Guidelines for Road Asset Management System (RAMS)

(DRAFT)

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sl. Description Page

No. No.
1 Introduction
1.1 Role of Road Infrastructure in Socio-economic Development
1.2 Importance of Road Maintenance
1.3 Road Asset Management
1.4 Rationale for Road Asset Management
2 Scope of the Guidelines
3 Principles of Asset Management
3.1 Core Principles of Asset Management
3.2 Benefits of Road Asset Management
3.3 Pavement Deterioration
3.4 Components of Road Assets
3.5 Asset Valuation and Depreciation
3.6 Possible Approaches for Valuation of Road Assets
4 Asset Management Implementation Modality
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Review of Current Practice & Gap Analysis
4.3 Need Assessment
4.4 Establishment of Minimum Standards
4.5 Asset Management Plan and Desired Modules
4.6 Desired Attributes of Road Asset Management System
5 Road Asset Data Collection
5.1 Type of Data Needed
5.2 Levels of Data Collection
5.3 Method of Data Collection
5.4 Criteria for Selecting Data Items
5.5 Data for PMS
5.6 Selection of Appropriate Equipment
5.7 Summary of Some Data Collection Equipment for RMS
6 Data Analysis and Modules
6.1 GIS Based Asset Description
6.2 Road Information System (RIS) & Bridge Information System (BIS)
6.3 Pavement Management System (PMS)
6.4 Traffic Information System (TIS)
6.5 Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS)
6.6 Right of Way Features Information Management System (RWFIMS)
6.7 Deterioration Modelling & Pavement Performance Evaluation
6.8 Pavement Deterioration Models vis-a-vis Computational Techniques
6.9 Pavement Condition Rating
6.10 Bridge Deterioration & Condition Rating
6.11 Bridge Structural Health Index
6.12 Analytical tools / Numerical Methods/ COTS software

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 7 Asset Management Decision Making and Maintenance Plan
7.1 Decision Making Criteria
7.2 Project Level Decision Making
7.3 Network Level Decision Making
7.4 Asset Maintenance Planning
8 Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation
8.1 Asset Management Implementation
8.2 Institutionalization of RAMS
8.3 Adoption of Appropriate Technology
8.4 Data Collection Modalities and Contract Management
8.5 Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
8.6 Performance Measures
8.7 Key Performance Indicators
8.8 Capacity Building & Training for Stake Holders
Appendices
Appendix-I Broad Overview of Bridge Management System
Appendix-II Brief Details of Some Data Collection Equipment
Appendix-III Formats for Data Collection and Reporting
Appendix-IV Details of RAMS adopted in Some States and NHAI

Abbreviations
AR: Accelerometer Based
ARMS: Automatic Rut Measurement System
ARSS: Automated Road Survey System
ARUR: Automatic Road Unevenness Recorder
AVC: Automatic Vehicle Classification
BBD: Benkelman Beam Deflection
BPT: British Pendulum Tester
Car Axle Mounted Bump Integrator
CFMS: Continuous Friction Measuring System
FWBI: Fifth Wheel Bump Integrator
FWD: Falling Weight Deflectometer
GMS: Geometry Measurement System
GPR: Ground Penetrating Radar
GPS: Global Positioning System
LP: Laser Profilometer
MPD: Mean Profile Depth
PDMS: Pavement Distress Measurement System

ROW-VIS: Right-of-Way Video Imaging System

SWS: Static Weigh Scales
WIM: Weigh-In-Motion

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Role of Road Infrastructure in Socio-Economic Development

1.1.1. Roads and road transport constitute a critical component of the transport
infrastructure in the country. Roads serve to move people and goods inter-city,
intra-city (within urban areas) and in rural areas. Roads influence economic
development, population distribution, shape of cities, access to social
infrastructure (education and healthcare facilities), markets and enhance quality of
life of the people. They contribute to cause increase in GDP (Gross Domestic
Product) and provide employment opportunities for millions of people across the
country.

1.1.2. The road network in India essentially comprises of National Highways, State
Highways, Major District Roads and Rural Roads (Other District Roads and
Village Roads). Their development received a push with the launching of ‘National
Highways Development Project’ and ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana’ about
two decades back. A study conducted by the National Highways Authority of India
on the socio-economic development for the Agra-Kolkata National Highway
revealed the following:

 Proximity to highway and its upgrading has significant beneficial influence on

major aspects of socio-economic well being of the rural population as greater
opportunities of employment and earnings in non-farm activities are
generated, access to education and health facilities improves, household
incomes rise and so do asset holdings.
 Benefits mostly extend upto a distance of 5 km on either side of the highway
and density of population in nearby villages is generally higher due to the
rural poor staying close to highway for better non-farm job prospects.

1.1.3. In another study by the World Bank, the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) NH Project
was found to have increased the organised manufacturing of several
commodities and articles of use by the people. It improved the connectivity and
market accessibility of districts lying close to the GQ. The project also appears to
have encouraged decentralisation by making intermediate cities more attractive
for manufacturing entrants.

1.1.4. Similarly, the impact of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has been studied by
the Ministry of Rural Development and these studies reveal clearly that the
scheme has acted as an instrument of poverty alleviation and an enabler for
employment opportunities besides providing boost to agriculture output, agro
based industries and farms to markets connectivity . School enrolment has
considerably increased and healthcare facilities can be accessed easily by the
rural masses.

Box 1 captures some key benefits from sustained access and mobility

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 Box 1. Benefits from Sustained Access and Mobility
 Owners of vehicles incur lower operation cost
 Users of public transport benefit from reduced travel times, lower fares, better regularity of
services.
 Farmers and traders incur lower transport costs and have better business environment.
 Better access to health, education, agriculture extension services.
 Provides improved access to employment opportunities and other economic activities.
 Rural roads serve as entry point for poverty alleviation. They also provide physical mobility of
raw materials, farm produce, promote specialisation and increased size of market and help
in reduction of inequalities.

