The development of UK bridge management systems

In order to address what maintenance to tackle within given budgetary const raints, bridge managers are now turning to computerized bridge management s ystems. All too often, however, the capabilities of these systems fail to s atisfy the requirements of the potential users. This paper describes a surv ey of those actively involved in bridge management, aimed at identifying ex actly what they do require of such systems and, based on the responses rece ived, a functional specification for a more comprehensive system is propose d. It is suggested that this should have a modular format, adopt a consiste nt and rational approach based on transparent methodologies and be able to prioritize projects according to a number of criteria. The functional speci fication proposed provides a basis for the development of a system that it is intended will. be both complementary to and compatible with the structur es management system currently being developed by the Highways Agency.