"This standard assumes that the structure, after completion, is used as intended in the project and subject to planned inspection and maintenance to meet the expected project lifetime and to detect any unforeseen weakness or behavior" (EN 13670 §4.1)

An important decision factor in the design of new structures and repairs to existing structures is the lifetime or expected service life.

This concept, which is common for civil engineering works, has been extended to all engineering and building works by applying the European Structural Design Codes.

This book tries to take stock of the inspection methodologies related to each type of civil engineering work, the various pathologies of concrete structures, and gives examples of the writing of reports.