Technical Institute of Materials and Constructions.
Inspection, evaluation and monitoring of bridges and structures
The “Inspection, Evaluation and Monitoring of Bridges and Structures” section of INTEMAC stands out for its comprehensive approach to the management, maintenance, and supervision of critical infrastructures.
With extensive experience accumulated in the implementation of management systems for structures throughout Spain, INTEMAC has demonstrated a unique ability to inventory structures, systematize inspections and optimize the allocation of investments in maintenance and rehabilitation.
More than 7,500 bridges inspected by INTEMAC
Using advanced management systems, implementing these systems in accordance with our customers, increasing the characteristics of the systems used or only performing inventory, main inspection or special inspection tasks, INTEMAC has inspected more than 7,500 bridges, offering complete assistance ranging from initial assessment to planning of priority interventions.
INTEMAC also excels in monitoring structures, applying advanced techniques to track cracks, vibrations, and other critical parameters that affect the integrity of bridges, buildings, and unique structures. The use of continuous recording equipment and the ability to perform remote monitoring via the Internet allow for detailed and real-time monitoring, facilitating the adoption of corrective measures proactively.
This service is complemented by specialized studies for the mitigation of noise and vibrations, especially in contexts affected by road traffic, where INTEMAC applies its deep expertise in geotechnics, noise, vibrations and structural behavior. The combination of advanced technical knowledge and practical experience positions INTEMAC as a leader in the inspection, evaluation and monitoring of bridges and structures, guaranteeing the safety, durability and functionality of infrastructures over time.
At the end of 2023, INTEMAC has incorporated TEKNES Innovación into the company, an extraordinarily innovative company that monitors more than 35 structures (bridges, tunnels, reservoirs, slopes, etc.) and 6,000 sensors in real time.
Bridge Management System
Structure Management Systems: Bridge Inspection
INTEMAC has implemented structural management systems for the Ministry of Development, several regional governments, some of the largest city councils in Spain, and Highway Concessionaires. These systems make it possible to inventory structures, systematise routine, principal, and special inspections, and help to prioritise investment. INTEMAC uses different BMS, Icaro of RAUROS, Goa of BETAR the Aura of CIVILNOVA developed by external engineering companies and also in some dealerships it has developed its own Bridge Management Systems.
The Management System used by INTEMAC consists of:
INVENTORY:
INSPECTION MODULES:
- ROUTINE OR MAINTENANCE
- MAIN
- SPECIAL
- SPECIAL TRANSPORT
- CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS.
“AUTOMATIC” REPORTING CAPABILITY
PLANNING AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT MODULES
INTEMAC has inspected more than 7,500 bridges in the network of the Ministry of Development, RENFE , and ADIF. The structures in large cities (such as Zaragoza and Madrid) and the structures of some of the most important Spanish highway concession holders have also been the object of periodic inspections that were used to determine the condition of the catalogue of structures and prioritise and minimise the investment required to guarantee or extend the lifetime of the inspected bridges, tunnels and walls. The combination of know-how and experience of its engineers, who have degrees in chemistry and geology , ensures that this work is done quickly and more economically.
Javier de la Cuerda. Civil and Structural Engineer , MSc
Bridge Inspections
Intemac has carried out the main inspection of more than 7,500 bridges and the special inspection of more than 350 bridges of the road network of the state, ADIF, several Autonomous Communities and some of the largest City Councils in Spain. As it has its own laboratory, it does not need to subcontract any of the services (NDT, extraction and testing of specimens, etc, etc), providing complete assistance to our customers.
Javier de la Cuerda. MSc Structural and Civil Engineer
Maintenance Plans
INTEMAC can provide an effective service to the property, both in cases of building and civil works, to establish an adequate maintenance program.
This service can be considered from its initial phase, which would correspond to the analysis of the current state, and to the carrying out of a preliminary inventory in the event that maintenance is proposed in a set of buildings, bridges, port facilities, etc. From this initial analysis, the actions to be undertaken will be deduced, with an order of priorities that allows the investment to be planned, and the monitoring and maintenance measures to be carried out in each case.
INTEMAC has inventoried the assets and inspected them to determine their condition and whether it was necessary to carry out a more detailed inspection or to carry out maintenance, repair and/or reinforcement activities.
