Value of vibration-based structural monitoring for bridge emergency management

Continuous monitoring of the structural response to vibrations enables to acquire real-time information that can support asset management decisions. Despite the several advantages provided by the availability of continuously updated information, the adoption of vibration-based monitoring systems still encounters difficulties to be implemented at large scale due to their perceived high cost and the difficulty to estimate the return on investment before their implementation. The Value of Information (VoI) analysis from Bayesian decision theory can be used to quantify the benefits associated with vibration-based monitoring information in supporting the selection of optimal asset management actions. In this paper, a framework to quantify the VoI from vibration-based monitoring is outlined, the principal ‘ingredients’ needed for its implementation are described, and examples of its application for emergency managements are used to illustrate the general framework.