Modern economies depend on sustainable transportation infrastructure, which includes permanent systems that safely carry people and products. Roads, public transit, airports, train stations, bus stations, ferry terminals, pipelines, and warehouses are transportation networks. People and businesses depend on transportation networks every day, but what happens when essential assets fail suddenly or pollute our environment and harm our natural resources? In recent years, the COVID-19 epidemic and climate change have slowed economic growth and prompted significant transportation infrastructure investment. Here are several economic development efforts to construct and rebuild key assets in the US, Europe, and Asia:
The US Department of Transportation is serious about sustainable transportation infrastructure
A bipartisan US infrastructure bill aims to create and restore important infrastructure, including the nation’s most crucial transportation networks. The US Department of Transportation will administer this ambitious measure to allocate USD 1 trillion for building, manufacturing, and public works. The European Union (EU) chose 107 transport infrastructure projects to receive over six billion euros in grants in the future years to boost connectivity, public transit, and alternative modes of mobility in urban and rural regions.
Sustainable transportation infrastructure is essential for minimizing fossil fuel use
The Asian Development Bank recommended USD 1.7 trillion per year in infrastructure development over the next seven years in Asia Pacific. Repairing and rebuilding infrastructure using the same techniques and technology won’t be adequate. Sustainability is essential for these transportation initiatives to help the world recover from the next pandemic and minimize fossil fuel use.
Building sustainable transportation infrastructure is crucial
Below are some points indicating why Building sustainable transportation infrastructure is crucial:
- Transport’s carbon footprint and climate change effects are clear
- Transportation accounts for 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions
- Transportation accounts for 64% of global oil consumption
- It accounts for 27% of energy use and 23% of energy-related CO2 emissions.
Europe, the U.S., China, and developing countries need to spend on sustainable transportation infrastructure. This is the only way to meet the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement goals. Sustainable transportation infrastructure is excellent for industry and the environment. Sustainable transportation infrastructure investments often generate these commercial advantages.
Compliance with EHS rules improved
Companies face stronger environmental health and safety (EHS) standards as climate change affects more regions. They may self-police their emissions and comply by incorporating EHS monitoring into asset maintenance procedures.
Low fuel prices
Modern transportation infrastructure companies employ APM and EAM to optimize asset performance. EAM and APM with remote monitoring let firms assess fuel use and optimize asset performance to reduce environmental impact.
Improved maintenance reliability and efficiency
From outdated, inefficient reactive, or run-to-failure maintenance programs to fully integrated asset reliability and maintenance programs like preventive or predictive maintenance, organizations can better monitor, manage, and maintain their assets for sustainability across the asset lifecycle.
More assets, greater performance, and longer lifespans
Sustainable transportation infrastructure uses contemporary preventive or predictive maintenance techniques to detect and fix issues before they cause expensive downtime. Both methods help companies schedule maintenance and prevent expensive shutdowns that might affect the whole company.
Smart ways to construct sustainable transportation infrastructure
New technology and industry best practices are helping companies develop better, more resilient transportation infrastructure. These five best practices are helping them flourish.
Consider your company’s best interests
When establishing a sustainable mobility project, consider what your company needs and what it can do with its resources. Switching a whole fleet of delivery cars from fossil fuels to electric may be a fine long-term aim, but it may be too expensive right now. A more feasible first step is electrifying a portion of your fleet. That way, the company can fix any concerns before changing the fleet.
Manage assets with contemporary, sustainable solutions
Transportation companies are increasingly using EAM and APM to meet sustainable transportation infrastructure objectives. EAM and APM systems increase job management, maintenance, scheduling, supply chain management, and EHS.
Change maintenance plans to preventive or predictive
When implementing sustainability into transportation infrastructure, asset maintenance is just as important as asset management. Preventive maintenance helps avoid expensive and unsustainable equipment failures by scheduling regular maintenance. Predictive maintenance augments these efforts by leveraging asset history and failure data to forecast issues. Because they anticipate and handle maintenance problems before they cause equipment failure, these techniques generate more sustainable infrastructure than run-to-failure maintenance.
Improve asset monitoring using IoT and AI
With valves and cars linked by IoT sensors and systems, enterprises may use sophisticated analytics and AI in EAM and APM initiatives. AI analyzes data from gasoline tanks, speedometers, and engines. This optimizes asset performance and reduces environmental impact.
Use digital-twin technology for planning
A digital twin is a virtual replica of an asset that enables stakeholders to simulate its performance under certain circumstances or in its operating environment. Transportation infrastructure engineers utilize digital twins to test how buildings, bridges, jet turbines, cars, and airplanes will respond to storms, floods, and extreme temperatures.
Uses of sustainable infrastructure
Transportation infrastructure serves many sectors and requirements. From morning commuter bus and rail terminals to airports, freight terminals, and bustling shipping networks that fuel global commerce, it’s hard to imagine life without it. Sustainable transportation infrastructure optimizes buildings and networks so everyone and everything gets there with the least environmental effect.
Two industries have sustainable transportation infrastructure
Aviation
Airports serve millions of people daily with rapid, safe transit. Airport maintenance systems keep security, walkways, lifts, air conditioning, water, and sewage running. Maintenance personnel at many airports use obsolete, inefficient technology and practices to keep them functioning. For contemporary, robust, and sustainable airports, stakeholders are adding new technology and capacities.
AI and IoT solutions let maintenance managers monitor asset health and performance in real-time. They also enforce strict security measures to protect tourists and enhance inefficient upkeep. Replace email and other older modes of communication with quick, simple mobile apps to improve fieldwork communication, prioritize work orders, and manage resources in a complicated, demanding environment.
Freight Transport
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports that 20% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions come from freight transit and storage. Stakeholders want to make the industry’s infrastructure more sustainable to minimize that number.
First, they must improve fuel economy and upkeep for goods-transporting trucks. Each freight business asset has an installation, maintenance, and replacement lifespan. These actions increase the asset’s carbon footprint, hence reducing them lowers it. If a delivery vehicle or ship carrying goods breaks down halfway, the specialists dispatched to fix it will require fuel to get there and return, increasing the ship’s carbon footprint. Freight carriers may comply with EHS standards in their nations by using EAM and APM tactics to extend asset lifecycles and undertake preventive and predictive maintenance.
Infrastructure sustainability for transportation
Companies aiming to enhance transportation infrastructure asset management have various options. They should favor platforms with substantial technology solutions and historical best practices when choosing one. Apart from that, they need an integrated asset and reliability management solution that optimizes productivity and deploys preventive and predictive maintenance for transportation infrastructure assets.