1.1.5. Roads also serve as last mile connectivity to other modes of transport such as
links to railway stations, container freight stations, major and minor ports,
airports, inland waterway terminals besides providing access to power plants,
special economic zones etc.

1.1.6. To sum up, roads become a lifeline to new markets, new businesses, new
incomes and above all to new opportunities. Even a narrow road that helps
connectivity to village or agriculture market (grameen mandi) can be an
instrument of prosperity.

1.2 Importance of Road Maintenance

1.2.1. Road maintenance may be defined as routine work performed to upkeep

pavement, shoulders, bridges, culverts, safety and traffic control devices and
other ancillary furniture provided for road users, as nearly as possible in their
constructed condition under normal conditions of traffic and climate. If not
maintained, roads rapidly become impassable for motorized traffic. The pace of
deterioration depends upon the quality of initial construction, drainage measures,
levels of traffic, loadings and weather conditions.

1.2.2. Maintenance of roads serves the following purposes:

i) Reduces the rate of deterioration of the road infrastructure – pavement,

cross-drainage structures, traffic control and safety devices, protective
structures – thus prolonging the life of different components of road assets
and thereby safeguard the huge investments made in construction of new
roads and upgradation including capacity augmentation of existing roads.
This also helps the government in avoiding premature investment in
rehabilitation and reconstruction of the roads and thus enables optimum use
of available resources.
ii) Lowers the cost of operating vehicles and fuel consumption and reduces the
rate of deterioration of the vehicles, which is of benefit to the road users.
iii) Contributes to provision of more reliable and safe transport services by
keeping the road open to traffic without interruption (except of course in the
event of any disaster- natural or manmade).

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 iv) Helps in ensuring social and economic benefits of road access and mobility
being available on a sustained basis.

1.2.3. No matter what technical design and standards are adopted, all roads,
irrespective of class and volume of traffic carried, require regular and timely
maintenance to serve the intended purpose. These in turn require adequate
funding and institutional arrangement for effective planning and delivery of
maintenance interventions. A well maintained road also enhances the image of
the road authority as also that of the state and the country.

1.3 Road Asset Management

1.3.1. It is a strategic and systematic process of maintaining, upgrading and operating

road assets throughout their life- cycle in a cost effective manner by combining
engineering principles with business practices.

1.3.2. The rationale and key objectives of ensuring management of road assets can be
described as under:

i) Preserve the existing road assets so as to reduce the potential losses in

value of these assets by ensuring timely, regular and adequate maintenance.
ii) Link funding with performance of the assets and achieve value for money
invested in asset creation and upgradation.
iii) Move towards outcome based results to ensure economic benefits to vehicle
operators and other road users.
iv) Decision for various interventions be based on asset management principles
and data on condition of the network being updated regularly.

1.3.3. The journey to Asset Management

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1.4 Rationale for Road Asset Management

1.4.1 The practice of road asset management, which involves monitoring of asset
performance and selection of cost effective preservation actions over facility life,
is needed at the current time due to recent and ongoing development in the road
network, increasing commercial and personal travel demand, higher user
expectations of levels of service, increased stakeholder participation in decision-
making, greater need for transparency and accountability, and limited funding for
preservation and expansion of road assets. As such, the task of highway
systems management has now become more critical than ever before. Explicit
management of highway assets has come of age not only because of these
current and ongoing developments in the transportation environment but also
because there exists opportunities for solution, particularly, technological
advances.

1.4.2 In a bid to address the needs of the road affected community, the road agencies
at all levels of Government (national, state, district, etc.) face the task of
effectively managing their road assets so as to ensure acceptable functional
condition, satisfactory levels of service, and minimal environmental damage
within available resources. Given the importance and typically huge expense of
road assets, and the dominant share of Government budgets, they command for
expansion and preservation, it is critical that such assets are strategically
managed in a way, that is not only cost-effective but also integrates the different
components of theroad network. The challenge of managing cost effectively the
assets has long been recognized by public sector transportation agencies at all
levels of government, as well as by private sector organizations in the utility
industry, railroads, airlines, and even in highway industry (such as companies
chartered to own, lease and/or operate highway facilities such as toll roads,
airports, and seaports). Traditionally, the management of highway assets has
tended to be disparate in nature, with each organizational unit in the agency
tasked with decision making for a particular asset type. Most information and
management systems developed by highway agencies currently focus on
individual components of highway assets (such as pavements, bridges, and
safety hardware) or specific functions (such as upgradation programming and
maintenance planning). Most agencies lack the position of an overall Asset
Manager to collate decision-making in the individual management systems for
the different asset types. There is lack of an overarching umbrella of the
management of overall assets and subsequent integration of their design,
construction, and evaluation processes. An explicit asset management system
would assist road agencies in effectively and efficiently carrying out the business
processes of resource allocation and utilization, evaluation and decision-making.
At the current time of constrained resources and increased public scrutiny of
agency investment and budget decisions, the application of asset management is
all too critical.

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2. SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINES

2.1 The term “Road Asset Management” is used increasingly in relation to the
management of highway networks. These Guidelines are intended to be a
valuable reference for anyone wishing to implement Road Asset Management. It
will assist all State Government / Central Government / other Highway
Authorities/ Agencies to share knowledge on the subject of highway asset
management by providing common ‘ground rules’ and terminology. The
Guidelines promotes a deeper understanding of asset management principles
that will enable highway authorities to demonstrate prudent stewardship of their
assets and better justify funding decisions both nationally and locally.
2.2 In order to appreciate the requirements for data collection, analysis, equipment to
be used, reporting and monitoring formats adopted in some states, where some
sort of Road Asset Management Systems are already being practiced, have
been given in Appendices for reference and guidance.

