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Owners' Forum Meetings

Introduction

Meetings of the Owners' Forum take place three times a year at King's College, Cambridge.

Useful information for those attending meetings:

Summaries of Past Meetings

2000: BOF1
2001: BOF2, BOF3, BOF4
2002: BOF5, BOF6/BCF2, BOF7
2003: BOF8, BOF9, BOF10
2004: BOF11, BOF12, BOF13
2005: BOF14, BOF15, BOF16
2006: BOF14, BOF15, BOF16
2007: BOF20, BOF21, BOF22, BOF23
2008: BOF24, BOF25, BOF26
2009: BOF27, BOF28, IBF2009/BOF29
2010: BOF30, BOF31, BOF32
2011: BOF33

2000

BOF1: November 2000
  • Introductory presentations from: the Welsh Assembly; British Waterways; The County Surveyors Society; The Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions; The Department for Regional Development (Northern Ireland); the Highways Agency; London Underground, Railtrack; SCOTS Bridges Working Group; and the Scottish Executive.
  • Discussions on current and future research.
  • Discussion on the role of a body like the Bridge Owners' Forum.

 

2001

BOF2: March 2001
  • Introductory presentations from British Rail Property Board, the Welsh Association of Technical Officers (WATO) and the London Bridge Engineering Group (LoBEG).
  • Bridge condition indices
  • Bridge maintenance 'High Policy'
  • Issues resulting from the Bridge Assessment and Strengthening program.

 

BOF3: July 2001
  • Research update from Highways Agency, Railtrack
  • Discussion of two research proposals from Welsh Assembly
  • Information on new 'Roads Liaison Group' to be chaired by the DTLR
  • Presentation on proposed automated system for managing abnormal indivisible loads (ESDAL)
  • Presentations on the theory and practical applications of Reliability analysis/Risk assessment
  • National bridge inspectors qualification
  • Feedback from first Bridge Consultants' Forum

 

BOF4: November 2001
  • Brief discussions on trial FRP bridge, Acoustic Emissions Testing, Shear research, Abnormal Indivisible Loads, Bridge Examiners NVQ scheme
  • Discussion on role of RLG Bridges Board relationship with Bridge Owners' Forum
  • Discussion on funding, future direction of Bridge Owners' Forum
  • Research proposal on Rivet Shear
  • Research updates from DTLR (AILs), CSS (Condition Indices), Highways Agency and Railtrack
  • Presentation on Assessment and Strengthening systems for Masonry Arch Bridges
  • Further discussion of two research proposals from the Welsh Assembly
  • Feedback from 1st Bridge Consultants' Forum

 

2002

BOF5: March 2002
  • Brief discussions on trial FRP bridge, Acoustic Emisions Testing, Shear research, Abnormal Indivisible Loads, Bridge Examiners NVQ scheme
  • Update on Masonry Arch Research
  • Research update from Highways Agency
  • Summary of Railtrack Research
  • Discussion of USA FHWA Report On Visual Inspections
  • Discussion of format for Joint BOF/BCF Meeting

 

BOF6/BCF2: June 2002
  • Discussion on Procurement, Government and EU guidelines etc.
  • Discussion on New materials, New Design and Analysis methods, Assessment of existing bridges, and Bridge Management
  • Research proposal: Masonry Arch 'Best Practice' Guide

 

BOF7: November 2002
  • Introductory presentation by Serco Docklands Limited
  • Discussions on Retro-fitted strengthening of Masonry Arch Bridges
  • Feedback from RLG Bridges Board
  • Discussion on the Prioritisation of Research proposals
  • Research updates from Highways Agency, Railtrack

 

2003

BOF8: February 2003
  • Feedback from RLG Bridges Board on funding for proposed projects
  • Masonry arch research
  • Research priorities
  • Presentation on Bridge Management Systems
  • Presentation on Environmental Assessment of Highway Bridges
  • Research Update from Highways Agency, Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd

 

BOF9: June 2003
  • Prioritisation of proposed research projects
  • Research Update from Highways Agency, Network Rail, others
  • Bridge Researchers' Forum proposals

 

BOF10: October 2003
This meeting took place following the Inaugural Bridge Researchers' Forum. The meeting was informal. No minutes were taken.
 

