Performance metrics for constructed systems

Many engineers share the concern that the constructed facilities, which serve as the backbone of our infrastructure systems, are not providing the performance expected by society in the 21st Century. A major impediment to advancing performance is a lack of associated metrics. Civil engineering design, construction and evaluation guidelines, codes, specifications and related documents describe performance of constructed facilities and entire infrastructure systems qualitatively, often in nebulous, incomplete, unrealistic or inaccurate terms. Even when quantitative limits related to performance of some structures are offered in the code commentaries, whether these limits are realistic, or whether the design and construction processes may provide assurance of satisfying such limits is uncertain.