Industrial structures face constant wear and tear from corrosion, metal fatigue, and impact damage. To help stay ahead of these issues, ASPEC’s Condition Rating System makes it easy to track the health of steel and concrete structures over time. Using a straightforward 1 to 5 rating scale, this system ensures inspections are consistent and helps identify potential risks early. By catching problems before they escalate, asset owners can save on repairs and keep their infrastructure running smoothly.
Degradation occurs on industrial structures due to factors such as impact damage, corrosion and metal fatigue from repetitive and dynamic loading which can lead to a reduction in structural reliability over time. Inspection is the only real means of determining the physical condition of a structure and safeguarding against failure.
In the field, structural conditions are inspected and recorded in a systematic and repeatable manner with a condition rating system using a 1 to 5 scale rating (pristine to unserviceable) for classifying damage. The system exists to easily track the degradation level of steel and concrete over time and allows for a consistent rating from any inspecting engineers. Ultimately, the aim is to identify any risks and criticality of the inspected components, followed by developing remediation actions. ASPEC has established a detailed inspection system encompassing all stages mentioned above.
This paper gives background on the condition rating system which is part of ASPEC’s inspection system.
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Grace Go is a Structural Engineer at Aspec Engineering with experience in technical engineering, structural/civil design and carrying out risk-based assessments on port and materials handling structures.
Richard Morgan is a Structural Engineer and Director of Aspec Engineering with extensive experience in bulk materials handling and ports. He is chairman of Australian Standards Committee ME43 for materials handling machines. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer.
Frank Gatto is a Director and Principal Engineer at ASPEC Engineering. He has over 30 years of experience in civil and structural engineering and is a Chartered Professional Engineer with a PhD in Engineering.