Bridge Weigh-in-Motion (BWIM)

The Structural Innovation and Monitoring Technologies Resource Centre (SIMTReC), headquartered at the University of Manitoba, has developed an innovative Bridge Weigh-in-Motion (BWIM) system used to measure gross vehicle weights and speeds of vehicles as they travel over an instrumented bridge.  This system has significant advantages over present methods, as it is unobtrusive, more economical and undetectable to drivers.  Prototype systems have been installed on important active bridges in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where truck gross weight histograms, performance statistics and evaluations are in progress.

Several industry partners expressed interest in this technology and have approached SIMTReC to further develop and commercialize the system.  Structure Monitoring Technology (SMT) and Vector Construction have formed a consortium with SIMTReC to design and develop a commercially viable BWIM DAQ system.

SMT and SIMTReC are presently investigating other bridge diagnosis tools and monitoring technologies that make BWIM systems a natural addition for problematic routes where overweight vehicles are causing extraneous wear on our presently aging infrastructure.  Vector Construction is involved in various aspects of concrete repair and analysis, making BWIM systems a good investigative and preventative maintenance tool.

SMT’s experience with electronic design, real-time post processing and cloud- based analytics tools makes them a good candidate to work with SIMTReC to validate the electronic design and integrate post- processing analysis and reporting tools for the end user.  Vector Construction’s background in bridge rehabilitation and construction implementation makes them an excellent asset to deploy field test BWIM systems.