Sund & Bælt has entered into a development partnership with the Italian technology company, Sacertis. Intelligent sensors and algorithms will monitor the structural health of over 400 motorway bridges in Italy, which will ensure their correct maintenance and prolong service life.  Most importantly, however, the software will send out an alert before any critical developments arise.

At the core of the collaboration lies know-how from the Storebælt Bridge. Well-established Danish knowledge of bridge operations and maintenance will help to prevent the tragic collapse of vital infrastructure, as happened in the northern Italian city of Genova two years ago.

"The collaboration gives us the opportunity to share our experience. We should be proud that know-how from the Storebælt Bridge can make a difference and help to make international infrastructure safer,” Bjarne Jørgensen, Executive Director, Sund & Bælt.

For the Italian technology company, global expertise has been essential in fine-tuning the development work.

"Denmark is known for its high-quality maintenance of bridges and tunnels. It’s of great value for us to be able to develop the tool with a partner like Sund & Bælt. The company has substantial experience and already uses digital technologies to work smarter and more safely,” says Andrea Cuomo, director and founder of Sacertis.

From risk assessment to renewed youth

The initiative has already got underway. Every week, sensors are installed in two more motorway bridges in the Italian road network. The actual tool, however, is implemented in one application: a piece of monitoring software which can convert data from the sensors into a visual overview of when maintenance is required.

Combined with IBM’s Watson, Sacertis and Sund & Bælt have developed a tool that can be used to organise the maintenance of a bridge. Rather than simply responding at an early stage to a bridge in a state of disrepair, focus has now shifted to ensuring ongoing maintenance. This prevents dangerous situations from arising and also extends the bridge’s service life.

“This is where it really gets interesting. Our own Storebælt Bridge has been built for a service life of 100 years, but with the use of data and digital solutions, we expect to increase the bridge’s service life by 50-100 years,” says Bjarne Jørgensen, Executive Director, Sund & Bælt.

Initially, the new collaboration will monitor the structural health of the Italian bridges. In time, however, it will be made available to infrastructure throughout Europe and subsequently on a global scale.

Facts

• The new digital monitoring solution is known as CEA – Civil Engineering Assistant, and will, as the name suggests, support engineers in assessing the condition of bridges, tunnels and the like.
• In the spring, Sund & Bælt announced a digital collaboration with IBM on the development of an advanced Internet of Things-based system for targeted operation and maintenance - Maximo for Civil Infrastructure. The new app, CEA, is designed to communicate with Maximo thus maximising the use of both tools.
• The technology supports new and improved road safety regulations that are being drawn up in the EU, and which apply to all motorways and other main roads in the EU.
• Sacertis is an Italian technology company specialising in the monitoring of infrastructure and risk management by combining data science, advanced mathematics and sensor technology. As an important part of the strategy, they work with leading experts at a global level.