COST Action TU1406. Quality specifications for roadway bridges, standardization at a European level. eBook for the 3rd Workshop Meeting

Abstract

[Excerpt] COST Action TU1406 aims to address the European economic and societal needs by standardizing the condition assessment and maintenance level of roadway bridges. Currently, bridge quality control plans vary from country to country and, in some cases, within the same country. This therefore urges the establishment of a European guideline to surpass the lack of a standard methodology to assess bridge condition and to define quality control plans for roadway bridges. Such a guideline will comprise specific recommendations for assessing performance indicators as well as for the definition of performance goals, bringing together different stakeholders (e.g. universities, institutes, operators, consultants and owners) from various scientific disciplines (e.g. on-site testing, visual inspection, structural engineering, sustainability, etc.) in order to establish a common transnational language. COST Action TU1406 Workshops aim to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences between active researchers and practitioners as well as to stimulate discussions on new and emerging issues in line with the conference topics. This second Workshop addresses the WG1, performance indicators, WG2, performance goals, and WG3, establishment of a Quality Control plan, developments. The main outcome, given in this eBook, is really important, not only for those directly involved in this Action, but also for the whole bridge engineering community. [...]