3. PRINCIPLES OF ASSET MANAGEMENT

3.1 Core Principles of Asset Management

Road Asset Management is a systematic process of maintaining, upgrading, and

operating physical assets in a cost-effective manner by combining engineering
principles with sound business practices and economic theory. It provides tools to
facilitate organized and logical approaches to decision-making, which facilitate to
achieve the public’s expectations under Government plans and policies. In helping the
road asset manager to carry out the tasks as implied above, there often exists a set of
core principles that drive the practice of road asset management. These are:
 Road Asset Management (RAM) must be driven by agency policy – resource
allocation decisions should be based on a well-defined set of policy goals and
objectives that reflect the mission or vision of the road agency/ department.
These often include goals that are related directly to the agency (e.g., system
condition), the highway user (e.g., delay, safety), and the community (air quality,
noise, economic development, etc.),

 Road Asset Management (RAM) must be performance-based – the highway

agency’s policy objectives must be translated into system performance measures
for purposes of tactical (day-to-day) as well as strategic management,

 Road Asset Management (RAM) must facilitate the analysis of investment

options and must help the agency in making decisions on how to allocate funds
across different asset types (pavements, bridges, safety hardware, etc.), and
also to quickly and interactively investigate the trade-offs between different
funding levels and performance in the component management systems, and
also between the different performance measures for a given funding level. The
investigation of “lower-level” trade-offs (such as preventive maintenance versus

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 rehabilitation, capacity expansion versus operations, etc.) are carried out at the
level of the individual management systems.

 Road Asset Management (RAM) must yield decisions that are based on quality
information – It should help an agency to examine the merits of different options
with respect to an agency’s policy goals using data that are reliable, relevant and
current. Thus, a good data collection and management process is essential for
asset management.

 Road Asset Management (RAM) must enable monitoring to provide clear

accountability and feedback – This helps in easy access to needed information
and in monitoring or predicting asset costs and performance. Feedback on actual
performance may influence agency goals and objectives, as well as the
methodologies used to allocate resources. This principle is particularly important
because there is a continuing trend towards the use of performance based
approaches to the highway asset project delivery.\

3.2 Benefits of Road Asset Management

Asset management facilitates better decision-making by supplementing engineering

judgement and with analysis (financial, economic and engineering). It enables an
Authority to better understand and manage the relationship between cost and
performance. Benefit Value can be expressed as Performance / Cost of Service
Delivery,

Where,
Performance = Σ Level of service; condition, availability, safety etc.

Specific benefits of asset management include; reduced life-cycle costs, defined levels
of service, ability to track performance, improved transparency in decision making,
ability to predict the consequences of funding decisions.

3.2.1 Establishment of goals and performance measures

The practice of road asset management can provide an agency with greater motivation
to clearly define its goals and objectives, and consequently, the performance measures
needed to ascertain the extent to which the goals are being achieved. In an asset
management system, the agency needs to set its network-level goals as well as project-
level goals. Also, the goals of the agency from the perspectives of its stakeholders (the
agency itself, the highway user, and the community) will need to be defined clearly
before the asset management system can be effective.

3.2.2. Monitoring Assets

It is essential for road agencies to effectively monitor the physical condition and
operations of their systems. In order to meet this need, road agencies deploy gradually
implementing technologies that monitor the condition or performance of critical elements
or locations of their assets, and relaying such information to a central location for

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evaluation and needed corrective actions. This includes traffic operations and response
centers, bridge condition monitoring centers, etc. The implementation of precise and
efficient asset management systems provide greater motivation and justification for
agencies to track and manage their physical systems and components in the manner
described above. This is done through varying levels of sophistication, depending on
the scope, scale and complexity of their systems. In certain cases, there exists real-time
and/or online capabilities for asset monitoring and response. At the network level,
enhanced monitoring of actual system-wide performance and costs, can yield lessons
that can be fed back to the planning phase to improve future decisions at that phase.

3.2.3 Enhanced decision-making due to better analytical tools

The analytical component of Road Asset Management systems, which includes tools
such as optimization, statistical modeling, simulation, multi-objective analysis, and life-
cycle based economic analysis, can help an agency prioritize projects for asset
preservation for a network of assets, schedule optimal actions over the life of a single
facility, and establish optimal funding levels for a network at a given year or over an
analysis period. If this is done, agencies can move away from current sub-optimal
practice to optimal practice for infrastructure preservation, and in doing so, can obtain
lower long-term costs without unduly sacrificing performance, higher cost-effectiveness,
maximum use of available funds, and ultimately enhanced credibility and accountability
for funding decisions.

Also, enhanced analysis and decision-making can be made when relevant and quality
data are available. Data on historical and planned preservation costs (incurred by the
agency, user and the community), deterioration rates, and effectiveness of preservation
actions, among others, are made available when a fully functioning asset management
system is in place. The availability and accessibility of such data are facilitated when the
databases of the different management systems are integrated through an asset
management system framework.

3.2.4 Evaluate decisions based on multiple performance measures

It is important to assess the impacts of a planned asset preservation project on the
basis of several different impacts of the project using an asset management framework.
For example, a pavement project may have impacts not only on pavement preservation,
but also on safety (skid resistance) and capacity enhancement (if it involves lane
addition). In this regard, the benefit of an asset management system is consistent with
other stated benefits because use is made of the multiple goals and performance
measures established as part of the agency’s mission, and the concerns of
stakeholders can be better incorporated in agency decision-making.

