Journal of Infrastructure Systems

Infrastructure distress models predict the initiation and progression of distress on a facility over time as a function of age, design characteristics, environmental factors, and so on. Examples of facility distress included cracking, potholing, and rutting. Facility condition survey data sets typically include a large number of structural zeros indicating absence of distress at the time of observation. Most distress progression models in the literature are simple regression models that are estimated using the sample of observations for which distress has been initiated. These models are statistically erroneous because they suffer from selectivity bias due to the nonrandom nature of the estimation sample used. In this paper, we apply two econometric methods to estimate joint discrete-continuous models of infrastructure distress initiation and progression while correcting for selectivity bias. These methods are Heckman's procedure and the full information maximum likelihood method. An empirical case study demonstrates these methods for the case of highway-pavement-cracking models. It is shown that selectivity bias can be a very serious problem in such models.

A state increment method of life-cycle cost analysis (SILCCA) is presented for project-level evaluation of highway infrastructure maintenance options. The method involves: (1) Characterization of facility's physical and functional characteristics into discrete states; (2) specification of treatment alternatives for each state; (3) prediction of facility life-cycle performance as a series of state transitions; and (4) application of dynamic programming for life-cycle cost analysis. Four important advantages of SILCCA are: (1) A systematic procedure is used to identify treatment alternatives based on assessed condition; (2) engineering expertise is used to capture the effect of treatments on pavement condition and in turn improve the accuracy of prediction; (3) analytical and computational efficiency over traditional, Markov, and semi-Markov methods; and (4) a convenient framework for integration with network-level optimization methods. Based on the findings of a case study, it is concluded that SILCCA is systematic, accurate, and efficient.

This paper discusses fire-safety upgrades and the various aspects of their design and construction in standard airport traffic control towers (ATCTs) for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the Western Pacific region. Towers provide a safe and orderly flow of airport traffic for the benefit of the flying public. Knowledge of ATCT fire-safety upgrades can benefit professionals and contractors in various engineering fields, especially those interested in project management and control techniques. Specifically, the successful upgrading of 35 standard towers in the Western Pacific region to provide smoke-free, fire-protected means of egress and early-warning fire detection and alarm system, as specified in FAA's Fire Safety Guidelines , demonstrates how to meet major program objectives within a cost-effective time frame. This paper includes a brief history of the relationship between the FAA and the Technical Support Services Contract as it relates to these upgrades; a general description of the work required by the FAA; and a review of project organization, communications, design methodology, cost/scheduling, procurement, construction, major challenges, and recommendations for future upgrades.

Engineers have experienced difficulty in applying standard project/construction management techniques (e.g., critical path method) to the reconstruction and maintenance of an operating railway. These problems are most acute with respect to work performed by company forces; however, they are encountered in contract construction, design, and developmental projects. Often this experience has led to the conclusion that standard methods are, in fact, inappropriate to the environment of an operating railway. The writers believe this conclusion to be erroneous. The problem lies in the misjudging of, or the inability to, define the problem. This in turn results in the improper application of a management method or in the application of an inappropriate method. The formation of commuter and regional rail agencies, which have a large public-funding basis and have initiated large rehabilitation projects, has sparked a renewed interest in utilizing the appropriate analytical techniques in managing railway engineering efforts. In this paper the primary railway engineering operations are reviewed and a formal categorization is made using a “project management matrix.” This matrix provides a formalism for “problem definition” that will assist engineers in selecting the proper analytical management techniques. Railway construction and design management operations are discussed but not analyzed, since they accommodate the traditional management techniques such as CPM and PERT, which are well covered elsewhere. Two particular operations (maintenance and production) that are not covered in other literature are discussed and evaluated on our management matrix.

Reusing salvaged offshore oil and gas production jacket and/or deck structures is a means of reducing the construction cost and schedule. The decision to salvage, refurbish, and reinstall an unused jacket and/or deck structure(s) can benefit oil companies in two ways. First, the platform must be removed to meet environmental regulations; second, the platform's jacket and deck can be reused on future projects, resulting in construction-cost and schedule savings. The primary objective of this paper is to present a framework within which decision makers can identify a salvage process and reuse a platform when it is no longer in production. The second objective is to document the cost and schedule savings obtained when the platform's jacket and deck are reused. The data presented in this paper can be used by oil and gas companies to determine whether the reuse of a salvaged structure is a cost-effective alternative to building a new structure.

Highway management systems, in use for 25 years, are poised at a major stage of redevelopment. This need for redevelopment is driven by changes in management, decision making, and information requirements in transportation agencies. While these changes have several causes, a focal point is the set of new requirements in planning, programming, and management systems of the 1991 federal ISTEA legislation. A concurrent development has been the emergence of new computer hardware, software, and communications technology that enable management systems to be integrated within networks, providing a unified and coordinated storage and analysis of information regarding different aspects of highway transportation, able to be displayed in new, attractive ways. The new generation of management systems that will result from these combined developments will promote different ways of looking at highway infrastructure problems: e.g., a greater reliance on economic as well as engineering principles, involving benefits and costs based upon life-cycle analyses; a corresponding lesser reliance on arbitrary standards and criteria; greater flexibility in the types of analyses conducted and interpretation of results; and an enhanced ability to consider the implications of future scenarios (e.g., introduction of new highway technology).