This article reports on the oral presentations delivered during the opening session of CONGREGA 2024, held on 3th of July of 2024.
Reflections on engineering asset management, resilience, digitalization, sustainability and cooperation
The opening session of CONGREGA 2024, the 2nd Portuguese Congress on Engineering Asset Management and its 1st Ibero-American edition, framed engineering asset management (asset management applied to engineering assets) as far more than any specific engineering function (e.g. design, maintenance, operations). Roads, railways, airports, water systems, energy networks and other critical infrastructure and public facilities are the fruits of decades of investment. The value they derive to society must be protected and optimized, since the early stages of financing and design, and throughout its construction and the whole life span, in a manner that they continually provide safe, reliable and sustainable service. In that sense, engineering asset management becomes a bridge between engineering, public policy, business strategy, environmental responsibility and public service.
“We need to think of new ways not only to build infrastructure, but also to develop the capacity to manage, as effectively as possible, the assets and infrastructure we already possess.”
— Hugo Espírito Santos, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure
From construction to long-term stewardship in a VUCA world
The intervention by Hugo Espírito Santos, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure, distinguished between the challenges facing emerging and mature economies. Emerging economies often need infrastructure quickly and affordably. They must choose between adopting proven technologies or leapfrogging directly to newer systems. The latter may cost more initially, but it can avoid locking countries into technologies already becoming obsolete elsewhere.
Mature economies face a different dilemma: ageing assets, renewal backlogs and infrastructure whose original purpose may be changing. The central questions are no longer simply what to build, but when to maintain, upgrade, replace, repurpose or retire. Gas networks were cited as a clear example of possible stranded assets as countries consider hydrogen, alternative gases and decarbonized energy systems.
“How can we maximize the benefits of assets that have already depreciated or have already been used for a significant part of their expected lifespan?”
— Hugo Espírito Santos, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure
These decisions require more than engineering judgement. They combine cost, risk, service performance, regulation, environmental objectives and long-term public value. A well-managed asset may continue delivering value long after its accounting value has declined, while an apparently functional asset may conceal rapidly increasing risk.
Resilience was one of the dominant themes in this intervention. Infrastructure is increasingly exposed to floods, droughts, wildfires, extreme heat, storms, cyberattacks, supply-chain disruption and volatile demand. The concept of VUCA—volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity—was used to describe the environment in which modern assets must operate.
“Our world is becoming increasingly VUCA.”
— Hugo Espírito Santos, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure
The implication is profound. Infrastructure designed around historic weather, demand and technology may remain in service for another 20, 30 or 50 years under very different conditions. Resilience therefore means more than making assets physically stronger. It requires flexibility, redundancy, reliable information, contingency planning, adaptive organizations and the ability to recover quickly after disruption.
“How can we prepare assets to operate in a world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity?”
— Hugo Espírito Santos, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure
Climate change must consequently influence every stage of the asset life cycle: planning, design, construction, operation, inspection, maintenance, renewal and emergency preparation. This approach was linked to Portugal’s National Investment Programme 2030, built around cohesion, competitiveness and innovation; sustainability; and climate action.
Major national priorities—including a new Lisbon airport, the Porto–Lisbon, Porto–Vigo and Lisbon–Madrid rail connections, stronger conventional railways, port investment and a high-quality road network—will require not only construction capacity but also the institutions, information and skills needed to manage them for decades.
Science, technology and cooperation
Rogério Colaço, Dean at Instituto Superior Técnico, pointed our sustainability, digitalization and deep tech as key aspects to be addresses and debated during the congress works. He described challenges for the coming generations and argued that solutions can arise from the matching of science and engineering.
“There is only one path forward, just as there has always been only one path: the path of science, technology, research and engineering.”
— Rogério Colaço, Dean at Instituto Superior Técnico
Political leadership remains essential because governments create policy, regulatory and funding conditions that allow research and innovation to progress. Yet no institution can solve these challenges alone. Academia contributes knowledge and evidence; industry contributes operational experience, investment and implementation capacity; and government contributes policy, strategic direction and public legitimacy.
“Nothing can be achieved, transformed or changed without cooperation.”
— Rogério Colaço, Dean at Instituto Superior Técnico
This was perhaps the strongest unifying theme for the opening session. Cooperation must go beyond placing organizations in the same room. Researchers, businesses, and public authorities operate according to different incentives and timescales. Progress depends on a shared language, common goals, and a willingness to translate knowledge into practical action.
Railways: facing the real condition of complex assets
The opening session included a practical illustration of the importance of engineering asset management. A railway is not a single asset, but a system of tracks, stations, signaling, bridges, tunnels, electrification, communications, and millions of components. Drawing on her experience at Spain’s railway infrastructure manager (ADIF), Isabel Pardo de Vera described how decades of high-speed rail investment had coincided with underinvestment in some parts of the conventional network.
“There was an enormous amount of work to be done to organize the thousands upon thousands, indeed millions, of assets under our responsibility.”
— Isabel Pardo de Vera, Ex-Chairwoman of ADIF
Many conventional assets eventually required more than routine maintenance; some needed extensive renewal or near-complete replacement. Because resources were limited and the network was geographically decentralized, ADIF needed common indicators and criteria to prevent similar assets from being treated differently across regions. Structured asset management introduced criticality assessment, risk analysis, transparent priorities, and more objective governance.
