This paper presents an optimization framework for highway infrastructure elements that integrates risk profiles (for infrastructures) and economic aspects. One main goal is to assess the necessary additional effort to satisfy performance constraints under different scenarios of climate change. In order to be easily deployable by national road administrations (NRAs), this framework is built in such a way that it can be embedded into asset management systems that include an inventory of the asset, inspection strategies (to report element conditions and safety defects) and decision-making for funds allocation. Using the inventory of the asset and condition assessment as input, the method aims to determine some degradation profiles for bridge components, retaining walls and steep embankments. The method to determine the degradation process is detailed so that any infrastructure manager can determine their own deterioration processes based on the inventory and condition assessment of their stock. Combining degradation of highway infrastructures with a risk analysis, this paper presents an optimization framework to determine optimal management strategies. ... Read more

Event analysis is needed to learn and improve safety. In air transport, ‘occurrences’ are routinely reported by pilots and air traffic controllers, and in-flight data analysis systems automatically monitor aircraft system behaviour and capture parameter threshold exceedances. The safety analyst of a large airline has to analyse dozens of occurrences each day. To understand why events happened the analyst has to go
beyond the given information and make causal inferences. The analyst is able to do this for causal factors closely related in time and space to the event itself by applying individual knowledge and expertise. But typically the result of the analysis is ad hoc reaction to each individual event. Systematic analysis is needed to find areas of improvement for factors that are further removed from the event (latent factors).
New tools are needed to help the analyst in this respect. There is a need for models that represent possible causal event sequence scenarios that include technical, human, and organisational factors. Building such models is a huge task, and requires the combination of detailed knowledge of all aspects of the system, processing huge amounts of data, a substantial mathematical background and the ability to capture
this all in a user friendly software tool to be used by the safety analysts. Experience in Causal Modelling of Air Transportation System (CATS) in the Netherlands and similar projects in FAA and Eurocontrol in aviation shows that this is indeed a formidable task, but it has to be done to further improve safety. ... Read more