The great advantage of the system lies in the fact that RoboÇControl helps to determine the exact intervention date and the cost of refurbishment, which can be quite considerable, depending on the project, can be allocated for in the budget. RoboÇControl is a fully automatic and very robust bridge remote monitoring system, which can be installed even at remote locations (Fig. However, the inspection cost may accumulate to several times the cost of the basic version of RoboÇControl, which is of the order of only a few EUROS and additionally reduces greatly the need for inspections. In many cases, this can only be achieved by frequent inspections. At the same time the owners (Highway departments) have the responsibility to maintain their structures at an adequate level of safety. Therefore, a close monitoring and inspection regime is required to determine the point of intervention (refurbishment). Ponte Nanin, canton Grisons, Switzerland Many of the of the shelf bridge structures build in the 1960ies were designed or build to an insufficient standard so that there is an increased chance that they are now deficient. Introduction: Why is there a need for economical monitoring systems Fig 1. Keywords: remote monitoring, structural assessments, GSM/GPRS, force measurement, movement monitoring, data analysisĢ 1. In summary mageba has developed a standardised low cost monitoring unit, which facilitates easy monitoring of bridge structures and allows for early remedial action ranging from emergency inspections to road closures. An example of this monitoring unit in use on a bridge structure in the Swiss Alps is given in this paper. In case a critical event occurs, an alarm message is sent directly from the bridge via SMS or from the internet portal via and early action can be taken. From this portal the data can also be downloaded for further analysis.
The measured data is then transmitted to mageba, where it is analysed and then the data is presented graphically on a secure internet portal. Hence, it can be installed even in remote locations.
mageba has recognised this need and developed an economical monitoring unit which is solar powered and transmits data via GSM. In other words a market has developed for a product, which can achieve continuous monitoring at reasonable cost to the owner. The traditional bridge inspection is either not capable of picking up this kind of data or the inspection interval is not sufficiently tight to give an early warning. Therefore, in many cases there is a need for structures to be monitored continuously and to pick up relevant data such as change in bridge movement, forces in the abutments or others, which might indicate a critical condition. In addition, some of these structures might have been built on unstable ground or be subject to harsh environmental conditions.
Summary Bridge owners need to obtain an understanding of the condition of their structures due to rigid safety demands and also the increasing age of many bridge structures, which makes it harder to assess whether the structures are compliant with the latest safety demands. After having worked as engineer in the UK for some years, he is now project manager and product manager for monitoring systems at mageba sa. mageba Switzerland Michael Siegwart, born in 1973, received his civil engineering degree from the University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe and his PhD from the University of Ulster (UK). Today, he is Deputy General Manager of mageba (Switzerland). Further, he received an MBA degree from the Business School IESE (Barcelona, Spain). (EOTA) Gianni MOOR Civil Engineer, MSc, MBA mageba Switzerland Gianni Moor, born in 1968, received his civil engineering degree from the Swiss Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland (ETHZ). He is a member of the European expert team for Road Bridge Expansion Joints. Today, he is the General Manager of mageba with headquarters in Switzerland. 1 Affordable remote monitoring system for bridge structures Thomas SPULER Civil Engineer, BSc mageba Switzerland Thomas Spuler, born 1956, received his civil engineering degree from the Polytechnic of Brugg/Switzerland.