NDE Validation Center Tests Reliability of Bridge Inspections - Nondestructive Evaluation - Brief Article

Public Roads, Nov, 1999

FHWA's Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Validation Center, the only facility in the world dedicated to the development and validation of NDE technologies for highway infrastructure, is conducting a comprehensive study to determine the reliability of bridge inspections. The goal of the study is to determine the reliability of normal bridge inspections and identify factors that affect that reliability. The study will evaluate the impact of human factors, training, experience, and the environment on inspection results.

Inspection teams that participate in the study travel to FHWA's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, in McLean, Va., to undergo a battery of tests, which includes inspecting the Validation Center's seven test bridges, completing physical and psychological profiles, and testing the participant's vision.

Participating teams undergo a rigorous two-and-a-half day evaluation, which includes a laboratory briefing, vision testing, and the inspection of both concrete and steel bridges under a variety of conditions. Each team inspects the same set of test bridges located in Virginia and Pennsylvania. More than 15 states have already participated in the testing process.

The NDE Validation Center is designed to be a resource for state transportation agencies, industry, and academia concerned with research and development of new NDE technologies.