IEME Brasil held on April 13th, in the Address Hotel convention room, in São Paulo, a meeting of the company’s key employees to align procedures, in accordance with the standards required by the certifications obtained by IEME. The objective of the meeting was to raise awareness among leaders about the need to meet the requirements of the Integrated Management System (ISO 9001, ISO 17020 and ISO 17025), as a way of improving the internal flows of the organization’s management processes, interconnecting the company’s areas based on the quality manuals, procedures, instructions and forms already defined. The meeting dealt with the Certifications of Consulting Engineering and Urban Development (ISO 9001), Accredited Infrastructure Inspection (ISO 17020) and LAEDE (ISO 17025).

The meeting was led by engineer and consultant Octavio Camerini, who has been a specialist in railway engineering (rolling stock) and quality auditing (automotive) for 38 years, having coordinated one of the first ISO 9001 certifications in Brazil. Camerini is also an accredited inspection manager (ISO IEC 17020 standard) for highway and railway projects and a member of the Brazilian Association of Railway Preservation (ABPF). The engineer explained that the meeting meets the obligation for continuous recycling of leaders and employees in the Certified and Accredited Quality Management System.

“The meeting was very participatory and the next steps involve specific meetings with managers and their teams, where the electronic path of the Management System documents will be presented, aiming to better disseminate knowledge of the procedures and their records”, said Camerini. These documents, added the expert, “must be carefully analyzed by the areas, to adapt to the needs and reality of the practices adopted, but complying with the requirements of the standards involved, which represent technical and administrative contractual requirements between IEME, its customers, its suppliers and Inmetro”.

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Photos: IEME

Photos: IEME

Photos: IEME

Photos: IEME

 

 

Safety and optimization of preventive maintenance are priorities for IEME Brasil and LAEDE when it comes to evaluating their customers’ metro rail systems. To achieve this, the company relies on cutting-edge technologies and methodologies, the result of exchanges and monitoring of studies in some of the most advanced technological centers on the subject. One of the resources adopted by IEME for this purpose is the instrumented wheelset calibrator, studied in Italy by the Università degli Studi di Firenze, Sapienza in Rome and the Polytechnic of Milan, institutions visited by the company.

But what is the instrumented wheelset calibrator?

“The calibrator is a bench designed to apply existing loads on the permanent track onto an instrumented wheel set with the aim of correlating wheel-rail contact forces and deformations. To this end, electrical resistance strain gauges, hydraulic jacks, actuators and various load cells are used, in addition to a structure capable of supporting such loads”, explains engineer Tiago Juliani, Engineering coordinator at IEME Brasil.

There is a variety of information obtained by the calibrated instrumented wheelset. With the passage of the instrumented wheelset, the wheel-rail contact forces and the L/V relationship (lateral force / vertical force of the wheel) are obtained along the entire path of the train, which may indicate problems both on the permanent track as well as in the rolling stock, such as geometric imperfections in the track, welding defects, failures in railway components, poor maintenance of tracks and wheels, among others. Furthermore, the operational risk of the line is assessed with the L/V ratio.

Therefore, the calibrator is adopted whenever a new measurement campaign is carried out with the instrumented wheelset and, if the same previously instrumented wheelset is used, there has been a certain mileage between one campaign and another.

The National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro) has just concluded its annual audit and revalidated the status of IEME Brasil Accredited Inspection Body (OIA), obtained at the beginning of 2023 and now renewed. The revalidation ensures IEME’s compliance with the requirements of the International Accredited Inspection Standard ISO 17020, ordinances from Inmetro and inspection agencies (such as ANTT and Artesp), Inmetro procedures and technical standards applicable to road infrastructure projects. Accreditation is based on a double audit system: an auditor independent of the organization and Inmetro itself.

According to railway and automotive engineer Octavio Camerini, management systems auditor for over 25 years and advisor to the company in the technical revalidation process, the accreditation was confirmed for the scope of inspection of highway and railway projects and works, without the need for authorization from Inmetro to issue inspection certificates. “For the scope of inspection of highway and railway works, it is necessary to involve Inmetro for sample technical monitoring of initial inspections, before issuing the respective certificates, which is part of the normal accreditation process”, he explained. According to him, Inmetro praised IEME’s technical and administrative competence in the accredited inspection of infrastructure projects and made few recommendations for improvement, focused on the management system.

