Infrastructure Maintenance Technology
Research and Legislative Reference Bureau of the National Diet Library (ed.), "Infrastructure Maintenance Technology," Research Materials, 2018-5, March 2019.
The main structures of public facilities (schools and government administration buildings, etc.) and civil infrastructures are made of metal and concrete, which degrade over time. If these buildings and infrastructure become deteriorated, they can endanger the lives and property of the people. However, securing the budget to replace/redevelop this infrastructure will be difficult, because infrastructure was intensively developed in a very short period—the 1970s, Japan’s high-growth period, and thus the aging and replacement demand will be concentrated in the 2020s and 2030s. Science and technology are expected to solve this issue, by delivering the necessary functions of public facilities/infrastructure at a reduced cost. This report aims to point out the role of science and technology in resolving the decay of infrastructure and provide hints for possible ways forward. (Ch. I) The first half of the report identifies the current aging conditions and policy challenges for different types of infrastructure—buildings, roads, bridges, tunnels, water/sewers, land conservation (flood control, dams, etc.) and others (parks, privately owned infrastructure, etc.). (Ch. II ~ VI) Through these observations, the authors pointed out that bottlenecks in application of technologies vary by type of infrastructure, and technologies can be utilized only after all four major challenges—technological, institutional, economic and consensus building—are resolved. (Ch. VII) In the second half of the report, the authors discussed the trends in industry and transformation of technologies in relation to infrastructure developments. We are facing a dilemma: demand to replace/redevelop aging infrastructure is growing, as the population decreases. The authors also noted that technological developments matching a society with a decreasing population are insufficient. In addition, public facilities (buildings) and civil infrastructure differ in nature, hence so do the countermeasures. For public facilities, countermeasures for reducing the volume and numbers of buildings while maintaining the same level of utility/services are suitable. On that basis, the authors listed examples of countermeasures: inter-regional (governmental) cooperation; use of private facilities/services; facility consolidation (merger); and multipurpose use, etc. On the other hand, for civil infrastructure, countermeasures for reducing the costs of development/maintenance while maintaining the network and volume are appropriate. To reduce the lifecycle cost of infrastructure, the authors listed measures such as inspection, examination and monitoring, risk-based management, extension of infrastructure service life/short-turnover technologies, operation and maintenance measures, modularization, energy- and resource-saving, and high-performance materials. (Ch. VIII~X) Alternative service delivery methods can be applied for both buildings and infrastructure: decentralized processing (not dependent on network infrastructures); delivery (services delivered to customers); and virtualization (online-based services). (Ch. XI) Besides the changes in technology and infrastructure development methods, the authors also highlighted the necessity for institutional and social changes such as methods to procure and apply new technologies, ways to deliver services without depending on physical infrastructure, and new methods to develop/own/operate infrastructures. (Ch. XII) In this latter part, the authors discussed the economic and institutional positioning of these measures and intended to introduce technologies and measures that have been applied or discussed in Japan or elsewhere. The measures discussed in later chapters require greater transformations of infrastructure and service delivery, and are expected to make greater impacts. Therefore, the authors concluded that these new measures and challenges (technology, institution, economy and consensus building) must be discussed nationwide. 〔The table of contents and the summary in English are contained in the following document. https://doi.org/10.11501/11265230〕
Publication type:
project report
Publication language:
Japanese
Publication date:
2019-03
Publication URL:
https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/11265229
Institute:
Research and Legislative Reference Bureau (RLRB), National Diet Library (NDL) (RLRB)
Country:
Japan

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