Oliver Riches

Associate Director, Arup

Oliver is an Associate Director, based in Arup’s Edinburgh office with over 35 years design and construction experience on major infrastructure projects in UK, Europe, North America, North Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. Oliver leads teams to deliver safe, resilient, sustainable and economical design solutions on time and on budget. He is currently the Project Director for Arup’s Engineering support to operators Amey and BEAR for the Scottish South West and South East Trunk Road Network as well as providing expert witness and technical advice on a variety of UK and International projects. Oliver leads Arup’s Transformation and Innovation Programme for delivering data and AI for bridge asset management and is interested in transforming traditional engineering practices by integrating data-driven tools, AI, and advanced modelling techniques to push boundaries and shape smarter, more sustainable outcomes.

My Speaker Sessions

Tuesday 24 November 2026

11:40

Panel: Managing Ageing Infrastructure, Resilience and Targeting Investment

11:40 - 12:25

Every local authority and trunk road operator in the room is managing deteriorating assets, rising maintenance backlogs and the need to justify prioritised spend - this panel shares what's actually working.

  • Risk-based prioritisation: How teams are targeting investment where it has the greatest impact
  • Climate impacts and how accelerating deterioration is changing maintenance planning
  • Digital inspections and predictive maintenance - what Scottish councils are deploying now, especially around winter resilience
  • Extending asset life through smarter materials and construction methods
  • Drainage as a first line of defence: Proactive gully maintenance, CCTV surveys and the case for doing the basics well before committing to large-scale replacement

Speakers

Speaker