On March 28th, 86 attendees tuned into our TECHnique Zoom meeting titled, “Bridge Life Cycle Cost Savings Through Inspectability Design,” presented by Jennifer Laning, PE, Vice President at TranSystems.

Standard practice during bridge design is to consider the biddability of the construction documents, the constructability of the design, and the operability of the asset. Quite often, designers do not consider the inspectability of the bridge over its life cycle. Inspection, required by law on a 24-month cycle at a maximum, presents the bridge Owner with costs such as labor, equipment expenses, travel impacts, and safety. These costs, especially for complex bridges, signature structures, and high-level river crossings, can be reduced if inspectability is considered during the design phase.

Jen began by discussing Inspection Requirements per NBIS. She discussed the various methods of bridge access to perform inspections and gave a breakdown of bridge life cycle inspection costs. She discussed different types of inspection equipment and methods that can be used such as snoopers or rigging as well as emerging technologies. She gave specific examples of bridge design details to include and avoid in order to improve bridge inspection access and visibility. She gave examples of bridges where the construction of details such as a maintenance and traveler system really enabled better access and hands-on visibility. Jen ended by thanking the audience for their time and by taking questions. One PDH credit was offered for the event. We thank Jen for such an informative session!

Check out a recording of the session and screenshots.