3.2.5 Enhancement of intra-agency communication and interaction

Asset management, when effectively practiced, covers almost every organization level
and functional area of a highway agency such as planning, engineering, finance,
programming, construction, maintenance, and information management. A properly

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functioning asset management system encourages communication between managers
and personnel at the various functional areas, the asset types, and hierarchical levels.
For example, the manager in charge of pavement asset design “talks” with the Engineer
in the bridge maintenance area to examine how enhanced design could reduce the
intensity and frequency of bridge deck maintenance. Also, asset management fosters
proactive rather than reactive approaches to asset preservation problems, as preventive
maintenance is given a visible role in an effective asset management framework. Strong
top-down and bottom-up communication that are characteristic of good asset
management systems ensures that strategic decisions are well informed by tactical
information, and that tactical decisions are aligned with strategic direction. Also, it
provides avenues for the coordination of interdisciplinary decisions across different
agency divisions. Asset management can enhance accountability for decisions and
subsequently, system performance.

Thus the benefits that a road agency can expect to reap by implementing Road Asset
Management System (RAMS) include an explicit establishment of goals and
performance measures, monitoring of asset condition/performance, assessing
hypothetical planning scenarios and inclusion of stakeholder concerns, enhanced
decision-making due to better tools, opportunity to integrate decisions in the different
management systems, opportunity to evaluate decisions on the basis of multiple
performance measures. and enhancement of intra-agency communication and
interaction.

3.3 Pavement Deterioration

Bituminous pavement is known for its durability and resilience. However, like all paved
surfaces, it too is susceptible to deterioration due to the laws of mother nature. Despite
the longevity of a properly laid bituminous pavement, it can be cut short due to poor
surface preparation and construction technique or simply long term exposure to the
elements. Deterioration of constructed pavement is natural. It’s natural because over
time, the materials that make up asphalt begin to break down and become affected by
elements such as rain, sunlight and chemicals that come into contact with the pavement
surface. The liquid asphalt binder that is the “glue” of the pavement begins to lose its
natural resistance to water, allowing it to penetrate into and underneath the pavement.

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Once this happens, the surface can quickly fall prey to a number of different types of
deterioration. Deterioration of asphalt pavements can also occur due to factors that go
beyond just normal wear and tear. The premature deterioration of bituminous
pavements can be due to a number of factors including:

• insufficient or improperly compacted base below the bituminous layers

• over or under compaction of bituminous layers
• improper temperature of bitumen when applied
• poor drainage

When bituminous pavement is constructed and maintained properly it wears out slowly
and can last even up to 20 years. Proper maintenance is key to protecting it from the
external factors that wear it out. Factors that cause deterioration in pavement include.

Water- Over time and especially without proper maintenance - water penetrates the
bituminous layers and, washes out the base underneath it, causing it to crack, break
down and collapse.

Sunlight - Oxidation breaks down and dries out the flexible liquid bitumen that holds the
aggregates together. This causes ravelling and shrinking cracks which allow water to
penetrate beneath the surface.

Chemical / petroleum exposure - the introduction of chemicals to asphalt, including gas

and oil, can soften the asphalt and cause it to break down more rapidly.

The truth is no bituminous layer is exempt from deterioration no matter how well it is
constructed wherein, deterioration begins immediately. Even in normal conditions
substantial deterioration can begin to take place after 3 to 5 years. It is normal after this
amount of time for bituminous material to begin to turn grey, become brittle and start
cracking. Water begins entering the cracks, freezes and thaws during the yearly cycle
and causes larger cracks and potholes. Rain enters the cracks and causes damage to
the base. These all contribute to a worn out bituminous pavement and must be stopped
before it’s too late.

Below is a list of the different types of bituminous deterioration:

 Cracking - There are many different types of cracking that can occur, which include:
alligatoring, edge cracks, slippage (caused by improper compaction), reflection
(older cracks occurring in a new overlay), edge joint, shrinkage and widening.

 Distortion - Caused by improper pavement construction, deterioration of the

underlying base or existing asphalt and high load factors, asphalt distortions include:
channels or ruts, corrugations and shoving, grade depressions, upheaval and utility
cut depressions.

 Disintegration - Types of bituminous disintegration include potholes and raveling,.

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3.4 Components of Road Assets

Road pavement, shoulder, berm, embankment, road side drains, protective works,
footpaths, road furniture, cross-drainage structures, guard post, railing, fencing,
boundary pillars safety features, etc. are all components of road assets

3.5 Asset Valuation and Depreciation

3.5.1 Assessing the asset value of highway infrastructure is a complex task with multiple
dimensions. There are social, environmental, aesthetic, and political aspects of
infrastructure’s asset value as well as the more conventionally understood
economic and financial dimensions. Then there are variations in condition and
width of roads and bridges and unit cost of construction, upgradation etc. across
districts/states.

3.5.2 There are four approaches generally adopted for asset valuation:
3.5.3
a) historic cost (what was paid in the first place),
b) replacement cost (what it might cost to replace),
c) perpetual inventory (what it is worth “as is”), and
d) discounted value approaches (what one might be willing to pay not to lose it)

3.5.3 The valuation of highway assets is expected to ensure accountability of road

agencies who are the owners of these assets, enabling an assessment of loss of
assets base, if any over time thus providing budget justification in maintaining the
assets base. Furthermore, agencies can be provided greater impetus for
establishing a common framework for developing a comprehensive database for
condition and inventory survey of various components of road assets: pavement,
cross drainage works, protective works, traffic control devices and other road
furniture etc. Through such developments, it is expected that highway asset
management will provide transport support services to road users in more cost
effective manner. It is also envisaged that adherence to asset valuation principles

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 would foster enhanced planning, design, and maintenance of highway assets to
provide maximum possible levels of service.

3.5.4 From the highway financing perspective, one of the expectations could be that
bond financing for highway assets might become increasingly feasible as the
value of the assets become known and predictions of life-cycle benefits and
costs become more reliable, and that highway agencies will be in a better
position to infuse private-sector financial discipline into the management of their
assets. Finally, as the public sector gets more and more involved in highway
asset management through outsourcing of line functions, financial participation,
or possible asset ownership or operation, overall costs could be lowered.

