of Atmospheres - Classification First
Edition, International Organization for Standardization, 1992.
12. BS EN ISO 12944, Part 2: Paints and varnishes - Corrosion protection of steel structures by
protective paint systems - Classification of environments, British Standards Institution, 1998.
13. BS 5400, Part 4: Steel, concrete and composite bridges - Code of practice for design of concrete
bridges, British Standards Institution, 1990.
14. BS EN 206, Part 1: Concrete. Specification, performance, production and conformity, British
Standards Institution, 2000.
15. BS 8500, Part 1: Concrete - Complementary British Standard to BS EN 206-1 - Part 1: Method of
Specifying and Guidance for the Specifier, British Standards Institution, 2006
16. Handbook for the Examination of Structures – NR/L3/CIV/006, Network Rail, 2010.
17. Risk Based Inspections – Guidance Note, Welsh Assembly Government, February 2010.
18. Risk Based Bridge Evaluations – A Texas Perspective, Kowalik, A., Department of Transportation,
ASCE Structures Congress’ 09, Austin, Texas, 2009.
19. Bridge Asset Management – Reduce Maintenance Costs and Improve Reliability with Risk-Based
Management, Lloyd’s Register.
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Appendix A
Interpretation of the Condition Performance Indicator for Individual
Structures[8]
CPIAv CPICrit
Range
(All Structure Elements) (Worst Critical Element)
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