Taking a value-based approach to bridge maintenanceprioritisationCSIC with Industry Partner Cambridgeshire County Council

The projectCSIC Asset Management team has worked withCambridgeshire County Council to develop avalue-driven prioritisation tool to order annualmaintenance activities for the organisation’sportfolio of bridges.

The challengeCambridgeshire County Council is responsible forthe maintenance of over 1500 bridges of varioustypes, ages, and usage patterns across thecounty. The bridges include some with heritagestatus, including the 15th century St Ives Riverbridge, and others of strategic importance withhigh traffic volume.

The council needs to determine the annualmaintenance tasks required across the bridgeportfolio while working within pressing budgetconstraints; prioritising maintenance activitiesand justifying expenditure to funders is key.

The approachCSIC worked closely with maintenance engineersand planners at the council to develop a bridgemaintenance prioritisation tool to order annualmaintenance activities that considers:• the value generated by the task• the cost of maintenance• the risks posed by the condition of the bridge

to the safety and functionality of the bridge• factors including heritage status and wider

impact on the road network, incorporatingthe needs of all stakeholders.

The maintenance prioritisation tool complementsCSIC’s three-phase value-based decision-makingapproach by:• developing a valuation scheme for bridges

based on criticality to the network operation• developing a value-map for the bridge that

identifies how the condition of the bridgeaffects the various value drivers

• using the value-map and the valuationscheme to quantify the effect ofmaintenance activities and prioritiseactivities on the basis of value-for-money.

As the Excel-based tool uses a simple scoringscheme, it is practical and easy to understandand implement by a wide range of asset-management organisations and businesses. Theprioritisation tool provides information regardingthe key factors that influence the value providedby the asset.

The benefitsCSIC’s bridge maintenance prioritisation toolenabled the council to make better-informeddecisions and:• helped bridge managers at the council to

justify the annual expenditure on bridgemaintenance and to clearly prioritisemaintenance activities to ensure maximumvalue for money spent

• enabled asset managers at the council tobetter understand and appreciate the value-based approach to asset management

• potentially paved the way for establishing astep-change in the way assets are managedacross the council’s wider asset portfolio.

This value-driven approach forces assetmanagers to think systematically about thedifferent ways by which asset value can bemanaged, and highlights key informationnecessary to manage the asset.

CSIC’s maintenance prioritisation tool can beadapted for use by other councils and assetowners to deliver a wide-scale impact bothnationally and internationally.

Impact“CSIC's value-based prioritisation tool providesus with a structured approach to planmaintenance of our portfolio of some 1500bridges. The tool will allow us to prioritise themaintenance activities on our bridges annuallybased on the provision of service to the bridgeusers, risk to structural integrity, and the cost ofmaintenance. It provides us with a degree ofconfidence to justify the expenditure andprogramming of our highway structures to target our limited resources to the benefit of the local communities.”

Gareth Guest, Area Bridge Manager atCambridgeshire County Council.

CSIC contacts:Dr Ajith Parlikad E: aknp2@cam.ac.ukDr Raj Srinivasan E: rs538@cam.ac.uk

For further CSIC Asset Management case studiessee www.centreforsmartinfrastructure.com

Transforming asset management

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anagement

csic-admin@eng.cam.ac.uk +44 (0)1223 746976www.centreforsmartinfrastructure.com @CSIC-IKC

St Ives Bridge, Cambridgeshire, a fifteenth century bridge forming part of the CSIC and Cambridge County Council bridge maintenance portfolio. Picture courtesy of Cambridge News, Cambridge Newspapers Ltd