Troubleshooting the NBI/NBE Tape Generation

While the process of generating the NBI tape is relatively simple, troubleshooting issues with the tape can be more challenging. To troubleshoot an NBI tape issue, it's important to understand the settings that determine what records are included in the NBI tape:

Note: The NBE tape follows the same inclusion settings as the NBI tape. Therefore, the below information can be used to troubleshoot the NBE tape as well.

To begin the troubleshooting process, click the NBI Excluded Assets button to view the Excluded Asset Summary:

The Excluded Asset Summary grid indicates how many assets are being excluded from the NBI tape and the reasons why. The Search by Reason Excluded tabs on the left side of the screen allow the user to view more in-depth information about a specific exclusion reason.

There are several reasons why an asset might be excluded from the NBI tape. The following table explains those reasons:

NBI Tape Exclusions

Exclusion	Description
Not Setup for FHWA NBI	Located on the Manage Inventory page is the Asset FHWA Submittal dropdown. NBI Item 112 Not Set to Y This field must have National Bridge selected in order for the asset to be eligible to be included in the tape. This is one of the most common reasons why an asset is not found in the tape.
Archived	Located on the Manage Inventory page is the Asset Status dropdown. This dropdown can be set to "Archived" in order to archive the asset and make it unavailable for editing. If an asset is archived, it will not be included in the tape.
Not Calculated	If an asset is in the Not Calculated category, it means that it has been changed since the last NBI calculation has been run. By default, the calculation runs every 15 minutes.
No NBI 5A Value	Within asset values there are certain items that dictate an asset's inclusion in the tape. NBI Item 5A must be completed in an asset's asset values in order for the asset to appear in the NBI tape.
No On Record Value	Only assets indicated as having an on record are included in the tape. Assets that appear here either have their on-record entry mislabeled and must be fixed, or they are pedestrian or railroad bridges whose on records will not be included in the tape but whose under records will.
NBI Item 112 Not Set to Y	Within asset values there are certain items that dictate an asset's inclusion in the tape. NBI Item 112 must equal "Yes," indicating the asset meets the FHWA's requirement of a length of 20 ft. or greater, to be considered a bridge and appear on the tape.

With these NBI tape exclusions in mind, users can troubleshoot the following scenarios:

Scenario 1:

An asset expected to be in the NBI tape is missing

If the NBI tape was generated but a desired asset was missing, there are two locations the user can check for information:

The NBI Calculations form within the asset values
- If the NBI Output String section within the form contains the red text above the grid, the user can see that the issue is with the Asset FHWA Submittal dropdown on the Manage Inventory page. This should be the first step taken to resolve the issue.
- If the NBI Output String section within the form does not contain the red text or if completing the first step does not resolve the issue, the user can check location two for more information:
The NBI Tape Generation page
- Click the NBI Excluded Assets button to see which assets have been excluded from the generated tape and why:
- As described earlier, use the side tabs to reveal which assets are being excluded and why. The specific asset being searched for will be contained in one of the side tabs. Once it is located, simply resolve the issue that is keeping it from being included in the NBI tape.
  Note: Use the Export Results To Excel button to download and view the results in spreadsheet format in Microsoft Excel.

Scenario 2:

An unwanted asset is included in the NBI tape

If the NBI tape was generated with an unwanted asset included, the quickest way to remove it is to update that asset's

Asset FHWA Submittal dropdown on the Manage Inventory page to Not required.

Updating the selection to Not required will ensure that the selected asset cannot be included in the tape.

Scenario 3:

The underrecords of an asset should be included in the NBI tape, but the on record should not

A more uncommon scenario, typically affecting pedestrian and railroad bridges, is the need to submit underrecord information to the FHWA without including the on record information.

In order to accomplish this, the user must leave NBI Item 5A blank for the on record, but complete everything else as normal for the underrecords. Because NBI Item 5A must not be null in order for the record to be included in the tape, leaving it blank for the pedestrian, railroad, or other applicable bridge will exclude it from the tape. However, because NBI Item 5A is filled in for the underrecords, they will be included in the tape.