Introduction

In the summer of 2020, Skanska signed a contract with Statens Vegvesen. The contract is for a massive construction project in Norway. The project is part of Greener Trondheim, a partnership for sustainable transport. It has been founded on high ambitions regarding climate and the environment. Ensuring the railway stability amid the harsh climate challenges.

The project includes the construction of a new bridge over the Nidelva river as well as road connections to current and future road networks on both sides of the river. Skanska will furthermore be responsible for building 80 meters of two-run tunnel and tunnel portals for the future Byåsen tunnel – and this is only the beginning.

Construction began in October 2020 and will be completed by August 2024

Challenge

An essential challenge throughout the construction is that the railway is located on a hillside close to the construction site. As part of the project, it has been planned to build a bridge, and part of the foundation will be cast right beside the railway. Skanska Survey, a subdivision of Skanska, is responsible for ensuring that the railway is not affected by the construction work.

Monitoring the railway is complicated. Not only because of its geology but also because it is a railway with trains passing every 20 minutes. Both factors make it rather difficult and risky to manually inspect the tracks. To minimize the need for manual inspections, Skanska Survey first investigated the possibility of monitoring the railway with prims and a total station. However, the weather conditions at the site are quite harsh and snow, as well as freezing temperatures, are not a rare sight. Combined with brake dust damaging the prisms, the team began to struggle with broken, frozen, and snow-covered prisms. This resulted in irregular monitoring data and a need for cleaning and replacing.

Solution

Skanska Survey needed to find a robust online monitoring solution to support the monitoring of the site – or to potentially replace the total station. A solution from Railmonitor turned out to be the answer.

By installing Railmonitors track bed monitoring solution, TrackBed³⁶⁰, Skanska Survey can inspect the tracks from behind their desks. The system monitors remotely and the need for manual inspections has dramatically been reduced.

Sensors have been mounted onto the tracks and the captured data is automatically sent to the Railmonitors software i.e our Digital Service Platform. The sensors allow Skanska Survey to achieve a unique insight into the actual condition of the track bed.

TrackBed³⁶⁰ monitors the tracks 24/7 and detects even the smallest sign of movement. Relevant stakeholders will be notified and alarmed the minute any pre-set thresholds are exceeded. This ensures that small settlements will be caught before they evolve into critical settlements. Furthermore, this allows Skanska Survey to stop the construction work immediately until the cause of the alarm has been identified.

With TrackBed³⁶⁰ on their team, Skanska Survey can ensure the safety of construction workers as well as passengers.

Value and Benefits

• Continuous Monitoring: 24/7 real-time tracking of the railway.
• Advanced Insights: Digital Service Platform offers detailed data analysis.
• Immediate Alerts: Instant notifications on pre-set thresholds.
• Enhanced Safety: Proactive detection of potential issues, protecting workers and passengers.
• Reduced Manual Inspections: Minimizes risks associated with on-site inspections.

About Skanska AB

Skanska AB is one of the world’s leading project development and construction groups, aimed at building for a better society. They have operations in building construction and civil engineering across the globe.