Kathryn A Zimmerman

Pavement Management Perspective on Integrating Preventive Maintenance into a Pavement Management System

Many transportation agencies use pavement preservation programs to manage their pavement assets cost-effectively. One important aspect of pavement preservation is the use of preventive maintenance treatments to improve the functional condition of the network and retard the overall rate of deterioration. Because preventive maintenance treatments are less expensive than resurfacing or reconstruction projects, a preventive maintenance program can provide a cost-effective means of meeting pavement performance goals. Pavement management systems support pavement preservation strategies in important ways. They assist in identifying and prioritizing preventive maintenance needs, justifying funding levels, and evaluating the long-term impacts of various preservation strategies. To date, many agencies have operated preventive maintenance activities in isolation from pavement management programs. However, many potential benefits can be gained from the closer integration of these two activities. A transportation agency that wishes to integrate preventive maintenance and pavement management might be required to make several changes. Specific technical areas in which changes might be needed include condition surveys and condition index calculations, pavement performance models, treatment rules, and program development. In addition, several institutional issues must be addressed to successfully integrate the two programs. Examples from state highway agencies illustrate possible solutions.

APPLYING ECONOMIC CONCEPTS FROM LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSIS TO PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS

In recent years, FHWA has made a concerted effort to develop guidelines for the use of life-cycle cost analysis by transportation agencies and to promote the use of multiyear prioritization in pavement management. These efforts resulted in the development of a Technical Bulletin and Demonstration Project course materials that have been presented to state highway agencies throughout the country. A key part of multiyear prioritization is emphasis on the use of life-cycle cost information in cost-effectiveness calculations. An agency implementing multiyear prioritization as part of its pavement management system would naturally attempt to utilize the FHWA’s guidelines in developing the cost component of its economic analysis. However, because of the types of analyses required in pavement management and the ways in which cost information is reported and used, the recommendations provided in FHWA’s Technical Bulletin cannot be applied directly. The types of economic analyses that are used in an incremental benefit-cost analysis and the types of economic considerations that must be taken into account are discussed. Several of these economic considerations differ from the recommendations made in FHWA’s Technical Bulletin, so the reasons for these variations are also described.

Issues in Integrating Pavement Management and Preventive Maintenance

For years, pavement-management systems (PMSs) have been used in highway agencies to improve the planning efforts associated with pavement-preservation activities, to provide the information needed to support the pavement-preservation decision process, and to compare the long-term impacts of alternative preservation strategies. As such, pavement management is an integral part of an agencys assetmanagement efforts and an important tool for cost-effectively managing the large investment in its transportation infrastructure. PMSs have been used by several agencies to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of pavement-preservation programs that include the use of preventivemaintenance treatments. By comparing the long-term effects on pavement condition associated with an agencys current practices with a strategy that includes preventive maintenance, the benefits of a preventive-maintenance program can be demonstrated. However, agencies have had limited success expanding the use of their PMSs to support a preventive-maintenance program because most PMSs have not fully integrated preventive-maintenance treatments into the analysis. The importance of integrating preventive-maintenance treatments into a PMS to support a preventive-maintenance program is addressed, and the most common gaps between maintenance efforts and pavement management are discussed. In addition, current approaches used to integrate these programs and the advantages and disadvantages associated with each approach are presented. Finally, recommendations for improving the integration of preventive-maintenance treatments into an agencys PMS are provided.

Applying Pavement Preservation Concepts to Low-Volume Roads

As the challenges associated with managing a low-volume road network increase, agencies have realized the benefits associated with the use of pavement management tools for the road network. One of the benefits of the use of these tools is the ability to illustrate quickly and effectively the impacts of various pavement preservation strategies (such as worst-first repair) on overall network conditions. As a result, agencies are in a better position to communicate the needs of the road network to individuals responsible for the allocation of funds. In some cases, agencies have successfully lobbied for additional funds to support their road management efforts. The benefit of pavement management tools in supporting the preservation of the low-volume road network is illustrated by their use in evaluating the long-term impact of various funding strategies, the cost-effectiveness of pavement preventive maintenance programs, and various cost analyses that can be used to enhance road system management. Information from a variety of transportation agencies is used for this illustration. For instance, a summary is presented of the use of pavement management information to compare a worst-first repair strategy with a strategy that includes pavement preservation techniques. Examples are provided of the types of presentations that can be given to top management to illustrate these effects. In addition, the cost-effectiveness of pavement preservation programs is illustrated by showing the reduction in life-cycle costs and the overall benefits provided to the agency through the implementation of preventive maintenance programs.

Maintenance Quality Assurance Field Inspection Practices

This synthesis examines maintenance quality assurance field inspection practices used by state transportation agencies to support maintenance investments. The report documents and summarizes the type of data collected, the methodology used to assess condition, and the processes in place to ensure the quality of the data. In addition, the synthesis presents information on how the field inspection data are used to report highway conditions, estimate budget needs, and establish targeted levels of service. Information used in this study was gathered through a literature review and a survey of state departments of transportation. Follow-up interviews with selected agencies provided additional information.