3.6 Possible Approaches for Valuation of Road Assets

The two common approaches for highway asset valuation are a) the depreciation
approach (with which the historical cost of asset is adjusted in accordance with
accepted depreciation methods) and b) the modified replacement cost approach
that takes into account the inventory and condition of the road. Both these
approaches are describes here under.

3.6.1 The Depreciation Approach for Highway Asset Valuation

Every component of road, whether embankment, pavements, bridges and
culverts, protective works (breast walls, retaining walls, guard rails), traffic control
devices, has a certain design service life and would need upgradation at the end
of the design life. Normally component of land for the road is not counted towards
valuation of roads assets as the road is attached to the earth.

Depreciation is the progressive decrease in value of a physical asset as a result of wear

and tear over time. Depreciation is important in highway asset management
because of its accounting significance. Specifically, depreciation establishes an
annual deduction of asset values such that the effect of time and use on an asset’s
value can be reflected in a firm's financial statement as a cost depreciable., An
asset must meet the following basic accounting requirements: (i) it must be used in
business or held to produce income, (ii) it must have a determinable useful life, (iii)
it must be something that wears out, decays, gets used up, becomes obsolete, or
loses value with time.

3.6.1.1 The depreciation approach for highway asset valuation assumes gradual
deterioration of the asset over its service life and consequently reduces the
recorded value of the asset on the balance sheet through depreciation. In this
approach, initial construction, improvement, and preservation costs are capitalized
while maintenance is considered as an expense. The current value of the asset is
established using an appropriate deterioration function for various components of
the road assets. The depreciation approach requires data such as initial costs,
estimated salvage value, expected service life, current age of the asset, and
remaining service life. Depreciation takes into account the decrease in the service
potential of capital assets invested in a business venture, resulting from such

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 causes as physical wear and tear in normal use, deterioration due to effect of
weather condition or they become inadequate for needs of traffic. The common
depreciation methods include straight line, sum-of-years digits, and double
declining balance.

3.6.1.2 The amount of depreciation over the entire life of an asset is the difference
between initial asset value and the value at the end of its service life. At any given
year within the service life of the asset, the remaining value of the asset (often
referred to as the “book” value), is the difference between initial value and the
accumulated depreciation as of that year. The book value of an asset at the end of
its service life is the salvage value. To obviate the accounting problems and biases
introduced by the changing value of money of time, it is prudent to convert the
assets initial value and salvage value in constant rupee terms. The mathematical
relationships between initial value, salvage value, and book value are shown in
Equation below:
D=P–S
Where
D = total depreciation over the analysis period;
P = Initial value of the asset;
S = Salvage value of the asset i.e., value of the asset at the end of the analysis
period)
B=P–D
Where
B = Book value at any Year; P = Initial value; D = Depreciation.

3.6.1.3 The pattern of depreciation of an asset depends on a variety of factors such as

the asset type, design and material type, level of usage, climatic conditions, and
inputs of maintenance (routine, periodic and emergency).

3.6.2 Modified replacement cost approach

There are a few basic requirements of data and information to be collected to be

able to make an assessment of road assets using the modified replacement cost
approaches, these are:
i. Condition of the road and its cross-sectional details
ii. Condition of cross drainage structures
iii. Condition of other components such as traffic control devices (road signs,
pavement markings, delineators, guard rails, crash barriers etc.)
iv. Unit cost of various components of the road in question if these components
were to be provided now as per the original standard i.e. in good condition.
v. Unit cost of improvement required for various components of the road in
question if they are now in fair or poor condition and these are to be brought
in good condition.

3.6.2.1 This approach does not consider as to what was the actual initial cost of
providing the road assets. Rather, the approach is to estimate the cost involved

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 in replacing the existing road as per the condition in which it is found at the time
of valuation of the assets. The present worth of the road in fair condition is
induced cost in good condition minus the cost required for bringing the road to
initial standards.
An example is given to illustrate the approach.
Example: the road is four lane, 40 km in length with cross drainage structures,
traffic control devices and other safety engineering measures, protective works.
Now the condition of road is good to very good in a length of 25 km, fair in a
length of 5 km and poor in a length of 10 km at the time of assets valuation. By
considering, the unit cost of providing/constructing the road as per initial
standards would be Rs 8.0 crore per km, unit costs of bringing the roads from fair
to good condition would be say Rs. 1.2 crore and from poor or very poor to good
condition would be say Rs. 5.0 crore per km. In this case, the present worth of
the road in fair condition is Rs. (8.0-1.2) = Rs. 6.8 crore per km and that of the
road in poor/very poor condition is Rs. (8.0-5.0) = Rs. 3.0 crore per km. The
replacement cost of this road would be computed as under:
i. If the entire road would be in good condition, the replacement value would
be Rs. (40x8.0)= Rs. 320.0 crore.
ii. However, only 25 km are in good condition.
iii. For the section of road in fair condition (5 km), it would require Rs. (5x1.2) =
Rs. 6.0 crore to bring it to initial standards and for the section of road in
poor to very good condition (10 km), it would require Rs. (10x5) = Rs. 50.0
crore to bring it to initial standards.
iv. Thus, in this example, an amount of Rs. 56.0 crore would be required for
bringing the road into its initial standards. The replacement value in current
situation shall be Rs. (320.0 - 56.0) = Rs. 264.0 crore. This is the
replacement value of road and represents the present worth or in other
words the asset value as per this approach.
3.6.2.2 It is proposed that the road agencies may consider adopting the modified
replacement cost approach in valuation of road assets as it represents a
combination of both what it might cost to replace and what it is now worth on “as-
is” and “where is” basis.

