Quality of Element-Level Bridge Inspection Data

Bridge inspection results provide input for several important functions such as maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation, bridge load capacity ratings, truck load routing/permitting, and future safety/condition predictions. As a result, the quality and reliability of inspection data are important for bridge management and to ensure the safety and serviceability of bridges. Element-level data collection has been required nationwide for bridges on the National Highway System since 2014, and therefore is relatively new to some bridge owners. The objective of the research reported here was to assess the quality of element-level bridge inspection data by comparing bridge inspection results between different bridge inspectors assessing the same bridges. This paper reports results from two research studies completed to collect data on the quality (i.e., variability) of element-level inspection data. Results of field trials indicated that there was significant variability in the data for bridge elements reported in the study. Based on these data, the element-level inspection results were widely dispersed—the smallest coefficient of variation calculated from the current studies was 18%, but typical values were found to be greater than 50% in most cases, and often greater than 100%. These data provide examples from a series of field trials that illustrate the need for improving the quality of element-level inspections to ensure the reliability of the data provided.