The “Austrian Transport Infrastructure SAFETY Research network“ – project concerns the making of a network for research and analysis of safety aspects, risks and threats that in Austria are represented by earthquakes. Safety research faces an interdisciplinary challenge. For the improvement of the actual state effective use of the current resources and expertise is necessary. Some sectors have gained more attention which hadn’t been taken into consideration in the past. This project focuses on hazard which, following a new hazard assessment, has a high priority. It should enable the integration of earthquake issues in the general safety considerations since earthquakes have an impact on the entire infrastructure. Furthermore networking (co-operation) between the economic sector, scientists and shareholders should be encouraged by realising this network. Due to the participation of the project partners in several European projects in the past, an amount of high-level knowledge concerning earthquakes is available in Austria. Without being up to date the knowledge and the technology transfer to the shareholders would not be possible. The new regulations in Austria require the updating and the effective transfer of knowledge to build up human resources that enable the creation and use of synergies towards this direction. Furthermore, the topic concerns and involves scientists from different disciplines. At this point there is also a great demand for better networking and cooperation. The shareholders should be introduced to the generation of innovative ideas for research projects in order to work more focused. The ones responsible for the infrastructure, such as the civil protection, should make an assessment of the social implications of the measures to be taken that should be newly developed. Earthquakes in Austria rank in a high place in the natural harzards in Austria as emerging risk. An assessment of the overall public stability is possible only through an interdisciplinary approach. The project takes also into consideration the positive effects in the local economy that can derive by prevention programmes. The result of such a network should include the development and formation of co-operation possibilities. In this project application in order to negotiate a network activity, networking and reinforcement of interaction between individual partners from the economic sector, science and the public are in the foreground. The aim of the planned network is the promotion of the research requirements in the safety sector of infrastructure construction and the creation of research co-operations.
Project leader
DI Dr. Helmut Wenzel, VCE Holding GmbH
Other Project- or Cooperation partner
University of Applied Life Sciences, Institut für Vermessungswesen, Fernerkundung und Landvermessung - DI Dr. Werner Schneider
University of Innsbruck, Institut für Grundlagen der Bauingenieurswissenschaften, Arbeitsbereich für FestigkeitslehreÖBB Infrastruktur Bau AG - Mag. Karl-Eric Pumper
Baustatik und Tragwerkslehre - DI Dr. Christoph Adam
APLICA Mess- und Prüftechnik GmbH - Ing. Robert Prethaler
Arsenal Research - DI Dr. Rainer Flesch
