Project description
Paving the way for safer roads
Infrastructure is an integral part of Europe’s transport system. Operated by more than one million private and public companies, this complex network enables free movement of goods and services to citizens and businesses in the EU and beyond. One of the major challenges for Europe’s transport system, is the creation of a well-functioning Single European Transport Area amidst rapidly growing traffic loads, ageing infrastructure and a pressing need to build resilience against natural and man-made disasters. Improved and standardised monitoring capabilities are perceived as key enablers for ensuring the safety of transport infrastructure. The EU-funded IM-SAFE project aims to prepare a new standard in monitoring for optimal maintenance and safety, reflecting on the current trends and demands while considering best practices, technology developments and digital solutions.
Objective
Transport infrastructure is highly important on the EU Strategic Agenda. This infrastructure is facing real challenges due to ageing, rapid growth of traffic loads, and natural and man-made resilience threats. Safety risks have become critical in the recent years and manifested in major disasters caused a.o. by structural failures due to maintenance deficiencies. Optimal maintenance is only possible with the right policies and decisions enabled by timely and accurate information from monitoring. Unfortunately, monitoring is not adequately addressed in the existing standards (CEN TC/250 Eurocodes) and there are gaps in the monitoring practices at national level.
Therefore, IM-SAFE aims to support the European Commission and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) to prepare a new standard in monitoring for optimal maintenance and safety of transport infrastructure based on a comprehensive insight into the trends, challenges, best practices, and technology developments, including the integration of digital innovations. As the effectiveness of the new standard depends on societal acceptance, IM-SAFE simultaneously aims to coordinate and enable public authorities and industries to contribute to standardisation, roll-out, and implementation. The key targeted results from IM-SAFE are: 1) formulation of an EC mandate to CEN; 2) consolidated technical background materials for CEN; and 3) active engagement of stakeholders and experts in the Community of Practice (CoP) and Standardisation Advisory Group (SAG).
The IM-SAFE consortium represents a European network of standardisation experts from research and higher educational institutes, large industries, SMEs, and a non-profit platform working on the transport infrastructure along the EU TEN-T and regional corridors. The consortium collaborates with leading infrastructure asset owners and operators as well as monitoring and maintenance companies. These stakeholders and the consortium together have initiated IM-SAFE.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
2595 DA Den Haag
Netherlands