Geotechnical and Structures Asset Management, Climate Change Impacts on UK's ICT Infrastructure Asse

Learning outcomes:

LO1: Develop the ability to monitor, interpret and apply an integrated or systems approach to infrastructure engineering problems through know-how of the relevant technologies, their applications and modelling in order to bring about continuous improvement.

LO2:  Demonstrate to work with information that may be incomplete or uncertain and be aware that this may affect the design  and apply problem-solving skills, technical knowledge and understanding to create or adapt design solutions that are fit for purpose including operation, maintenance, reliability etc.

LO3: Exhibit knowledge and understanding of the commercial, economic and social context of engineering processes and awareness of risk issues, including health & safety, environmental and commercial risk.

LO4: Demonstrate knowledge of quality issues and their application to continuous improvement of infrastructure engineering system (eg. operations and management, application and development of technology, etc) and ability to use relevant materials, equipment, tools, processes, or products.

Q1: Geotechnical asset management (20%)

Highways England operates, maintains and improves England’s Strategic Road Network (SRN), which has a diverse asset base. Well-maintained geotechnical assets are key to a safe and smooth-running SRN, and failure of these assets can lead to delays, resulting in significant economic impacts. Discuss the Highways England’s current approach to geotechnical asset management.

Q2: Structures Asset Management (35%)

1. Consider a 2-span bridge carrying an A class road and crossing a navigable watercourse. The total length of the structure is 17m and the average width is 8m. The spans are supported on elastomeric bearings and the central pier is located in the river bed. The clearance of the bridge to water surface is 4.7 m. Given their condition and exposure environment, the following components require maintenance in the same year:

• Bearings – the reported condition of the bearings is 3C and they are in a severe exposure environment (assuming that the expansion joints on the structure are not functioning). ‘Bearings Replacement’ is triggered as an appropriate intervention under a preventive maintenance strategy.
• Expansion Joints – the reported condition of the nosing joints is 4C and they operate in a mild environment (i.e. low traffic). ‘Expansion Joint Replacement’ is triggered as an appropriate intervention.
• Abutments – the reported condition of the reinforced concrete abutments is 3C and they are in a severe exposure environment (assuming that the expansion joints on the structure are not functioning). ‘Concrete Repairs’ are triggered as an appropriate intervention under a preventive maintenance strategy.

Calculate the following costs:

1. Bearings replacement cost (2%)
2. Expansion joints replacement cost (2%)
3. Abutments concrete repairs cost (2%)
4. Total replacement works cost (2%)
5. Traffic management cost - Lane Closure (2%)
6. Traffic management cost - Waterway Possession (2%)
7. Total traffic management cost (2%)
8. Preliminaries cost and other costs (2%)
9. Design cost (2%)
10. Total scheme cost (2%)
11. Total maintenance cost at element level (10%)

2. The primary deck element of a 15 m long bridge has reached condition 4D. There are no available funds to undertake any maintenance work. The structure carries an A class road with high traffic. The bridge is flagged as having its safety or performance at risk and a restriction is applied for 10 days. Calculate the traffic delay cost. (5%)

Q3. Exploring impacts of climate change on UK’s ICT infrastructure Assets  (10%)

Information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure is critically important to the society. An ICT system comprises integrated networks, systems and components that enable the transmission, receipt, capture, storage and manipulation of information by users on and across electronic devices. ICT is a relatively new but rapidly developing infrastructure sector. As reported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU, 2014), the UK is one of the world’s largest ICT markets. The UK’s ICT industry is worth £58 billion annually (UK Trade & Investment, 2014), and is ranked as the fifth in 2014 globally in terms of development (ITU, 2014). There is a continued growth in the uptake and spread of ICTs (Ofcom, 2014). While ICTs contribute to climate-related responses and adaptive practices, much less is known about the impacts that climate change may have on ICT itself. Drawing on knowledge in the literature and findings elicited from industrial workshop conversations and case studies, explore the available evidence of climate impacts on the UK’s ICT infrastructure assets. (10%)