Founded 1999 Members 700+ | Area served Worldwide | |
Type Professional Organization Focus Bridge maintenance, safety, and management Method Congresses, conferences, symposia, workshops, seminars, and short courses on the related topics | ||
The International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety (or IABMAS) is an international organization founded in 1999. Its declared mission is "to become the premier international organization for the advancement of the state-of-the-art in the fields of bridge maintenance, safety and management". The main focus of the association includes, but is not limited to, bridge repair and rehabilitation issues; bridge management systems; needs of bridge owners, financial planning, whole life costing and investment for the future; bridge related safety and risk issues and economic and other implications.
Contents
Conferences
The main activity that allows IABMAS to pursue the fulfillment of its objective and mission is the organization of conferences. Five international conferences have already been held and the sixth one will take place in 2012.
Moreover, IABMAS has sponsored more than forty events organized by other associations.
Technical Committees
Within the association, two technical committees focus on topics of special interest.
The technical committee on Bridge Health Monitoring (BHM) is aimed at "highlighting the inherent advantages of BHM paradigm, and documenting the promising implementations throughout the world". The committee is chaired by A. Emin Aktan and the Secretary is Necati Catbas.
The technical committee on Bridge Management is concerned with "methods and technologies for selection and evaluation of cost-effective, programmatic optimal strategies for comprehensive management of bridges and structures, taking into account life cycle costs and functional requirements such as safety, mobility, and traffic congestion". The committee is chaired by Leo Klatter.
National Groups
Two National groups have been founded to enhance the penetration of the association and the diffusion of its activities. The first group was founded in Portugal (Portuguese Association for Bridge Safety and Management or ASCP ) and the second in Japan (Japanese Association for Bridge Management and Safety or JABMAS).
IABMAS Awards
At every IABMAS conference, the association awards prizes to distinguished scholars and professional engineers in the fields of bridge maintenance, safety, and management. Depending on the age of the recipient, the association awards Young prizes, Junior prizes and Senior prizes. Moreover, the association has given Special Service Awards. Since 2006, in collaboration with T.Y. Lin International, the association awards also the T.Y. Lin Medal.