Multi-criteria-based Simulation Model to Estimate Resources for Bridge Inspections

Bridges are important links in the US infrastructure system, and various inspection activities at different frequencies are needed to maintain and preserve bridges at an acceptable level of service. Recent guidelines by Federal highway administration (FHWA) have mandated state agencies to inspect and manage bridges at an element level. To obtain element-level inspection data, different resources are needed for mobilizing, cleaning, and accessing all elements of a bridge, creating complication in optimizing resource allocation for inspection activities. This study proposes a simulation-based, easy-to-use planning tool for bridge inspection to effectively estimate the minimum resources required to complete all the FHWA mandated inspections using four attributes (deck area, inspection frequency, structure type and scour critical) from bridge inventory database. The results of the simulation model can show resource utilization under different scenarios, which supports the planning of element-level bridge inspection to ensure optimum resource allocation.