Upgrading Bridge Inspection Skills

Besides addressing bridge inspection procedures, bridge forces, rating and testing; this course focuses on detecting and locating critical problems.

Course Outline

After participating in this course, you will be able to:

• apply the experience you shared with the experts, that has enabled them through planned inspections to reduce maintenance costs,
   increase useful life of bridges and reduce liability
• add better detailing having reviewed detailing by experts and learning what worked and what did not work
• conduct more thorough inspections having gained knowledge of methods for inspection and recognition of significant bridge
   deterioration problems
• develop an effective bridge inspection program including a range of suitable techniques
• use the special inspection techniques vital to different types of bridges
• improve your bridge management system applying the knowledge acquired at the seminar about such systems used by others

Description

An effective bridge management system, to ensure safety and long useful life of bridges, depends on efficient bridge inspection. Bridge inspectors must understand the relationship between design and inspection to make accurate appraisals of deterioration and maintenance problems, using sound judgment based on an understanding of basic inspection requirements and the need for maintenance and rehabilitation. They must locate and evaluate critical deterioration and understand the effects of deterioration on load capacity and rating for all bridges whether built of concrete, steel or timber.

Besides addressing bridge inspection procedures, bridge forces, rating and testing, this course focuses on detecting and locating critical problems.

Objective

To provide the special knowledge required by bridge inspectors for inspection of different types of bridges.

Who Should Attend

Bridge owners, bridge inspectors and superintendents, bridge engineers, managers, and public works officials, consulting engineers, material testing and transportation and public safety personnel, railway bridge engineers, patrol supervisors, bridge foremen, maintenance inspectors, municipal road superintendents and others responsible for maintaining, upgrading and safeguarding existing bridges. The course will be of most value to those with some bridge inspection experience who are looking to update, sharpen and broaden their knowledge; prior knowledge of bridge structures is assumed.

Special Feature
Students are encouraged to bring electronic photos of bridge issues they may want to discuss during the course.

Program Outline

Chairperson: Randy Bredo, Bredo Consulting

Day I

8:00      Registration and Coffee

8:20      Welcome, Introduction, Workshop Preview, Learning Outcomes and the Assessment Method

8:30      Overview of Bridge Inspection Strategy
              Randy Bredo
            • Rationale for an inspection strategy
            • Annual and routine inspections
            • Detailed visual inspection
            • Options for action:  restriction, repair, upgrade, replace

10:00    Refreshments and networking

10:20    Detailed Visual Inspection of Foundation, Sub-Structures and Waterways                              
              Randy Bredo                                                                                                                        
            • Foundation Structures - piers and pilings, footings
            • Foundation Materials
            • Foundations - soil interaction, water interactions
            • Support characteristics of native ground material 
            • Foundation Inspection - warning signs of foundation problems
            • Substructure Inspection - warning signs of problems
            • Waterways, Hydraulic Capacity, Environmental Considerations 
            • Scour, Embankment stability, and Erosion
            • Underwater Inspection
            • Underwater Inspection Programs
            • Evaluating Damage's effects on Structures 
            • Remedial Actions and Repair Strategies for Foundations

12:00    Lunch

1:00      Detailed Visual Inspection of Concrete Bridges
              Randy Bredo
            • Mechanical damage
            • Chemical damage
            • Deck inspections
            • Substructure inspections
            • Inspection of other components (wing walls, etc.)
            • Material and component defects
            • Examples
            • Material and component defects
            • Examples

2:40      Refreshments and Networking

3:00      Detailed Visual Inspection of Steel Bridges
              Randy Bredo
            • Components of steel structures
            • Corrosion, determining loss of section
            • Material and component defects
            • Critical and non-critical defects
            • Examples - steel railway bridges
            • Examples – Bailey Bridges

4:30      Adjournment

Day II

8:30      Detailed Visual Inspection of Timber Bridges
              Randy Bredo
            • Components of timber bridge structures
            • Causes of decay, special testing and inspection equipment for timber to evaluate deterioration wood species and preservatives
            • Condition rating, how timber specifications affects durability

9:40      Refreshments and Networking

10:00    Detailed Visual Inspection of Culverts
              Randy Bredo 
            Erosion and corrosion damage
            • Structure shape concerns
            • Common problems
            • Field inspection
            • Repair and rehabilitation

11:30    Discussion Forum - Q&A on Visual Inspection Problems
              Randy Bredo

