Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DETER (A Decision Support Tool to Manage Earthworks along Road and Rail Networks)
Período documentado: 2018-06-01 hasta 2018-11-30
Transport infrastructure owners must maintain their networks to ensure the safety of passengers and the reliability of transport services. The management of earthworks or geotechnical assets (i.e. cuttings, embankments, slopes, coastal assets) is particularly challenging as many of these assets were constructed prior to modern engineering standards, meaning that earth/rock slopes and embankments are of poor construction quality. More frequent extreme weather events due to climate change are rapidly worsening the situation and increasing the occurrence of earthwork failures. In northern European countries in particular, increased periods of intense rainfall and flooding due to climate change have resulted in a rise in the number of earthwork failures. In the UK for example, 163 earthwork failures occurred in 2015/16, including a number of significant failures, following the second wettest winter on record. These failures can have a devastating impact at national and international scale, leading to injuries, deaths and significant operational downtime across transport networks.
Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions Ltd. (GDG) have developed advanced methods of safety assessment and an associated Decision Support Tool (DST) for earthworks along transport networks that can be used for proactive and reliable maintenance planning. This innovative DST can be used to conduct a reliable risk ranking for earthwork assets, meaning that resources can be prioritised where the risk is greatest and, ultimately, prevent failures and save lives. The DST incorporates a rainfall hazard analysis, meaning that the impacts of climate change on earthworks can be explicitly considered. As such, this novel solution supports climate change adaptation planning for transport networks, which is critical to ensuring the resilience of infrastructure networks in the face of more extreme weather events.
Presently, GDG’s DST is in a stage of further development. GDG intend to commercialise this innovative solution within the European and global markets. To do so, the company has undertaken a feasibility study over the past six months to assess the technical feasibility and commercial potential of this innovation. The activities conducted as part of the feasibility study included the following: 1) a detailed market analysis, 2) a review of competing solutions, 3) a review of intellectual property & licensing issues, 4) a commercialisation plan, 5) a strategy for business growth, and 6) a risk management strategy, which form the basis of an elaborated business plan.
Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions Ltd. (GDG) have developed advanced methods of safety assessment and an associated Decision Support Tool (DST) for earthworks along transport networks that can be used for proactive and reliable maintenance planning. This innovative DST can be used to conduct a reliable risk ranking for earthwork assets, meaning that resources can be prioritised where the risk is greatest and, ultimately, prevent failures and save lives. The DST incorporates a rainfall hazard analysis, meaning that the impacts of climate change on earthworks can be explicitly considered. As such, this novel solution supports climate change adaptation planning for transport networks, which is critical to ensuring the resilience of infrastructure networks in the face of more extreme weather events.
Presently, GDG’s DST is in a stage of further development. GDG intend to commercialise this innovative solution within the European and global markets. To do so, the company has undertaken a feasibility study over the past six months to assess the technical feasibility and commercial potential of this innovation. The activities conducted as part of the feasibility study included the following: 1) a detailed market analysis, 2) a review of competing solutions, 3) a review of intellectual property & licensing issues, 4) a commercialisation plan, 5) a strategy for business growth, and 6) a risk management strategy, which form the basis of an elaborated business plan.
GDG intend to commercialise their innovative DST within the European and global markets. To do so, the company has undertaken a feasibility study over the past six months to assess the technical feasibility and commercial potential of this innovation. GDG have conducted a detailed market analysis to quantify the scale of the market opportunity. GDG have developed a solution to a problem faced by owners of road, rail and inland waterway networks worldwide. GDG has identified three primary market streams: 1) railway sector in Europe - most European railway networks were constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries prior to the adoption of modern engineering standards, meaning that the majority of earthworks assets along these networks are in a precarious state, 2) other infrastructure network owners in Europe - roadways and waterway networks in Europe also comprise a large number of earthworks assets that need to be proactively managed and maintained, 3) roadway networks in the United States - the majority of roadway infrastructure in the US was constructed in the mid-19th century and is currently in a poor state of report as a result of decades of under-investment by authorities.
As part of the detailed market analysis, GDG actively engaged with the Geotechnical Asset Owners Forum (GAOF), which aims to support transport owners involved in the management of geotechnical assets / earthworks. To further understand the current geotechnical asset management practices and sales readiness of the organisations involved in the GAOF, a survey was prepared and distributed to the infrastructure owners. The results of the survey show that members of the GAOF share a desire to improve their asset management approaches for earthworks along their networks. Furthermore, there is a general consensus among infrastructure owners that the impacts of climate change (e.g. periods of heavy rainfall) are negatively impacting their networks and that a strategic approach is needed to assess and manage this risk.
A competitor analysis has also been conducted as part of the feasibility study, which shows that GDG has a competitive advantage due to our significant R&D track record in relation to safety assessment for earthworks. GDG differentiates itself from its competitors through the provision of specialist geotechnical services that create added value for the customer. With a strong background in geomechanics and applied geotechnical research, particularly in relation to geotechnical asset management, GDG brings together state-of-the-art research and direct industry experience, and is in a position to offer a unique engineering service, delivering the most progressive, reliable and efficient geotechnical designs. A review of intellectual property and licensing issues has also been conducted. Furthermore, a commercialisation plan has been developed to allow GDG to become the market leader for earthwork asset management products and services, initially within Europe, but ultimately, internationally. A strategy for business growth to support this objective has also been developed and a risk management strategy has been outlined.
GDG possess unique expertise and skills to support the adoption of a proactive risk management approach for earthworks, including climate change adaptation planning, for transport infrastructure owners in Europe and worldwide. GDG’s novel solution has the potential to significantly decrease costs for infrastructure owners by prioritising earthwork repairs where they are most critical along the network, as determined according to a reliable risk assessment based on quantitative data. As such, cost savings will arise from the prevention of failures, which can result in direct losses (i.e. cost of physical repairs), as well as indirect losses (i.e. economic losses due to transport disruption).
