Pile Condition Index Development

Existing methods and procedures for performing routine inspections and condition assessments of waterfront facilities are highly subjective. They rely — often exclusively — on the engineering judgment of the individual performing the inspection. Condition assessments based on these types of inspections have been shown to be extremely variable, rendering them inappropriate as the foundation for a comprehensive, automated facility management program. The Pile Condition Index (CI) represents the first step in a US Navy-sponsored effort to develop a more rational approach for performing routine inspections and condition assessments of waterfront facilities. The Pile CI — a more objective and repeatable method for assessing the condition of concrete piles — takes routine inspection data and transforms them into a standardized numeric rating, which indicates both the physical integrity of the pile and the level of remedial action necessary to correct any observed defects. The transformation of defect data into a numeric rating is accomplished using a weighted deduct-density model. A direct rating approach was used in developing the model, which is calibrated to produce values similar to averaged consensus ratings assigned by a panel of expert waterfront engineers. More than twenty waterfront engineering experts — representing industry, the US Navy, and academia — participated in the development of the Pile CI.