Case Study

Enhancing bridge inspection efficiency with WSP

Reduce costs, save time, and improve predictive maintenance on bridges.

 

mind foundry wsp

 

48
%

cost savings
across asset lifecycle

30
%

reduction 
in planning time

30
%

reduction
in inspection time

50
%

reduction
in reporting time

*The results above are based on a direct comparison of completing a project with and without using Mind Foundry Windward Inspect.

Problem:

Our infrastructure is ageing. Assets built with concrete and metal are reaching the end of their life cycles, entering a phase of costly interventions that put immense pressure on government budgets. Research indicates that maintaining structures proactively, rather than reactively, can save 30% over the asset life cycle.

WSP is a global engineering and professional services firm that specialises in designing and managing critical infrastructure projects. They work with public and private sector clients to extend the lifespan of ageing assets while optimising maintenance costs. 

WSP needed a solution that would not only lower the costs of manual inspections by reducing the time it takes to perform the asset assessment but also bring implicit knowledge from the structure on-site into the office, where that knowledge could be used to optimise predictive maintenance.

WSP sought a partner capable of both delivering immediate results and developing a long-term, scalable solution.

The minimum requirements for the solution were:

  • The ability to create a digital understanding of an asset’s condition.

  • The ability to detect and quantify defects.

  • The capability to handle new forms of data collection, such as 360° imagery.

  • The technology needed to fit within the existing constraints of an asset's capture window, so it needed to take the same amount of time or less than current methods. 

Solution:

To address these challenges, WSP partnered with Mind Foundry to pilot the Windward Inspect application, a cutting-edge AI-driven bridge inspection and reporting solution.

Windward Inspect combines Mind Foundry’s latest AI advancements with WSP’s practical bridge inspection expertise in a seamless, integrated workflow. The platform offers:

  • App-based on-site digital inspection capture, reducing reliance on manual methods like sketching and note-taking.

  • AI-driven defect quantification, improving accuracy and efficiency.

  • 360° camera integration, ensuring comprehensive site data capture.

  • A virtual inspection environment, enabling engineers to review structures remotely instead of relying solely on static PDFs.

The pilot, conducted in South Wales in December 2024, tested Windward’s ability to inspect a variety of bridges (rail and footbridges) built with different materials (concrete, metal, masonry) while using multiple data capture methods (traditional photos and 360° imagery).

Windward Inspect enabled inspectors to replace clipboards, cameras, and sketches with a streamlined digital process, increasing efficiency and improving data consistency.

Results:

Windward Inspect enabled WSP to use calibrated images of defects in inspections and deliver millimetre-accurate measurements from both current and historic images of the same defects – allowing them to quantitatively assess the change over time and, therefore, the risk to the asset.

It radically improved location and quantification data for defects with associated site-captured images. This will be a step-change in information quality and empower WSP to capture more and better information during inspections.

Finally, the Windward Inspect's embedded AI automatically rectifies images of the structure and identifies defect types and extents, allowing WSP to directly output dimensionally accurate defect maps.

WSP found that using Windward Inspect resulted in substantial time and cost savings:

  • Significant reduction in processing time before and after inspections, saving several days in data preparation and reporting.

  • Higher quality data capture on-site, reducing the need for return visits.

  • Automated report generation, reducing manual processing time and improving accuracy.

  • Increased efficiency in asset maintenance planning, facilitating better prediction of intervention needs.

By integrating Windward and 360° cameras, WSP maximised efficiency during site activities, captured richer data, and minimised the risk of return visits—reducing costs and disruptions for asset owners.

Key ROI:

 

Group 427320300 (2)

 

About Windward Inspect

Mind Foundry Windward Inspect combines state-of-the-art AI, digital image correlation, and mobile-based inspection tools to create a seamless, efficient workflow for bridge inspection and maintenance.

It ensures that asset owners and managers can efficiently capture and utilise high-quality visual condition data, both during the initial warranty period and throughout the asset’s life cycle. 

Explore Windward Inspect
Windward
WSP L

"It's not just about saving money but about improving quality. Windward lets us pass on an understanding of an asset to all the people who need to know it. It helps us reduce costs today, but the real value is how it gets data collection right from the very beginning and then uses that to improve the maintenance of the asset over time.”

John Bennetts, Structures Asset Management Lead
WSP

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