Innovation and clever asphalt on TV

Every engineer has an inherent desire to innovate. For this reason we introduced our Plus+ Innovation programme in 2017, which has since released a massive drive in our people. Programme Manager Otto Schepers was asked to talk about this programme with our partner Concept Innovation on the TV show Ondernemend Nederland, broadcast on the RTL Z channel.

The show’s reporters visited Witteveen+Bos’ office in Amsterdam, where they also met Laurens Kalwij, who showed them the innovation called Smart Asphalt Maintenance on behalf of his team. This was one of the 16 finalists selected from 169 entries in the innovation programme.

Smart Asphalt Maintenance offers insight into the remaining life cycle of asphalt based on 200 parameters, and is a data-driven asset management solution. For this purpose, existing data obtained from road authorities are used, but it is also possible to collect additional data with our partner De Wegenscanners.

Kalwij: ‘For maintenance purposes, people are still mainly going outside to inspect the roads. This is done more often than necessary, and it is very time consuming and expensive. We thought there must be a more clever way to do it, using an online life cycle predictor. It helps prevent holes in the road and avoids the need for unplanned maintenance that causes increased disruption. It allows for cleverer planning and prevents replacement of asphalt that is actually still in good condition.’

Smart Asphalt Maintenance is just one example of the many interesting results of the Plus+ Innovation programme. Concept Innovation helped set up the programme and advised on the tools that would enable engineers to work together on their innovations.

‘The online platform has been the real asset and basis of the campaign,’ says Otto Schepers. ‘The good thing is that the programme enables us to really promote and feed innovation from the bottom up. This not only generates new business, but - no less importantly - it also allows colleagues and the company as a whole to grow.’

If you have not seen the RTL Z item yet, you can watch it online here.