2004

BOF11: January 2004
  • Introductory presentation by Humber Bridge/Informal Discussion Group on Major Structures
  • Updates on Masonry Arch Guide, Dry Stone walls and Older Metal Bridges
  • Self escorting of abnormal loads
  • Research update from Highways Agency and Network Rail
  • Discussion on inviting research proposals from consultants/academic researchers
  • Inspection and Testing
  • Discussion on possibility of an International Bridge Forum

 

BOF12: June 1004
  • Updates on Masonry Arch guide, Dry stone walls, Older metal bridges, Masonry arch strengthening, ESDAL
  • Research updates from Highways Agency and Network Rail
  • Report of AUSTROADS 5
  • Technical Audit of BA79
  • Discussion and prioritisation of research proposals submitted by UK academics

 

BOF13: September 2004
This meeting was held after the CMI Workshop: Innovation in Monitoring and Management of Ageing Infrastructure.
 
  • EPSRC Bridge Research Initiative
  • Sensors and Monitoring - Highways Agency
  • Bridge Managements Systems - Atkins
  • Masonry Arch Best Practice Guide
  • Occupant risk during collision with masonry parapets and boundary walls

 

2005

BOF14: January 2005
  • Presentation on new Key Performance Indicators from the Highways Agency
  • Training for Bridge Inspectors
  • Discussions on Bridge Management
  • Updates on current status of research projects

 

BOF15: June 2005
  • Update on Masonry Arch Best Practice Guide
  • Update on Older Metal Bridges and Dry Stone Retaining Wall research projects
  • Updates from Network Rail and Highways Agency
  • Research projects proposed by UK academics
  • Proposal for continued BOF funding
  • International Bridge Forum format/agenda

 

BOF16: September 2006
  • AASHTO Grand Challenges document introduced with a view to seeing whether BOF should do something similar
  • Presentation by Jim Moriarty on 'Extreme Event Planning' on the aftermath of the July 7th 2005 bombings on the London Underground
  • Prioritisation of research proposals for consideration by the Bridges Board

 

2006

BOF17: January 2006
  • Presentation by Dana Skelley from Transport for London, who was attending BOF for the first time
  • Masonry arch strengthening: Presentations from Bill Harvey and Clive Melbourne and also from representative of various arch strengthening systems (Bersche-Rolt, Cintec, Helifix and MARS)
  • Presentation by H. Teramoto on Bridge Engineering in Japan.
  • Research opportunities arising from the introduction of a Bridge Management Code of Practice

 

BOF18: May 2006
  • Progress report on ESDAL (Electronic Service Delivery of Abnormal Loads
  • Presentation of 'Grand Challenges' document
  • Criticism of MEXE
  • Discussion of 13 Research Proposals submitted to BOF for 2006/7
  • International BridgeForum (IBF) postponed

 

BOF19: September 2006
  • The CIRIA Masonry Arch Bridge Guide is complete. The guide is available to buy in book form, or as a free download.
  • Richard Fish, chairman of the Roads Liaison Group Bridges Board, presented his vision on the respective roles of the RLG, Bridges Board and the Bridge Owners Forum.
  • Decision on which research projects were to be recommended to the Bridges Board for funding in 2007.
  • Discussion of the assessment and decision-making procedure for future research proposals, and management procedures for those proposals that become projects.
  • Research updates from Network Rail and the Highways Agency.

 

2007

BOF20: January 2007
  • Introduction of new member: The Manchester Ship Canal Company.
  • Presentation by Livia Pardi (Autostrade) on the European Construction Technology Platform and the 7th Framework Programme.
  • Presentation from JonesMarine on the use of HydroSCAN - a technique using digital photography to capture 3D data at a fraction of the cost of laser scanning. JonesMarine specialise in underwater applications but have expanded the technique to capture profiles of hard shoulder rumble strips. The technique may be adaptable for use in bridge inspection.
  • Presentation from Liam Duffy (National Roads Authority, Ireland) on the development of Eirspan - Ireland's bridge management system.
  • Research updates from Network Rail and the Highways Agency.

