Practical Application of Digital Twins for Transportation Asset Data Management: Case Example of a Safety Hardware Asset

Abstract

Digital Twins have emerged as a transformative technology with immense potential for enhancing asset data management in various industries. The transportation industry relies heavily on properly functioning and maintaining safety hardware assets, such as crash barriers, guiderails, and road signs, among others, to ensure the safety of road users. However, traditional asset data management practices for ancillary assets often fall short of providing real-time, comprehensive insights into the condition and performance of these critical assets. Conversely, Digital Twins can analyze data for predictive and preventive maintenance using cutting-edge technologies. This will enable asset managers to proactively address potential safety concerns, plan maintenance schedules efficiently, and optimize resource allocation. This can be achieved by leveraging historical asset data and real-time condition updates and providing the Digital Twin with an information-rich analytical model. The key steps to creating an information-rich analytical model are identifying the asset data that should be collected, understanding data architecture throughout the asset lifecycle, and generating asset data governance and stewardship frameworks. As such, this paper investigates the current state of practice for ancillary asset data collection and management and investigates the generation of information-rich analytical models for guiderails, a critical roadway safety hardware. Moreover, this study demonstrates how Digital Twins can be integrated and affect the development of transportation asset management systems. The findings of this article emphasize the significance of adopting Digital Twins in transportation asset data management. The case example showcases a compelling roadmap for other transportation agencies to consider integrating digital twins into their asset management strategies.