For the specialist, this official and international recognition demonstrates that “IEME follows the most demanding and contemporary requirements of technical and administrative competence for Inspection Bodies of Projects and Works of Highways and Railways, guaranteeing the technical conformity of the project or infrastructure work , its budget forecast and its schedule”.

The most developed countries in the world have already been working with Accredited Inspection for 10 years, guaranteeing the impartial evaluation of the project or work and contributing to the agility and compliance of the implementation of mobility infrastructure in the country. The accreditation obtained by IEME recognizes not only the implementation of ISO 17020 and Inmetro requirements, but also the concessionaires’ procedures, which are gradually demanding compliance with acceptable standards of corporate governance (transparency and anti-corruption practices), social responsibility (inclusiveness) and environmental responsibility (prevention of environmental impacts of the project and infrastructure work).

Red Hot Chili Peppers, an American rock band, performed on 10/11 a show at the Morumbi stadium, part of their world tour “Global Stadium Tour”. The historic performance featured the return of guitarist John Frusciante, a classic member who returned to play with the band in 2019, after 10 years in other projects.

IEME Brasil monitored the stadium during the show, using sensors to measure the deformation of the structure, subjected to dynamic loads, such as those generated by the public at music shows or football matches.

São Paulo Futebol Clube (SPFC) and IEME Brasil have a long partnership in monitoring the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium. The monitoring provides important information about the structure and guarantees the safety and comfort of users, such as those who attended the show on 10/11 and other artistic and sporting events.

It is worth remembering that public agitation generates vibrations in the structure that can exceed the limits allowed in technical standards and generate panic, accidents and even structural collapse. The objective of regular monitoring is to avoid these situations with preventive measures and also to monitor the structure’s behavior in real time.

Monitoring also helps SPFC to optimize the necessary maintenance of the stadium, avoiding greater expenses with possible structural restoration works.

Congratulations to the SPFC Board of Directors, who through their care and responsibility ensure that their events take place safely.

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São Paulo and Flamengo played the grand final of the Copa do Brasil 2023 on September 24, a game that gave Tricolor its first title in this competition. In addition to the unprecedented achievement, SPFC once again broke its attendance record this season: no less than 63,077 fans cheered (but cheered a lot!) with Rodrigo Nestor’s goal, which tied the game and brought the cup to the team from São Paulo.

To guarantee the joy (and safety) of thousands of São Paulo residents, IEME Brasil and LAEDE were there in Morumbi, monitoring the stadium. Sensors were installed to measure the vibrations caused by the fans’ actions in the stands.

SPFC, always concerned with ensuring the safety and comfort of its audience, once again hired IEME Brasil to monitor the stadium’s structure. Congratulations to the club’s Board of Directors for their care and responsibility.

It is worth remembering: stadiums that are constantly monitored and receive regular maintenance, such as Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, are very safe.

Read more about the topic on the IEME website.

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The city of São Paulo is literally under construction. Through the Municipal Department of Urban Infrastructure (Siurb), the City of São Paulo carries out the largest program for the recovery and maintenance of bridges and viaducts in the history of the city. In 2023 alone, the interventions have an approved contribution of 650 million reais and the expectation is to complete 300 works by the end of 2024. This volume is unprecedented in the city and is part of the Special Works of Art Maintenance Management Program ( OAE), created in 2018.

IEME Brasil

IEME Brasil has participated in the program since 2020, providing inspection, testing and structural analysis services. The contract covers the Domingos de Moraes, João Beiçola, Olavo Fontoura, 31 de Março, Carlos de Campos and Orlando Murgel viaducts, as well as the Anhembi, Estaiada Governador Orestes Quercia, Arujá, Senador José Ermírio de Moraes and Aurélio Batista Road Complex bridges.

A significant portion of these OAEs, identified as priorities, are currently undergoing rehabilitation and IEME remains involved with some of them, which demonstrated the need for reinforcements and more in-depth studies, with a view to adapting structures to increased traffic or due to problems of maintenance. Complementary reinforcement projects are currently under development and will be made available to the City Hall in the coming weeks.

Recently, IEME Brasil signed a new contract with Siurb, in a consortium with Alphageos, to carry out a series of special inspections, tests and structural verifications. Among the structures to be examined are the Milton Leão, Júlio de Mesquita Filho 2, Itinguçu, Pedroso (Bispo Tid Hernandes), Mie Ken, Shuei Uetsuka and Jaceguai viaducts.

