Tunnel Asset Management at CERN

CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research based in Geneva, Switzerland. There are over 300 underground structures, over 68 km in length, made up of tunnels, caverns, shafts and galleries, some of which were built over 60 years ago. During operational periods, exposure to ionising radiation make most of the underground infrastructure at CERN inaccessible for long periods, meaning that regular inspection and maintenance is a major challenge. CERN has recently invested significant effort in developing and implementing smart infrastructure and this is being used to overcome these challenges and enhance the way underground assets are managed. Technology at CERN allows the inspection and monitoring of priority infrastructure remotely, enabling regular inspections when access restrictions are in place. A focus on automation, using technology to unlock insights from inspection data, is being implemented so that a move towards a predictive, data-driven asset management system can be made, reducing the cost of repairs, and improving the safety of infrastructure. This paper will give a broad overview of the smart infrastructure concepts currently being developed at CERN. This includes fibre optical strain monitoring, robotics, computer learning fault detection, and digital survey tools using GIS and mobile applications.