The BIM (building information modeling)-based approach for road pavement maintenance

Abstract

The recent developments of road pavement survey technologies guarantee acquisition of detailed data regarding the main functional and structural indicators, at a very high frequency and levels of accuracy and precision unconceivable few years ago. The relevant information, regarding surface distresses too, is thus available in economical, high-speed and high-resolution forms, with limited disturbance on traffic and road agencies issues. However, the availability of such a mass of data poses interesting questions concerning the most efficient processing and analysis methods, for optimizing maintenance operation planning. Unfortunately, the PMS adoption is not very common and widespread, as they are significantly complicated and sophisticated, with critical consequences in their actual and intense practical use. Then, there is a need of simplifying the pavement maintenance process, by defining smart tools actually supporting the operators in the analysis and decisional phases. BIM (Building Information Modeling) procedures can absolutely represent a strategical solution. Indeed, BIM models, already widely adopted in the structural fields, have been recently introduced in the infrastructural design phases, simplifying the entire life-cycle of the construction, with representation clarity, mistake reduction, and money savings. However, although the BIM advantages have been significantly exploited in the design phases, pavement maintenance has not been directly involved in the BIM processes. Then, this paper focuses on a methodological analysis of the problem, aiming to propose a novel BIM-based approach for managing pavement maintenance. The goal is to define proper “smart objects”, based on specific relational databases, that may represent a more suitable instrument for handling pavement condition and quality information, in a user-friendly software environment. The potentialities of the modern survey technologies may be integrated and optimized in a BIM process, involving in parallel both design and maintenance.