Mahdi, I M; Khalil, A H; Mahdi, H A and Mansour, D M M (2022) Decision support system for optimal bridge' maintenance. International Journal of Construction Management, 22(3), pp. 342-356. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Bridges represent a significant percentage of the economy of many countries. They are a vital component of the country's road and highway network. Bridges are subjected to harsh environmental conditions throughout their service-life and consequently structural deterioration occurs. Asset managers are required to maintain networks in good service conditions and; in many cases with limited funds. The objective of this research is to develop a decision support system (DSS) for concrete bridges that provides assistance to the decision maker in evaluating and prioritizing the maintenance strategy of bridges. Thus, the decision maker can identify the urgency level of repair and select the optimal maintenance plan, either for a network of bridges, or on a single level, taking budget limitations into consideration. A comprehensive survey was conducted for data collection in order to build the system's database. This database includes different factors which are incorporated into the evaluation process. These factors include the bridge's defects, repair techniques and repair costs. Dynamic programing software was used to develop the optimal solution for the maintenance plan via creating a family of Pareto optimal alternatives for the DSS developed. A case study for DSS validation was implemented using Egyptian bridge networks. Results were also verified by questionnaire surveys sent to engineers working at the General Authority for Roads, Bridges and Land Transports who are dealing with Egypt's BMS. The responses to the questionnaires show that the developed DSS is comprehensive as it contains most of the critical parameters and its results are reasonable.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | bridges; budget allocation; decision support system; maintenance; optimal; plan |
| Index terms: | concrete bridge, land, Egypt, case study, prioritizing, database, engineer, validation, questionnaire, environmental conditions, repair, decision support, manager, deterioration, survey, strategy |
| Subjects: | data management, decision analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, management, maintenance engineering, Geography, professional development, real estate economics, environmental science, material degradation and durability, profession, data collection methods, practitioner |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Digital Applications, Sustainability, Risk Management, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Construction Materials, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here