4. ASSET MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION MODALITY

4.1 Introduction

Embedded in the definitions of asset management are the concepts that reflect the
fundamental nature and goals of highway asset management. Basically three step
procedures are given for asset management namely; Input ( i.e. required data for road
asset management systems, Tools to run asset management which involves the use of
data management, statistical analysis, simulation, optimization, life-cycle costing, multi-
criteria analysis, etc. and desired Output, which provides asset-wise solutions such
as the selection of projects involving from the different management systems under
various budgetary scenario, analysis of highway performance. There is no one single
solution for all asset management problems. Indeed, there exist several possible ways

16
to implement good practices in asset management by enabling the agency to refine the
concept in the way that best suits its mission or business processes. Overall, asset
management can be described as a set of best practice methods involving engineering,
finance, and economics for cost-effective resource allocation and trade-off investigation
across the component management systems. Thus, asset management offers an
opportunity for an agency to quickly view, for its highway assets, the impact of different
resource allocation levels and the resulting performance in a comprehensive and
interactive manner

The agency missions may include:

 To plan, construct, operate, and preserve road assets in a cost-effective manner;

 To deliver value for money to the road users; and
 To ensure that the surrounding community is not unduly disrupted or inequitably
burdened with externalities arising from the construction, operations, or
maintenance of the asset;
 To enhance the credibility and accountability of the highway authority to the
general public and legislative bodies.

4.2 Review of Current Practice and Gap Analysis

All highway authorities practice several elements of asset management in some form. It
is therefore advisable to study current practice and compare it with an asset
management approach. In doing so the issues on “what, why & who benefit” from
asset management should be explicitly considered as explained below.
a) Does the current organisational structure allow the use of asset management?
b) Do the key personnel have the skills required to implement asset management ?
c) How is asset information disseminated ?
d) How are political influences catered for in current decision making ?
e) How are annual budgets set?
f) What cognisance is taken of asset condition and performance data in
establishing the need for resources and the distribution of available resources?
g) Do budgets reflect levels of service?
h) To what extent does performance against established levels of service affect
resource allocation?
i) How are alternative options evaluated?
j) The application of whole life costing requires alternative solutions and treatments
to be identified and compared with each other.
k) Are the best whole life options identified?
l) What analysis is carried out? For example – are economic evaluation techniques
used and the calculation of the net present value of alternative options
m) How are improvement projects identified?
n) Is this via a structured process?
o) How are the benefits of projects quantified?
p) Are the expected benefits of projects identified in terms of their effect on levels of
service and their effectiveness recorded post completion?

17
 q) How are alternative projects compared?
r) How are competing demands rationalised?
s) How is a decision reached on whether to pursue say street lighting improvement
rather than pavement repairs?
t) How are projects prioritised?
u) How are programmes produced and how far forward are programmes planned
i.e. how many years?

4.3 Need Assessment

Highway asset maintenance /preservation generally refers to the set of activities
(reconstruction, rehabilitation, and maintenance) that are carried out to keep a facility in
usable condition until the next reconstruction activity. Need can generally be attributed
to investment targeted to address an identified deficiency or maintain/operate existing
facilities of the highway network. Need could be backlog or current need or future need.
As such, one of the tasks faced by highway asset managers is to determine the
preservation needs (physical and monetary) for all the assets in their highway network.
Both network-level optimization and needs assessment yield a list of projects that can
be explained with justification. However, optimization at the network level shows only
the preservation/ maintenance work that can be afforded within a given budget or
performance constraints. While optimization results are used for fiscal planning and
programming, needs assessment are used to assess how much preservation work is
needed overall and to help determine what percentage of needed preservation work is
(or will be) carried out under the historical or expected spending levels or under optimal
spending levels. From the methodology perspective, needs assessment can be
considered a more specific case of network-level optimization where there are no cost
or network-level performance constraints.

4.3.1 Needs Assessment on the Basis of Asset Age

The age-based approach for needs assessment rests on the premise that the
reconstruction or rehabilitation treatments of assets have certain life spans (also
referred to as “service life”) that can be well predicted on the basis of time, and that
some activity is needed when the service life is reached. As such, this approach utilizes
pre-defined time intervals that are assumed to reflect preservation of service life. The
reliability of the age-based approach is governed by the integrity and consistency of the
relationship between asset condition and age. Age based approach is relatively easy to
use (compared to the performance based approach) because data on primary and
secondary ages [years since last (re)construction and rehabilitation, respectively] are
relatively easy to obtain. By virtue of its concept, the age-based approach may be
considered superior to the historical spending approach, and may be viewed favorably
by some practitioners as a convenient approach for needs assessment. However, this
approach may have some limitations. First, the reliability of the specified time intervals
of preservation application could be questioned, if the asset encounters significant
changes in its environment such as improved rehabilitation or maintenance materials
and processes, heavier-than-expected or lighter-than-expected loadings, adverse or
favorable changes in climatic patterns, etc. Such factors could lead to reduced or
increased service life of preservation treatment and consequently, decreased or

18
increased application intervals, and finally, lower or higher needs. Secondly, in the age
based approach, it is generally difficult to incorporate new performance measures or
modified standards of existing performance measures in the needs estimation process,
because the service life of the certain asset classes, from the perspective of the new
performance measures is not known.

In the age based approach, the application intervals for asset replacement or
rehabilitation may be fixed or variable. In the case of rehabilitation in particular, variable
intervals are often used: larger intervals (lower frequency) for relatively young assets,
and smaller intervals (higher frequency) for relatively older assets. Application intervals
are mostly based on age (time) but could also be based on age-related deterioration
factors.