12:00    Lunch

1:00      Non-Visual Inspection - NDE and Laboratory Testing
              Randy Bredo
            • Relationship to visual inspection
            • What tests are available, and what information will they provide
            • Planning, inspection procedure, data collection, access equipment and traffic control
            • Identifying need for further inspection and testing
            • Planning the testing program
 
1:15      Non-Visual Inspection - NDE and Laboratory Testing 
              Oliver Gepraegs, P.Eng
             • Destructive: Concrete core sampling for:
               - Removal and testing of steel coupons (structural steel)
               - Removal and testing of reinforcing steel bars
               - Timber drilling and core sampling
               - Removal of concrete powder samples
             • Non - Destructive:
               - Corrosion potential survey
               - Corrosion rate measurements
               - Pachometer survey to determine concrete coverthickness
               - Delamination surveys using hammer sounding and chain dragging                                          
               - Impact echo measurements
               - Ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements
               - Rebound hammer measurements
               - Ground penetrating radar measurements
               - Radiography
               - Laboratory Test Methods
             • Chemical analysis of concrete for chloride ion content, sulphates and pH
             • Rapid chloride permeability testing
             • Compressive strength
             • Tensile properties of structural steel and reinforcing steel
             • Petrographic analysis
             • Alkali-aggregate reactivity testing
             • Hardened air void analysis

3:15      Refreshments and Networking

3:25      Bridge Management System
              Randy Bredo
            • Assigning priority to bridge maintenance and rehabilitation work based on criticality derived from inspection reports
            • Inspector's role in the bridge management system
            • Appropriate inspection frequency
            • Condition rating
            • Types of rating systems
            • Condition of components
            • Overall condition

4:20      Questions and Answers and Feedback to Participants on Achievement of Learning Outcomes

4:30      Concluding Remarks and Final Adjournment

Faculty

Randy Bredo
Randy Bredo, Certified Engineering Technologist is newly retired from 29 years of bridge experience including visual inspection, ultrasonic testing of steel trusses, detailed timber inspection, detailed culvert inspection, magnetic particle inspection and other related bridge activities. Mr. Bredo has completed approximately 8000 bridge inspections including the Ultrasonic Truss Inspection, Pin and Hanger Inspections, Coverplate Inspections and NU Girder Inspections. Over his career, he has been involved with numerous detailed inspections of treated timber bridges along with many other structures providing depth in cross knowledge of bridges. He is a present member of Alberta Society of Engineering Technologists and has served as a founding member of the steering committee for The Bridge Inspection and Maintenance System for the Province of Alberta. Mr Bredo was co-recipient of the 2005 Ministerial Award for Innovation and was awarded AMEC Infrastructure's 2006 Innovation Award. In his personal life, he has served two terms as a School Trustee as well as Chairman of the Barrhead School Division.

Oliver Gepraegs
Oliver Gepraegs, MASc., P.Eng., is the Division Manager of Levelton’s Calgary office and he is responsible for the company’s Alberta operations. He has extensive experience in rehabilitation of concrete structures and concrete materials engineering. He specializes in corrosion assessment and rehabilitation of deteriorating reinforced concrete structures. While completing his Master’s degree at the University of Waterloo his research focused on corrosion monitoring of reinforcing steel, development of corrosion protection strategies for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and service life assessment of high-performance concrete. He has conducted condition surveys of numerous bridges and other structures in British Columbia and Ontario.

He has given presentations to professional groups and published several papers on corrosion monitoring in reinforced concrete structures, condition assessment of structures, service life modeling and the use of supplementary cementing materials. He is a member of ACI Committees 222 (Corrosion of Metals in Concrete), 364 (Rehabilitation), 345 (Concrete Bridge Construction, Maintenance and Repair), and 365 (Service Life Modeling).ns.

Additional Details

Pre-Requisites

Certificates offered

1.2 CEU / 12 PDH

Cancellation Policy

To withdraw from a course, you must send a request, in writing, with the official receipt to our office. Fifteen or more business days in advance: full refund less $50.00 administration charge. Five to fifteen business days in advance: non-refundable credit of equal value for any future EPIC seminar within one year. Credits are transferable within your organization. In case of an unexpected event occurring after this time, you may send someone else to take your place without any additional cost.

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Would have liked more interactive problem solving.

Reviewed by Allen A. 2011