S30013 Structures Inspection Quality Review

Structural safety is a National Highways priority which is mitigated and managed through various processes including a programme of inspections. National Highways has approximately 23,000 recorded structural assets which are subject to routine Principal and General Inspections (PI's and GI's) resulting in approximately 11,500 inspections being conducted annually, including those undertaken by DBFO (Design Build Finance and Operate) Companies.

Inspections data is used by National Highways for a range of purposes; most notably the condition and inventory data are used to make investment decisions and to produce performance reports on the condition of the assets. It is therefore important for National Highways to ensure that inspections data is accurate, complete and of a reliable quality, and those inspections are undertaken in accordance with DMRB document CS 450 or, in the case of some DBFO's, BD 63.

The objectives of this project are to improve the quality of inspections and provide some assurance of the quality of those inspections and the relevant associated structures data within IAMIS (Integrated Asset Management Information System), by examining structures data and inspection reports for a sample of structures each year and providing constructive feedback to the inspections community. It also provides a structured approach for examining structures data and inspection reports. Lessons learnt from previous tasks have helped inform the scope for this project. Since 2017 a review process has been established within National Highways, whereby specialists within Structures SES (Safety Engineering and Standards) also review a sample of inspection reports per annum.The findings of the previous audits have been reported to National Highways Operations Area teams, in a bid to create engagement with inspector teams.