It is easy to take our roads for granted. Most of us jump into our cars and head to our destination with nary a thought to the state of the road. Sometimes on long journeys, we might become impatient when held up by roadworks, or we may have a grumble if the car lurches over a pothole. For the majority of the community, that’s our limit to an understanding of road maintenance.
But in the transport sector, road and rail maintenance is a high priority, and asset managers spend a great deal of time each day thinking about the state of the roads on which we all travel. An unmaintained patch of road is dangerous. Also costly.
Across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand the State Highway Asset Management Plan (SHAMP) has a three-pronged approach:
- A map to planning, investing and delivering in the future
- Sets service targets
Business case for opportunities, including maintenance, renewals, operations and improvements1
The SHAMP clearly sets outs how the NZ Transport Agency has managed, and will continue to manage, state highway assets to increase effectiveness and efficiency in key program deliverables, such as maintenance, renewals, and improvements, balanced against budgets. The SHAMP priorities and targets include:
- Ease severe congestion
- Fewer deaths and serious injuries
- Fewer adverse effects from land transport
If you’re working in New Zealand within the asset management sector, make sure you hook into our NZ chapter meets. You’ll be exposed to great networking opportunities, interesting events and the best in knowledge-sharing among like-minded professionals.
1Sourced: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/state-highway-asset-management-plan/docs/shamp-flyer.pdf