The results are collected in reports and computer applications that allow effective information management, both individually for each element and as a whole, facilitating the allocation of resources, the prioritization of actions and maintenance planning. These computer applications make it possible to record maintenance operations, so that information on the state of the infrastructures is permanently updated.
INTEMAC has extensive experience in carrying out this type of action, experience that it puts at the service of the client to adapt this activity to their needs.
Raúl Rodríguez - MSc, PhD Structural and Civil Engineer
Structure monitoring
Crack Instrumentation
There are many cases in which it is helpful to monitor the evolution of movements in cracks: in order to determine the evolution over time of the damages and to know whether there is a trend towards stabilisation (which is useful, for example, in some specific types of damage caused by foundation settling) for the effect of thermal variations, in order to adopt safety measures in time, etc. The traditional plaster core, which may serve as an emergency measure early on, does not make it possible to obtain reliable information.
INTEMAC has extensive experience in working with instrumentation and acoustic examination of cracks, and has the necessary resources for the instrumentation and later tracking of the acoustic testing. It has different instruments, based on the level of precision required. INTEMAC also has equipment for taking continuous measurement readings, with the possibility of sending data to a computer.
INTEMAC can also provide technical assistance to establish the instrumentation thresholds and interpret the results
Auscultation During the Execution of Works
INTEMAC regularly monitors structures to evaluate their performance during their lifetime, or during construction, in the case of distinctive buildings or bridges; to do this, it has a team made up of highly skilled and experienced civil and industrial engineers. This makes it possible to verify the project hypothesis, and, if necessary, adopt changes in the different phases of execution.
Remote Monitoring
In these cases, the instrumentation is connected to an amplification, acquisition, control, and storage unit that can be accessed and controlled via internet. This unit has a dynamic range and allows the sampling period to be varied and can obtain the frequency of the signal spectrum automatically when certain measurement thresholds are exceeded.
At the end of 2023, INTEMAC has incorporated TEKNES Innovación into the company, an extraordinarily innovative company that monitors more than 35 structures (bridges, tunnels, reservoirs, slopes, etc.) and 6,000 sensors in real time.
Javier de la Cuerda. MSc Structural and Civil Engineer
Building Monitoring
Crack Instrumentation
There are many cases in which it is helpful to monitor the evolution of movements in cracks: in order to determine the evolution over time of the damages and to know whether there is a trend towards stabilisation (which is useful, for example, in some specific types of damage caused by foundation settling) for the effect of thermal variations, in order to adopt safety measures in time, etc. The traditional plaster core, which may serve as an emergency measure early on, does not make it possible to obtain reliable information.
INTEMAC has extensive experience in working with instrumentation and acoustic examination of cracks, and has the necessary resources for the instrumentation and later tracking of the acoustic testing. It has different instruments, based on the level of precision required. INTEMAC also has equipment for taking continuous measurement readings, with the possibility of sending data to a computer.
INTEMAC can also provide technical assistance to establish the instrumentation thresholds and interpret the results
Auscultation During the Execution of Works
INTEMAC regularly monitors structures to evaluate their performance during their lifetime, or during construction, in the case of distinctive buildings or bridges; to do this, it has a team made up of highly skilled and experienced civil and industrial engineers. This makes it possible to verify the project hypothesis, and, if necessary, adopt changes in the different phases of execution.
Remote Monitoring
In these cases, the instrumentation is connected to an amplification, acquisition, control, and storage unit that can be accessed and controlled via internet. This unit has a dynamic range and allows the sampling period to be varied and can obtain the frequency of the signal spectrum automatically when certain measurement thresholds are exceeded
Javier de la Cuerda. MSc Structural and Civil Engineer
Monitoring of singular structures (tanks, antennas, ports)
Crack Instrumentation
There are many cases in which it is helpful to monitor the evolution of movements in cracks: in order to determine the evolution over time of the damages and to know whether there is a trend towards stabilisation (which is useful, for example, in some specific types of damage caused by foundation settling) for the effect of thermal variations, in order to adopt safety measures in time, etc. The traditional plaster core, which may serve as an emergency measure early on, does not make it possible to obtain reliable information.
