In order to gain or retain control over the structural safety of the entire area as cost-effectively as possible, Iv-Infra has developed the ABC (AreaalBeoordeling Constructieve veiligheid) approach. ABC stands for Area Assessment Structural safety. With the aid of the step-by-step (from 'general' to 'detailed') risk-based approach, the structural safety of the entire area is mapped, and prioritisation is compiled. In 2014 and 2015, Iv-Infra has mapped the risk of structural safety for more than 400 individual civil engineering works for the municipality of Den Bosch. In the first phase of the ABC approach, risk assessment is primarily based on the general characteristics of the structure. To save time and effort, constructive calculations are not yet carried out at this step in the process. However, an initial overview of the prioritisation is already gained at this stage.
It turned out that many of the civil engineering works ended up ‘in the red’, mostly due to much of the basic information being absent or unavailable. Therefore, the municipality of Den Bosch has in recent years invested in retrieving the design data from archives and reorganising it. Furthermore, Iv-Infra was requested to inspect almost all bicycle bridges, conduct constructive assessments and, if necessary, provide specific repair advice. Iv-Infra designed the QuickScan Bicycle Bridges for this. Thereafter, based on design data that became available and aspects important to the municipality, the municipality gave priority to all traffic bridges. There were more than a hundred civil engineering works that emerged from this. The municipality of Den Bosch has decided to investigate these structural works over the course of four years and to test them constructively against the applicable standards and guidelines. The municipality has contracted four parties to conduct the investigations and testing: Royal Haskoning DHV in combination with Nebest, Witteveen + Bos and Iv-Infra.