Photo: IEME Brasil / Filipe Viveiros
Governador Orestes Quércia cable-stayed bridge , São Paulo, in June 2021, during inspection service, with one of its lanes interdicted for the safety of technicians

About the Program

São Paulo has hundreds of bridges, viaducts and footbridges, most of them under the responsibility of the City Hall, which is responsible for maintaining and conserving them. With the aim of establishing a permanent culture of routine inspections and preventive maintenance, promoting integrity and extending the useful life of structures, Siurb published Ordinance No. 40/2018, creating the Special Works of Art Maintenance Management Group.

Linked directly to the Secretary’s Office, the Group is responsible for establishing a program of routine and periodic inspections to subsidize the planning, design and actions of repairs, renovations and reinforcements of the OAE, and must verify, among other pertinent aspects, the situation pavement, sidewalk, vegetation, infiltrations, overhaul of structures (infra, meso and superstructure), undermining, support equipment, expansion joints, guardrails, drainage and cleaning.

Thus began the Maintenance Management Program for Special Engineering Works in the City of São Paulo, which follows the guidelines of the ABNT NBR 9452 standard, with annual visual inspections, special inspections every five or eight years and emergency inspections. if there is an emergency demand. The program allows available resources to be used more efficiently, hierarchizing and prioritizing maintenance needs.

Learn more at: https://www.capital.sp.gov.br/noticia/prefeitura-investe-r-650-milhoes-em-2023-no-maior-programa-de-recuperacao-e-manutencao-de-pontes-e-viadutos-da-historia

Technicians from IEME Brasil and LAEDE are in the field to carry out detailed inspection services in 16 special works of art (bridges or viaducts) and 7 tunnels of the Structural Integrity Management subordinated to the Directorate of Base Metals Atlântico Sul, of Vale, in Parauapebas (PA). The OAE and tunnels are located in the territories of Mineração Onça Puma, Mina do Salobo, Mina do Sossego and Porto São Luiz, in the States of Pará and Maranhão.

The contract began in August 2022 and is expected to end in September 2024. IEME estimates that approximately 30% of the service has already been completed.

Detailed inspection services for OAE and tunnels follow ABNT NBR 9452 – Inspection of Bridges, Viaducts, Concrete Walkways – Procedures and include the following tests:

• Verification of corrosion potential
• Checking the electrical resistivity of concrete
• Sclerometry (NBR-7584) – By tested area
• Chloride ion content
• Sulphate content
• RAA (Alkali Aggregate Reaction)
• Weld penetrant liquid
• Ultrasound
• Infrared thermography
• Pacometry
• Concrete permeability
• Concrete strength – core extraction
• Extensometry test
• Mapping with aerometry (drone)
• Mapping using 3D scanning

The inspection results in detailed reports containing all the reports of the technological tests carried out, informing the state of conservation and any pathologies identified, reporting points of improvement, drawings with the repairs to be made, if the inspection defines it, and the classification grade of each asset , as required by the standard.

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Carrying out the load test on the Itacaiúnas Bridge, using loaded trucks

Top and bottom view of the Itacaiúnas Bridge

Extraction of the specimen with the CP extracted

 

 

The British band Coldplay closed on Saturday, 18/3, the cycle of six shows in São Paulo, part of the world tour “Music of the Spheres” that celebrates the last album of the group. For the safety of the musicians and thousands of fans who attended the concert, the Morumbi stadium was being monitored by IEME Brasil, which installed sensors to measure the deformation of the structure subjected to dynamic loads, such as those generated by the public jumping in music shows or in matches. of football. These measurements provide a number of important pieces of information about the structure.

Stadiums that are constantly monitored and receive regular maintenance, as is the case of Estádio Cicero Pompeu de Toledo (São Paulo Futebol Clube – SPFC stadium), are very safe. Unfortunately, most Brazilian stadiums do not have this concern. The problem can arise when the structure enters into resonance, that is, the frequency of the dynamic load coincides with the natural frequency of the structure. In these cases, vibrations can exceed the limits allowed in technical standards and cause public panic, accidents and even the collapse of the structure.

SPFC, always concerned with ensuring the safety and comfort of its public, once again hired IEME Brasil to monitor the structure of the stadium. This time the event was the Coldplay concert. Congratulations to the SPFC staff for their care and responsibility.

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