What is colloquially known as the Öresund Bridge consists of a bridge, an artificial island and a tunnel, and the entire link is 16 kilometres long. The combined road and rail link was completed in 2000. Some seven million vehicles use the link each year, of which approximately 90 per cent are passenger cars.

The link is owned by Øresundsbro Konsortiet, which is responsible for operation and maintenance. The consortium is in turn owned in equal parts by the Swedish and Danish states.
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“The Öresund Bridge has been designed to stand for 200 years. The worst that can happen is that we are not rational in our maintenance work. This will require a high standard of service from our supplier – we want the maintenance to be so rational and efficient that the need for maintenance does not increase with the age of the link,” says Bengt Hergart, Facilities Director at the Öresund Bridge.

Since 1 May 2022, Coor has been responsible for technical maintenance along the road section of the Öresund link. This includes surveillance systems, fans, signage, road barriers and lighting – some 40,000 pieces of equipment – of which Coor is responsible for just over half. In collaboration with Øresundsbro Konsortiet, Coor is developing a data-driven maintenance system.

“Of our 40,000 pieces of equipment, we want 10,000 to be data-driven by 2025. Currently it is about 4,250, and the vast majority have become data-driven thanks to Coor,” says Bengt Hergart.

Data-driven maintenance means that the maintenance is needs-based rather than frequency-based. Instead of carrying out calendar-based maintenance, sensors along the link signal when action is required.

“Remote monitoring and taking action only when it is really necessary is more efficient than going out and doing maintenance once a month,” says Bengt Hergart.

Rational maintenance includes analytical troubleshooting. Instead of simply repairing an error, an analysis of why the error occurred and how new errors can be prevented is required.  

A fundamental requirement from Øresundsbro Konsortiet is that the maintenance work be developed continuously, without reducing accessibility or jeopardising safety. Data-driven maintenance is one example of development. New methods for the practical implementation of maintenance is another.

“It is not difficult to find a partner who can carry out maintenance, but we wanted to find someone who also had the will and ability to develop,” says Bengt Hergart.

And that’s where Coor enters the picture. Øresundsbro Konsortiet and Coor have entered into a partnership agreement where the emphasis is on development, as well as on joint profits. Bengt Hergart explains that the partnership is based on four key principles: fairness and reciprocity, loyalty, independence and equality, and honesty and transparency.

“We do not micro-regulate the work, but trust each other in our joint efforts to achieve common goals."

Simply put, the compensation model is based on a joint budget where Coor, in return for a low hourly cost, is guaranteed a minimum profit mark-up that may be increased if the common goals are reached. In addition, if costs are below budget the partners will share the profit.
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“There is full transparency on our costs. If we do what we have to do and deliver with quality, we get a margin. The agreement means that we plan maintenance, quality-assure and develop the solutions jointly. And that means that we can take a long-term approach in our business and dare to invest,” says Erik Bustad, Contract Manager at Coor.

Bengt Hergart believes the partnership agreement has brought out the best expertise at Coor.

“We have shown that we have a long-term approach, are development-oriented and emphasise collaboration. Coor, for its part, has shown that the company has the skills required to drive development. Together, we have created a good and development-oriented collaborative environment. It is proving very effective,” he says.

“The bridge has been designed to stand for 200 years and we need to help ensure that it does. We are striving for a future-proof and sustainable delivery,” says Erik Bustad.