 

BOF21: May 2007
  • Presentation on 'Strategic Vision and Priorities' from Paul Foskett from the Department for Transport
  • Presentations on the inspection of main suspension cables on the Forth Road Bridge and the M48 Severn Bridge.
  • Discussion of 36 research proposals deferred to an extra meeting in July

 

BOF22: July 2007
  • Additional meeting only for discussion of the 36 new research proposals received for 2008/09

 

BOF23: September 2007
  • Tour of the Humber Bridge, including a presentation on the wireless monitoring of the relative humidity in the Ferriby Anchorage by Dr Neil Hoult.
  • Discussion of the Minnesota bridge collapse and any BOF response.
  • Shortlisting of new research proposals for 2008/09
  • Research updates from the Highways Agency and Network Rail, plus an update on international research presented by Dr Campbell Middleton.

 

2008

BOF24: January 2008
  • Introduction from SCOTS (Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland).
  • Presentation from Alex White (TRL) on automatic inspection of bridges using panoramic photographs and feature recognition software.
  • Presentation from Dr M. Hocking (SciSite) on a new corrosion detection technique.
  • Comments from Richard Fish (Chairman of UK Roads Liaison Group) on the future of the UKRLG and its constituant boards, and other matters
  • Research updates from Network Rail and the Highways Agency.

 

BOF25: May 2008
  • Introduction from CSS Wales
  • Presentation from Myles O'Reilly and John Perry on the CIRIA Dry-Stone Retaining Wall best-practice guide.
  • Presentation from Graham Tilly on the CIRIA Iron and Steel Bridges best-practice guide.
  • Presentation from Fiona Steele (Serco) on the progress of the ESDAL (Electronic Service Delivery for Abnormal Loads) project.
  • Research updates from Network Rail and the Highways Agency.

 

BOF26: September 2008
  • Discussion of BOF membership criteria, with respect to issues of conflicts of interest.
  • Presentation from Martin Brown (London Rail) on the partial failure of the inclined bearing pads of the GE19 steel truss bridge.
  • Presentation from Eric Greveson and Simon Topp (Yotta) on the potential of computer vision technology to assist in asset management of roadside structures.
  • Presentation by Dr Yusuke Kobiashi on the use of instrumentation of bridges in Japan for advanced weigh-in-motion-like detection of overweight vehicles and other novel research.

2009

BOF27: January 2009
  • Introduction of Paul Williams - new LoBEG representative to BOF
  • New terms of reference proposed for BOF
  • Presentation by Graham Tilly on the effectiveness of concrete repairs
  • Research update from Network Rail

 

BOF28: July 2009
  • Discussion of BOF project funding and procurement
  • Discussion on the format of the International Bridge Forum to be held 13th-16th September 2009
  • Research update from Network Rail and the National Roads Authority (Ireland)

 

IBF2009 (BOF29): September 2009
The inaugural International Bridge Forum was held 13th-16th September 2009.

2010

BOF30: January 2010
  • Introduction of Graeme Brown - new Department for Regional Development (Northern Ireland) representative to BOF
  • Introduction of Richard Fish - New technical secretary
  • Discussions on the HA/BB response to the Cumbria Flooding
  • Presentions on Bridge vulnerability to scour by Brian Bell, and Graham Bessant
  • Discussions on the future of the Bridge Owners' Fourm
BOF31: May 2010
  • Four presentations on Risk-based Inspection
  • Implementation of a proposed Code of Practice on Bridge Management
  • Research updates
BOF32: September 2010
  • Discussion of the status of current BOF-instigated research projects
  • Discussion of the future of the Bridge Owners' Forum, the Bridges Board and the UK Roads Liaison Group
  • Presentations by Ali Sharifi (Amey) on Repair Stategies for the Midland Links Motorway Viaducts, and from John Drewett (Concrete Repair Association) on EN1504, the new standard for concrete repairs
  • Project updates
  • Research updates

2011

BOF33: February 2011
  • Presentation from Dr Su Taylor, Queen's University Belfast on the testing of Thompsons Bridge (part of the Bridge Deck Slabs with Non-Metallic Reinforcement) and other research
  • Presentation by Lindsey Wilson, Atkins on her 4th-Year MEng project: Great Bridges Revisited
  • Updte on reseach projects, including implications of the new financial year and spending restrictions already in place.
  • Research updates