“Recognizing reality is the first step towards transforming organizations, institutional culture and systems of governance.”
— Isabel Pardo de Vera, Ex-Chairwoman of ADIF
The railway perspective also stressed that strategy must begin with a shared vision. Infrastructure programmes involve ministries, operators, regulators, engineering companies, communities, and users whose interests may differ. Consensus on the desired future allows those interests to converge.
“We must first agree on a common vision. Once we know the future we want and need, we can then develop the strategy required to achieve it.”
— Isabel Pardo de Vera, Ex-Chairwoman of ADIF
Mobility was presented not merely as a transport service but as a condition for exercising wider rights. Access to employment, education, healthcare, and social participation depends partly on the ability to move. This gives transport asset management a direct connection to equality and territorial cohesion.
“There can be no full enjoyment of fundamental rights without mobility.”
— Isabel Pardo de Vera, Ex-Chairwoman of ADIF
Water infrastructure: protecting past success
The water utility of the Portuguese capital (EPAL) contributed to the opening session by showing how infrastructure success can create a new management challenge. Over roughly 30 years, Portugal invested about €13 billion in water and sanitation. Water-service coverage rose from below 50 per cent to more than 99 per cent, while approximately 99.6 per cent of supplied water meets the required quality standards. Wastewater collection and treatment now cover around 90 per cent of the population.
These achievements created extensive networks of treatment plants, reservoirs, pipelines, pumps, control systems, and sanitation assets spread across large territories. The next challenge is renewal. Portugal remains below the annual network-renewal rate of roughly 2 percent recommended by the regulator and public policy.
“Past success does not guarantee future success.”
— Carlos Manuel Martins, Chair of the Board of Directors of EPAL
EPAL’s 156-year history also means that it manages several generations of technology and a vast accumulation of institutional knowledge. Some assets have useful lives of 50 or 60 years. Old and new equipment, historic records, evolving standards, and modern digital tools must be integrated into one management system.
“One of our highest priorities is access to reliable and high-quality information.”
— Carlos Manuel Martins, Chair of the Board of Directors of EPAL
Reliable information underpins condition assessment, criticality analysis, life-cycle costing, maintenance and investment decisions. But asset management cannot belong to one specialist department. Operators, technicians, engineers, and managers all contribute to the quality of asset data and decisions. Digital systems help preserve knowledge, but they do not replace training, experience, and deliberate knowledge transfer.
Perspectives from road infrastructure operators
The opening session also included a road-sector contribution, emphasizing a powerful financial principle: timely maintenance is usually far cheaper than delayed repairs. A road is not only pavement; it includes bridges, retaining structures, drainage, signs, barriers, lighting and safety systems. Neglecting any of these components can reduce service quality and increase risk.
“For every euro not invested today, as much as €20 may need to be invested 10 years later.”
— Isabel Rodriguez Ramos, Director of Construction Knowledge Area Mediterranean Region at Applus
The precise ratio varies by asset, but the lesson is broadly applicable. Deferred maintenance can accelerate deterioration, shorten useful life, increase disruption, and turn manageable interventions into major capital projects. Preventive maintenance is therefore not simply an expense; it is a form of financial protection and risk control.
Thoughts on digitalization: opportunity with responsibility
Digitalization was also mentioned in the opening session. Organizations now have access to maintenance platforms, digital twins, Internet of Things devices, big data, artificial intelligence and real-time monitoring. Current performance can be compared with historical information to detect deterioration, predict failures, and plan interventions more rationally.
“We need to free human talent and engineering expertise to focus on activities that only human beings can perform.”
— Hugo Espírito Santos, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure
Artificial intelligence was therefore framed as support for engineers, not a substitute for them. AI can process large datasets and identify patterns, while people provide context, accountability, ethical judgement, and strategic interpretation. The strongest model combines machine capability with human expertise.
Digitalization also creates vulnerability. Airports, ports, railways, water systems, electricity networks, and gas networks are increasingly connected. Cybersecurity must therefore be designed into assets and systems from the beginning rather than added after deployment.
“How can we ensure that the process of digitalization, which involves increasing interconnection between systems and equipment, does not itself become a vulnerability?”
— Hugo Espírito Santos, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure
Visit YouTube:
Welcome session 1/5 | Hugo Espírito Santos (Secretary of State for Infrastructure)
Welcome session 2/5 ⎮ Rogério Colaço (Dean at Técnico Lisboa)
Welcome session 3/5 ⎮ Isabel Pardo de Vera (Ex-Chairwoman of ADIF)
Welcome session 4/5 ⎮ Carlos Manuel Martins (Chair of the Board of Directors of EPAL)
Cite this blog post:
CONGREGA (August 20, 2024). Opening session of CONGREGA 2024: Reflections on engineering asset management, resilience, digitalization, sustainability and cooperation. Report on the oral presentations delivered during the opening session of CONGREGA 2024 held on July 3, 2024. CONGREGA Blog. Retrieved from www.congrega.eu/opening-session-of-congrega-2024/