4.3.2 Needs Assessment on the Basis of Asset Performance Trends and

Thresholds
This approach makes use of a relatively wide array of specific characteristics such as
functional (including bridge geometry for example) deficiencies (or trends thereof) to
determine when a highway pavement / bridge needs replacement or rehabilitation,
structural condition of the pavement / bridge elements, the performance deterioration
curve, and pavement /bridge condition trigger values. By prescribing actions on the
basis of performance rather than past trends or treatment intervals, the performance
based approach overcomes the limitations associated with the age based and historical
spending approaches. For example, if an agency adopts more conservative or liberal
performance policies in future, the thresholds of the performance measures used in this
approach could simply be changed for consistency with the new standards, and the
needs estimate can be reassessed. Furthermore, in the current era, where new
performance measures are becoming more and more important, the performance based
approach is useful because it enables the incorporation of additional performance
measures (as well as their thresholds) for purposes of needs assessment. For example,
bridge engineers may seek ways to improve bridge structural design and retrofitting
treatments to render bridges less vulnerable to failure in face of man-made attacks.
Unlike the historical spending approach, the use of the performance based approach is
not hampered by the year-to-year fluctuations in past preservation efforts.

Use of the performance based approach requires that the highway agency regularly
monitors asset condition or performance as well as the types and volume of traffic that
use the asset. Such monitoring can be done in two ways:

4.3.2.1 Desk Monitoring

This refers to the tracking of the condition/performance of the assets using performance
models (typically developed for each asset family grouped by functional class, material
type and/or some other characteristic). Such performance models are typically derived
from field data. In this case, relatively little field monitoring is needed but may be carried
out to generate data for development, validation, or updating of the performance
models. Such models typically describe asset performance as a function of
accumulated environmental stressors and traffic loads and may be developed using a

19
variety of analytical techniques such as statistical regression, Markovian approaches,
neural networks, etc.

4.3.2.2 Field Monitoring

This involves direct site inspections of asset condition/performance on a regular and
frequent basis. Such monitoring may be carried out using automated equipment or
using visual inspection. Field monitoring is considered superior to desk monitoring,
because it provides real, not simulated, performance/conditions of the asset and
therefore provides a basis for more reliable assessment of functional and structural
deficiencies, and therefore, more precise needs estimates.

4.4 Establishment of Minimum Standards

A key aspect of asset management is the determination of the performance level at
which a standard intervention is to be applied. A profligate policy, where an intervention
is applied when the asset is in a state of higher performance, would mean frequent and
premature spending of agency funds even though the users derive benefits of
perpetually superior asset performance. This would result in negligible incremental
benefit and can be considered a waste of agency funds. On the other hand, a
parsimonious policy, where an intervention is applied when the asset is in a state of
lower performance, leads to the avoidance of agency spending at the cost of severe
user consequences of poor asset performance. In between these two extremes, there
exists a certain optimal performance threshold for intervention application that is
consistent with the maximum possible benefits and minimum possible costs. Given the
paucity of analytical research on the explicit and rigorous resolution of this issue,
highway agencies have resorted to non-analytical methods such as averaging of
historical pre-treatment performance levels or questionnaire survey of various
independent domain experts. The best method for establishing a minimum standard of
performance for any standard intervention, however, should be systematic, rational, and
defensible. For doing this, there exist methodologies that are rooted in simple but robust
and widely-known concepts that identify the optimal control decision parameters to yield
minimum overall cost at maximum possible benefit or the highest cost-effectiveness.

It is also important to decide whether the minimum standard should be based on

aggregate or disaggregate measures of asset performance. The use of aggregate
measures seems to be popular with many agencies. In such formulations, maintenance
and rehabilitation treatments are carried out any time the aggregate measure falls below
a certain threshold or “trigger value”. There is no need to carry out field monitoring of
each indicator of pavement distresses.

4.4.1 Development of Asset Deterioration Curves

At each year within the analysis period, assets whose performance just falls below the
established minimum standard are flagged for some preservation treatment. The current
age is identified on pavement performance curve and thus the year when the asset
would reach the minimum threshold limit can be estimated from the curve. Subtracting
the current age from the service life provided the remaining service life values or the

20
time frame when the next preservation activity will be due. After the assets that need
preservation are identified for each year of the analysis period, this information is
synthesized to yield the physical needs: the total length of pavements to be
reconstructed, resurfaced, crack sealed, etc.; the number and sizes of bridges to be
replaced, have their deck/bearing/expansion joints replaced or rehabilitated, etc.; the
number of safety devices to be maintained, etc. Typical example showing concept of
deterioration, remaining service life with reference to pavement age is shown in the
figure below.

4.4.2. Development of Preservation Treatment Cost Models

After the physical needs are determined, cost models are developed. Cost models may
be for each specific treatment (e.g., Rs /lane-km of microsurfacing treatment) or may be
aggregated for each broad category of treatment, for example, Rs per lane-km for
general preventive maintenance, reconstruction, or rehabilitation. Cost models, which
are key inputs for the monetary needs assessment, can be developed as average
values for each category of asset type, material parameter, location, etc. or may be
statistical regression models of cost as a function of the preservation treatment
attributes (such as road width, new pavement thickness) and physical characteristics of
the asset and/or its environment (such as functional class, age, condition at time of
treatment, year of last treatment, location etc). The highway agency need to prepare
cost models for various standard treatments for different classes of highway assets in
the location.

