Wednesday, 10/25/2017
The
SustIMS project results from a partnership between the School of Engineering of
the University of Minho (EEUM), the Universidade Nova of Lisboa and the road
infrastructures entity, Ascendi. The award was granted on the 30th
October, in Dubai.
The main objective of SustIMS is the
development of a sustainable roadway infrastructure management system. This
platform will manage, within a coherent and sustainable way, all main elements
of a concession, including bridges, pavements, embankments and walls. This platform
will allow improving the quality of available data on the infrastructure in
each moment, improving the future performance forecasts, and making better
decisions regarding the preservation and rehabilitation of each infrastructure
element. Managing infrastructures efficiently, sustainably and with fewer
resources, but ensuring their required performance, is another aim of SustIMS.
The 2017 GRAA Award - International
Road Federation's Global Road Achievement Awards – granted by an association
that involves several infrastructures managers, recognised that this is an innovative
and disruptive solution which can be used at an international level. In this
regard, the award was granted in the asset preservation and maintenance
management category. The award ceremony took place in Dubai, during the IRF
Middle East & North Africa Regional Congress & Exhibition.
“Currently, some operators have become
aware and are interested in this tool. Ascendi has already implemented and
tested it. We hope that in the short/medium term we will have comparative
results that allow us to say – with greater objectivity – what are the resource
savings and the improvements related to performance of our infrastructures”,
José Matos, Professor from the Department of Civil Engineering of the EEUM and
one of the project’s coordinator explained. “This award goes beyond the
academic world, since it was recognised by business entities. It will be an
excellent opportunity for EEUM to strengthen its position in Civil Engineering
worldwide. SustIMS only shows that there is still a lot to be done in Civil
Engineering”, he added.
The project resulted from a partnership
with EEUM, represented by the ALGORITMI Research Centre, the Centre of
Territory, Environment and Construction (CTAC) and the Institute for
Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE) – all from the
EEUM – with 21 researchers in total. It also counted on the participation of
Universidade Nova of Lisboa and Ascendi.
+ info: https://www.eng.uminho.pt/pt/investigareinovar/projetoscomempresas/Paginas/default.aspx; https://www.eng.uminho.pt/pt/media/Documents/ENGIUM_5.pdf