Developing a Correlation Between the Pavement Condition Ratings Used by Five Federal Lands Management Agencies

The Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Federal Lands Highway works closely with its federal and tribal transportation partners, collectively called Federal Lands Management Agencies (FLMAs). A review of the various pavement condition assessment methods used by five of the FLMAs showed that each one was different and that there was no uniform basis to compare pavement conditions on a national basis. This paper presents the results of a study performed to develop statistical models to crosswalk the paved road condition ratings of the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Land Management. To achieve this objective, two major field studies involving independent condition assessments of several federal lands roads by the FLMA representatives were conducted. The results of the field studies and the subsequent analyses of data demonstrated that the individual rating procedures used by each FLMA could be reasonably crosswalked to the pavement condition index (as specified by the ASTM D6433 standard), allowing for a consistent method of reporting FLMA pavement conditions nationally.

Investigating Consistency in Highway Performance Monitoring System and Pavement Management Reporting

An NCHRP study was conducted to evaluate the comparability of pavement condition data submitted to FHWA under the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) and the information reported by state highway agencies as part of their pavement management program. As part of the study, a statewide survey of both HPMS and pavement management practitioners was conducted to identify issues associated with HPMS submittal requirements and to evaluate the impact these issues have on the quality of the data submittal. After the survey, eight states were invited to participate in a more detailed comparison of HPMS and pavement management data. The analysis compared the data in a number of ways, including the availability of comparable information in the pavement management and HPMS data sets, differences in pavement conditions reported using HPMS and pavement management data, and the impact of the reporting length (e.g., segment or route) on pavement condition statistics. The results indicate fairly good consistency in the international roughness index values reported to HPMS and used in pavement management. However, there are much greater inconsistencies in the pavement distress information reported to HPMS and used in pavement management. This paper summarizes the findings from the analysis and presents the implications of these findings on the performance management requirements outlined in the current law, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, or MAP-21.

Findings from the International Scan on Managing Pavements and Monitoring Performance

Nine pavement and asset managers from the United States participated in the International Scan on Managing Pavements and Monitoring Performance. The scan team sought input on processes for implementing sustainable performance-based programs; effective communication methods for garnering upper management and legislative support; agency cultures that support performance-based programs; and techniques, tools, analyses, and reporting that support performance-based management. The team traveled to New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and England and gathered information from 14 agencies. The agencies selected for consultation had experience with managing their pavement networks under constrained budgets. Although the initial focus of the scan was on pavement management, the team found that some of the agencies conducted pavement management within an asset management framework. The findings are thus equally applicable to assets other than pavements. The key findings are (a) agency culture supports a long-term view toward managing pavements, (b) elected officials understand their responsibilities as stewards of public funds, (c) the road network is managed as a service provided to the traveling public, (d) agency priorities are known and agency personnel are held accountable for their actions, (e) the agencies recognize the importance of building internal capacity and capabilities, and (f) efficiency and value drive program delivery approaches. The scan team selected four implementation strategies for moving scan findings into practice: communicating scan findings, developing guidelines for asset management plans and long-term financial plans, encouraging use of recurring program assessments, and developing agency capabilities in the areas of engineering, contract administration, economics, and accounting.

Part 3: Low-Volume Roads: Pavement Management and Climatic and Seasonal Effects: Development of Surfacing Criteria for Low-Volume Roads in South Dakota

On a daily basis, local road agencies in South Dakota face the challenge of how to maintain low-volume roads cost-effectively. Specifically, agencies are faced with the decision of determining when it is most economical to maintain, upgrade, or downgrade a roads existing surface. To assist decision makers with maintenance and rehabilitation decisions, the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) initiated a study in 2002 to investigate surfacing criteria for low-volume roads. The overall objective of this research is to create a process that allows users to compare the costs associated with different types of roads to provide assistance in deciding which surface type (hot-mix asphalt, blotter, gravel, or stabilized gravel) is most economical under a specific set of circumstances. In addition to incorporating economic factors into the analysis, the process allows the user to consider other noneconomic factors that are more subjective and difficult to quantify. The process used during this study i...

Advancements in Pavement Management Activities of Illinois Department of Transportation

For more than 20 years the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has been using the results of its Condition Rating Survey (CRS) to make policy decisions regarding pavement rehabilitation activities, assess overall network condition throughout the state, and present funding requests to the state legislature. Before the early 1990s the CRSs were conducted manually by assigning a subjective rating ranging from 1.0 to 9.0 to each pavement section in the network. Since 1994 IDOT has used automated equipment to record roughness, rutting, and faulting information and videotapes at a workstation to identify additional distress. The acquisition of the automated equipment resulted in changes to the CRS procedures. Instead of subjectively assigning a rating to a pavement section, automated sensor data are used in conjunction with the identification of up to five predominant distress types and severity levels to calculate a CRS value. Models were developed to accommodate this change within the department so that CRS ratings determined by the new procedures would be within one-half point of the rating that would have been assigned by manual procedures. In addition, the models were developed to minimize the amount of time spent biennially conducting the CRS for Interstate pavements and primary highways. As a result of the changes in the CRS procedures, the rating of the predominant distress types and severities for each pavement section became more important. For this reason, the department identified the need for additional training that could be used to supplement the annual training class and provide immediate support to the CRS raters as they performed the condition surveys. An interactive, compact-disc (CD)-based training program that features full multimedia capabilities such as video, audio, and photograph was developed. An interactive testing and assessment package is also being developed as part of the training package. A summary of the development of the CRS rating models and the CD-based training program designed to be used at the workstation as surveys are conducted is presented.