As part of the detailed market analysis, GDG actively engaged with the Geotechnical Asset Owners Forum (GAOF), which aims to support transport owners involved in the management of geotechnical assets / earthworks. To further understand the current geotechnical asset management practices and sales readiness of the organisations involved in the GAOF, a survey was prepared and distributed to the infrastructure owners. The results of the survey show that members of the GAOF share a desire to improve their asset management approaches for earthworks along their networks. Furthermore, there is a general consensus among infrastructure owners that the impacts of climate change (e.g. periods of heavy rainfall) are negatively impacting their networks and that a strategic approach is needed to assess and manage this risk.
A competitor analysis has also been conducted as part of the feasibility study, which shows that GDG has a competitive advantage due to our significant R&D track record in relation to safety assessment for earthworks. GDG differentiates itself from its competitors through the provision of specialist geotechnical services that create added value for the customer. With a strong background in geomechanics and applied geotechnical research, particularly in relation to geotechnical asset management, GDG brings together state-of-the-art research and direct industry experience, and is in a position to offer a unique engineering service, delivering the most progressive, reliable and efficient geotechnical designs. A review of intellectual property and licensing issues has also been conducted. Furthermore, a commercialisation plan has been developed to allow GDG to become the market leader for earthwork asset management products and services, initially within Europe, but ultimately, internationally. A strategy for business growth to support this objective has also been developed and a risk management strategy has been outlined.
GDG possess unique expertise and skills to support the adoption of a proactive risk management approach for earthworks, including climate change adaptation planning, for transport infrastructure owners in Europe and worldwide. GDG’s novel solution has the potential to significantly decrease costs for infrastructure owners by prioritising earthwork repairs where they are most critical along the network, as determined according to a reliable risk assessment based on quantitative data. As such, cost savings will arise from the prevention of failures, which can result in direct losses (i.e. cost of physical repairs), as well as indirect losses (i.e. economic losses due to transport disruption).
At present, transport infrastructure managers are forced to make decisions about where to implement remediation works for earthworks based on disparate information from various data sources, and are constrained by annual budgets. GDG has developed an innovative software solution, which can be used to conduct a risk ranking of earthworks and to support decision making for optimised budget spending to prevent failures along road and rail networks. This is the leading DST available for the management of earthworks that is based on novel scientific algorithms, providing a quantifiable risk assessment for each earthwork asset.
Infrastructure owners undertake ongoing maintenance activities to manage the risk for thousands of earthwork assets along their networks so as to ensure the safety of network users and to avoid transport disruption. They make very challenging decisions regarding where they spend their limited maintenance budgets across their earthwork asset portfolio, with no scientific basis for which assets are at highest risk of failure. Essentially, transport infrastructure managers are tasked with making life or death decisions with limited information to support them, huge degrees of uncertainty due to the variable nature of the assets, and ever-decreasing annual budgets. Since the failure rate of earthworks is increasing due to more frequent extreme weather events linked to climate change, the need for a reliable solution is increasingly being sought. However, there is no solution currently available that can be used to quantify the risk along the network and infrastructure managers are desperately seeking a solution that supports proactive maintenance strategies, i.e. risk identification and mitigation, rather than reactive remediation approaches, which have generally been adopted to date.
GDG has developed an innovative DST, which can be employed by infrastructure managers to identify the earthwork assets with the highest risk, facilitating optimum budget spending according to a proactive maintenance strategy. Implementation of this innovation prevents unforeseen earthwork failures and, therefore, decreases injuries and deaths, while simultaneously improving operation through more effective budget spending.
GDG intend to commercialise their innovative DST within the European and global markets. To support this objective, the company has undertaken a feasibility study over the past six months to assess the technical feasibility and commercial potential of this innovation. The activities conducted as part of the feasibility study included the following: 1) a detailed market analysis, 2) a review of competing solutions, 3) a review of intellectual property & licensing issues, 4) a commercialisation plan, 5) a strategy for business growth, and 6) a risk management strategy, which form the basis of an elaborated business plan.
Infrastructure owners undertake ongoing maintenance activities to manage the risk for thousands of earthwork assets along their networks so as to ensure the safety of network users and to avoid transport disruption. They make very challenging decisions regarding where they spend their limited maintenance budgets across their earthwork asset portfolio, with no scientific basis for which assets are at highest risk of failure. Essentially, transport infrastructure managers are tasked with making life or death decisions with limited information to support them, huge degrees of uncertainty due to the variable nature of the assets, and ever-decreasing annual budgets. Since the failure rate of earthworks is increasing due to more frequent extreme weather events linked to climate change, the need for a reliable solution is increasingly being sought. However, there is no solution currently available that can be used to quantify the risk along the network and infrastructure managers are desperately seeking a solution that supports proactive maintenance strategies, i.e. risk identification and mitigation, rather than reactive remediation approaches, which have generally been adopted to date.
GDG has developed an innovative DST, which can be employed by infrastructure managers to identify the earthwork assets with the highest risk, facilitating optimum budget spending according to a proactive maintenance strategy. Implementation of this innovation prevents unforeseen earthwork failures and, therefore, decreases injuries and deaths, while simultaneously improving operation through more effective budget spending.
GDG intend to commercialise their innovative DST within the European and global markets. To support this objective, the company has undertaken a feasibility study over the past six months to assess the technical feasibility and commercial potential of this innovation. The activities conducted as part of the feasibility study included the following: 1) a detailed market analysis, 2) a review of competing solutions, 3) a review of intellectual property & licensing issues, 4) a commercialisation plan, 5) a strategy for business growth, and 6) a risk management strategy, which form the basis of an elaborated business plan.