‘We need to focus on shovel-worthy projects, not just shovel-ready ones’

Data can drive resilience and adaptation across our transport networks, but only with the right leadership, people and behaviour in place. 

That was the verdict from delegates at the ICE Resilient Transport conference in Manchester, who participated in a roundtable discussion organised by the ICE in association with Bentley Systems.

Transport networks face increasing pressures from climate change, ageing infrastructure and constrained funding. Data is emerging as one of the most important enablers of resilience and improvement.

There is no shortage of information or technological solutions, but increasingly, the key challenges are how projects and organisations use data effectively, share it consistently and draw lessons for the future.

Resilience can’t be achieved by managing assets in isolation

Transport networks are complex and interconnected, providing essential services for society and the economy.

While many projects may appear to be ‘one offs’, the lessons drawn from their data have great value to the industry and promote innovation, better design and advances in asset management.

‘Delivery of transport services relies on interconnected systems of assets, often owned and operated by multiple asset owners,’ says Nikki Van Dijk, technical director on climate resilience at Mott MacDonald.

‘Climate change and associated risks such as flooding, heatwaves, and storms cascade through these systems, resulting in delays, damage, and prolonged recovery times.

‘Taking a systems approach and combining data on asset exposure and vulnerability to these risks enables investment in climate adaptation to be more targeted and efficient.’

While many organisations are collecting data, there often remains a lack of common language and interoperability across projects, teams and systems.

As such, using this data to make informed decisions on resilience and other factors is challenging.

But with the pressures of climate change, this is increasingly vital if professionals are going to enact positive change and make the case for investment across projects.

'We need to be confident we are investing in the right things'

Data can play a vital role in informing smarter investment decisions for government and project teams.

Transport bodies, asset owners and the finance and insurance sectors want robust evidence to justify where funding is directed and which projects will deliver the greatest long-term value.

‘We need to focus on shovel-worthy projects, not just shovel-ready ones,’ explains Mark Coates, vice president of infrastructure policy advancement at Bentley Systems.

‘That means using better data to understand climate risks across our transport networks and giving government, investors and insurers clearer evidence of where investment will deliver lasting value.

‘Being ready to build is not enough, we need to be confident we are investing in the right things’

Better data can also enable asset owners to better target investment at a network or local level, and to understand how to build resilience, improve assets and minimise disruption.

There is a reputational risk for the engineering profession as communities and the economy feel the effects of asset failures.

Engineers will need to better explain their decisions and make the case for targeted interventions to build resilience and maintain the support of the public.

AI can boost data’s resilience impact

Major programmes such as HS2 have been using AI to complement human design and enhance digital engineering, but the impact it can have for resilience – now and in the future – remains unclear.

AI is increasingly used to verify designs and assumptions and extract insight from complex asset data, which can potentially produce significant resilience benefits.

But the real value of data to projects still comes from the professionals using it, making decisions and applying their knowledge and experience.

To get the most out of data and AI, clients will need the right structures, expertise and leadership.

Alex Pendleton, senior director at Jacobs, says: ‘AI can be very helpful in adding value to a project: verification, cleaning data, checking construction schedules, yet we need to get better at the way we structure our data.

‘It is not for cutting-edge work and can’t replace the work of engineers,’ he assures.

Many of the solutions already exist

The discussion recognised that the right people, leadership and behaviour needs to be in place if technology is going to have an impact on resilience.

Many of the solutions already exist, yet progress is often slow during to industry silos and tight budgets.

Resilience is a challenge affecting all assets and transport systems, and impacts are going to be felt sooner than was predicted even a decade ago.

The priority is therefore to apply the tools and knowledge we have, build positive leadership which is willing to innovate and turn discussion into delivery.

Through this, networks will feel wide reaching benefits that are supported by data into the future.