Corrosion is one of the most persistent and expensive challenges in civil engineering, historically costing economies upwards of 4% of their GDP. Yet, the traditional way we approach infrastructure rehabilitation, relying heavily on competitive tendering, often sacrifices innovation and long-term quality just to chase the lowest financial bid.
In a classic paper published in Concrete Engineering International, titled “Managing Corrosion on the Internet,” C-Probe Technologies’ Steve Davis, Paul Filkin, and Graeme Jones discuss how shifting toward client-supplier partnerships and leveraging internet-based technology can radically change how we protect and manage structural assets.
“Those participants who are reluctant to accept the inevitable culture change that is occurring through technological innovation may find themselves excluded from the benefits that follow.” – Sir John Egan, ‘Rethinking Construction’ Report
When new, innovative corrosion protection methods hit the market, the standard competitive bidding process often stifles them due to:
A lack of understanding of the long-term technological advantages during a brief tender window.
Limited time for consultants and contractors to fully evaluate new system attributes.
A claims-conscious environment where the lowest upfront cost is prioritized over decades of structural durability.
By contrast, nurturing a direct client-supplier partnership allows teams to iron out technical “wrinkles” before tendering, creating a collaborative, less adversarial working environment.
The core shift lies in turning physical structural repairs “bricks” into data-driven assets “clicks”. Using advanced remote management platforms, asset managers and consulting engineers can oversee expansive rehabilitation programmes right from a secure internet connection.
Key innovations highlighted in the guide include:
Holistic Network Management: The ability to manage completely different interventions. such as cathodic protection on one element, surface-applied corrosion inhibitors on another, and structural sensing elsewhere, interoperably on a single network from one remote location.
Interactive CAD Integration: Allowing users to investigate an entire structure globally, zoom into a specific structural element, or isolate a single problematic monitoring point.
Predictive, Neural Learning: Moving from reactive repairs to predictive maintenance. By tracking performance data over time, these systems can “learn” from similar structures globally (e.g., a bridge in one region learning from data gathered in another), identifying anomalies before they turn into costly structural damage.
Ultimately, integrating internet-readiness into infrastructure management shifts the focus from short-term fixes to data-justified, long-term asset health.