INTEMAC has extensive experience in working with instrumentation and acoustic examination of cracks, and has the necessary resources for the instrumentation and later tracking of the acoustic testing. It has different instruments, based on the level of precision required. INTEMAC also has equipment for taking continuous measurement readings, with the possibility of sending data to a computer.
INTEMAC can also provide technical assistance to establish the instrumentation thresholds and interpret the results
Auscultation During the Execution of Works
INTEMAC regularly monitors structures to evaluate their performance during their lifetime, or during construction, in the case of distinctive buildings or bridges; to do this, it has a team made up of highly skilled and experienced civil and industrial engineers. This makes it possible to verify the project hypothesis, and, if necessary, adopt changes in the different phases of execution.
Remote Monitoring
In these cases, the instrumentation is connected to an amplification, acquisition, control, and storage unit that can be accessed and controlled via internet. This unit has a dynamic range and allows the sampling period to be varied and can obtain the frequency of the signal spectrum automatically when certain measurement thresholds are exceeded
Javier de la Cuerda. MSc Structural and Civil Engineer
Monitoring of damage evolution
Crack Instrumentation
There are many cases in which it is helpful to monitor the evolution of movements in cracks: in order to determine the evolution over time of the damages and to know whether there is a trend towards stabilisation (which is useful, for example, in some specific types of damage caused by foundation settling) for the effect of thermal variations, in order to adopt safety measures in time, etc. The traditional plaster core, which may serve as an emergency measure early on, does not make it possible to obtain reliable information.
INTEMAC has extensive experience in working with instrumentation and acoustic examination of cracks, and has the necessary resources for the instrumentation and later tracking of the acoustic testing. It has different instruments, based on the level of precision required. INTEMAC also has equipment for taking continuous measurement readings, with the possibility of sending data to a computer.
INTEMAC can also provide technical assistance to establish the instrumentation thresholds and interpret the results
Auscultation During the Execution of Works
INTEMAC regularly monitors structures to evaluate their performance during their lifetime, or during construction, in the case of distinctive buildings or bridges; to do this, it has a team made up of highly skilled and experienced civil and industrial engineers. This makes it possible to verify the project hypothesis, and, if necessary, adopt changes in the different phases of execution.
Remote Monitoring
In these cases, the instrumentation is connected to an amplification, acquisition, control, and storage unit that can be accessed and controlled via internet. This unit has a dynamic range and allows the sampling period to be varied and can obtain the frequency of the signal spectrum automatically when certain measurement thresholds are exceeded
Eduardo Díaz Pavón. MSc , PhD Structural and Civil Engineer
Vibration monitoring
Both as a result of activities linked to construction and other activities, it is common for INTEMAC to carry out vibration monitoring. The equipment used in some cases is autonomous and records vibrations during pre-set periods, thus being able to be properly assessed if the legal limits are exceeded.
Sometimes these measurements are carried out to verify that the level of vibrations does not exceed that which can cause damage to buildings or inconvenience to individuals. In other cases, continuous recording equipment is used where certain vibration thresholds have been preset so that when these are exceeded the equipment emits the relevant alert.
Javier de la Cuerda. MSc Structural and Civil Engineer
Noise and/or vibration mitigation study
Intemac has conducted studies to mitigate noise/vibrations from rail traffic or other sources. These highly complex studies need to have the advice of specialists in geotechnics, noise and vibrations and structural behavior, INTEMAC has these specialists to successfully develop this type of study.
Raúl Rodríguez - MSc, PhD Structural and Civil Engineer
2023 INTEMAC has acquired TEKNES INNOVATION
TEKNES INNOVACION, (www.teknes.es) brings to INTEMAC a great specialization in monitoring structures and geotechnical auscultation and above all its own advanced technology (instrumentation, telecommunications and software) that has led it to be the company that has monitored the most viaducts, bridges and tunnels in Spain in recent years. Currently, it monitors more than 50 critical structures controlling more than 3,000 sensors in real time. It currently monitors more than 50 critical structures, controlling more than 3,500 sensors in real time. The combination of INTEMAC and TEKNES provides clients who trust us not only with a correct approach to structural monitoring, providing the most suitable sensors and equipment for the correct auscultation of the structure and cutting-edge instrumentation technology, but also with the interpretation of the data acquired for the correct evaluation of the structural behaviour of the structure being monitored.