- 5.1 – Scope
- 5.2 – Monitoring and Evaluation of the BSMP
- 5.3 – Verification of Bridge Inspections
- 5.4 – Documents and Records
5.1 – Scope
The railway company BSMP should provide for the verification of the effectiveness of the program and the accuracy of the resulting information, including the validity of bridge inspection reports and bridge inventory data, and the correct application of movement restrictions to railway equipment of exceptional weight or configuration.
5.2 – Monitoring and Evaluation of the BSMP
The railway company should implement and maintain procedures for periodic internal monitoring and evaluations of its BSMP to determine whether it:
- Meets the intent of this Guideline,
- Has been properly implemented and maintained, and
- Is effective in continually managing bridge safety.
5.3 – Verification of Bridge Inspections
The railway company BSMP should incorporate provisions for on-site evaluation of a representative sampling of bridges to determine whether the inspection reports accurately describe the condition of the bridges.
Section Analysis 5.3 - Verification of Bridge Inspections
One of the most important indicators of the effectiveness of the BSMP is a comparison of recent bridge inspection reports against actual conditions found at the subject bridges. It is recommended that the Railway Bridge Engineer carries out inspection verification on a yearly basis.
5.4 – Documents and Records
The BSMP documents and records shallFootnote 8 be made available to Transport Canada's Rail Safety Inspector, in Canada, upon request in the course of an inspection, as soon as reasonably practicable.
The railway company should retain, where possible, pertinent drawings for as long as they own the bridge and inspection records as per Section 3.6 of this Guideline.
When the railway company assigns maintenance responsibilities for track and bridges to another railway company, it should be given access to pertinent bridge documents and drawings.