scope:

This part of the handbook applies to Network Rail owned or managed Bridges, Shared Bridges that are subject to Detailed Examinations (See Part 2A), and applies to the establishment of the severity and extent of defects and the calculation of the Bridge Condition Marking Index (BCMI) for:

• underline Bridges;

• overline Bridges;

• intersection Bridges;

• side Bridges;

• viaducts.

This part of the handbook does not apply to the following Bridges for which BCMI scores are not required:

• Outside Party Bridges;

• Footbridges;

• Major Structures;

• Tenanted Spans with Obstructions (see Part 2B).

This part of the handbook should be used by persons undertaking Detailed Examinations, including those persons producing or reviewing sketches of Bridges prior to a Detailed Examination. It should also be used by those persons responsible for managing the examination process.

This part of the handbook includes advice on the application of the BCMI system, but does not specify how the Detailed Examination should be undertaken. It is assumed that the Detailed Examination will be carried out by competent persons (See Part 1D).

There are a small number of unique and complex Bridges that cannot be labelled in accordance with this part of the handbook but that are none the less encompassed by the BCMI system. Clause 5.6 provides for details for these particular Bridge types.

Purpose

The purpose of this part of the handbook is to provide advice on the application of a quantitative condition marking system for Bridges.

The output of this process will be utilised by Network Rail to calculate the Bridge Condition Marking Index (BCMI) for each Bridge and each span of each Bridge.

This part of the handbook is designed to promote consistency in reporting Bridge condition by providing unambiguous guidance in the following stages:

• sketching of Bridges;

• defining the major elements, minor elements, and Spans of Bridges using common terminology;

• scoring the condition of the minor elements in quantitative terms, i.e. the severity and extent of visible defects;

• reporting of the findings.