4.5 Asset Management Plan and Modules

To implement asset management in road sector and to prepare asset management plan
for any road agency / Government sector, it is essential to develop and use the basic
modules of road asset management such as Pavement Management System (PMS),
Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS), Bridge Management System
(BMS), and Road Safety Management System (RSMS). In addition, one can also
include Traffic Congestion Management System (TCMS) and the Intermodal
Management System (IMS) depending upon the requirement of the agency work
function. The PMS, RMMS, BMS, TCMS, RSMS are oriented towards the physical state

21
of the road / highway assets, as their primary purpose is to create inventory, track, and
address the condition of the various components of the road network and assist in
establishing cost-effective strategies to sustain an acceptable condition of such
facilities. While some states have developed such modules, some others are in the
process of developing these modules. A brief introduction of these modules is given
hereunder.
4.5.1 Pavement Management System (PMS)
In the 1960s and 1970s, some states in USA first began to address the issue of
managing pavements by devising methods to show the degree of current pavement
deterioration and to prioritize potential improvements according to a “worst first”
philosophy, where the pavement in the poorest condition was addressed first. Since
then, the concept of Pavement Management Systems (PMS) has evolved as a set of
tools that assist decision makers in finding optimum strategies for providing and
maintaining pavements in a serviceable condition over a given period of time. Today,
the PMSs used by many developed/ developing countries and some of our states
include all activities involved in planning and programming, design, construction,
maintenance, and rehabilitation of the road pavement. This includes the capability to
consider both the engineering aspects and the economic aspects of pavement
investments and the return on investment.

Use of a PMS approach has been shown to be more efficient than focusing on the
“worst first.” Principal components of a PMS are data collection and management,
analysis and feedback/updates. The PMS module requires analytical tool such as
Highway Development and Management Tool (HDM-4) or similar tool to predict road
condition and to suggest treatment option using life-cycle cost. The in-built deterioration
modelling of any PMS analytical tool helps in predicting the road condition considering
proposed intervention options by extracting the required data stored within the road
database of RAMS such as road inventory, composition, pavement inspection,
roughness, structural strength etc while configuring maintenance strategy, vehicle fleet
and economic parameters. The PMS analytical tool determines the road maintenance
and improvement requirements for specific roads and for the overall network including
budget requirement. The analytical component, at the network-level, prioritizes roads on
the basis of cost-effectiveness and at the project level, it recommends cost-effective
repair treatments. Several road agencies / organization in our country have in place,
some form of PMS which is an integral part of any Road Asset Management Program.

4.5.2 Bridge Management System (BMS)

A Bridge Management System (BMS) is a systematic approach to assist in making
decisions regarding cost-effective maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement plans
for bridge structures. Such systems seek to identify current and expected future
deficiencies, estimate the backlog of investment requirements, and project future
requirements for each bridge in a network. At a network level, a BMS helps to identify
the optimal program of bridge investments over time periods, given budgetary
allocations. Also, BMS plays an important role in risk management as evidence to
counter possible claims alleging negligence for the agency’s failure to upgrade a bridge

22
in light of changed conditions and current design standards, can be provided. BMS
components include a database; cost and deterioration models; optimization for
maintenance and improvements; and integrated project programming, and updating
functions. The database component contains information from regular field bridge
inspections. Deterioration models predict the future condition of bridge elements.
Agency cost models are associated with maintenance and improvement of bridge
components, while user cost models relate more directly to bridge safety and
serviceability. Using results from the cost and deterioration modeling, an optimization
model determines the least-cost maintenance and improvement strategies for bridge
elements. (Broad overview of Bridge Management System is given in Appendix-1)

4.5.3 Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS)

Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS) is another desired basic module
inside RAMS, which determines the on-carriageway and off-carriageway routine
maintenance requirements for sections of a road / highway not receiving periodic
maintenance or improvement in a particular year. The RMMS module prepares routine
maintenance budget for the routine maintenance activities, which are generally carried
out by all the road agencies /organization every year based on maintenance allocation.
Using RMMS module, one can assign routine maintenance activities to sections based
on pre-defined maintenance matrix as per pavement condition survey data. At least
four to five critical condition / distress data of road pavement such as pothole, ravelling,
rutting and cracking should be considered to assess on-carriageway routine
maintenance requirements. Similarly, two to three condition attributes such as shoulder
depression, erosion/raincut and safety features for the off-carriageway maintenance
requirements . The programming of RMMS module should be done using pre-defined
rule-set procedure as per standard IRC/MORTH maintenance treatment specifications,
which shall help the system to automatically assign treatment options based on the
condition attributes for determining the routine maintenance budget for a particular year.

4.6 Desired Attributes of Road Asset Management System

The primary function of a Road Asset Management System (RAMS) is to serve as a
monitoring and decision making tool for highway agencies. Toward this end, the system
must have the following attributes:

4.6.1 Comprehensiveness
An asset management system must address a broad range of components, procedures,
and outputs.

4.6.2 Service-driven
Unlike organizations in the private sector, the highway agencies do not pursue profit
maximization as their objective. They would rather provide proper level of service to the
road users while sustaining system condition with limited funding. As such, a Road
Asset Management System (RAMS) should be service-driven and must hold the
perspectives of the road user and community as the primary interest.

23
4.6.3 Flexibility
The management system must be flexible to accommodate variations in different
regions of a road network. Such variations include road functional class, unit costs of
road activities, priorities among system objectives, preferences over different road
functional activities, differences in climatic and environmental condition, and so on.
Management system needs also change with time as responsibilities shift, infrastructure
elements change, organization and budget compositions are restructured, and new
technologies are developed. A management system should therefore be oriented to the
type of agency it is intended to serve, and be flexible to change with changing
requirements.

4.6.4 Sensitivity
To be a good strategic decision-making tool, the Road Asset Management System
(RAMS) must be capable of analyzing the impacts of changing macroeconomic factors
such as inflation, changes in vehicle characteristics, and changes in type and intensity
of traffic loadings. It should also be capable of analyzing the implications of different
highway policy decisions.

4.6.5 Coordination
Most state highway agencies currently operate management systems that could provide
valuable information for Road Asset Management System (RAMS). These systems are
intended to cyclically monitor the condition, measure the real-life performance, predict
future trends, and recommend candidate projects and preservation treatments, and
monitor the implications of investments (or lack thereof) on systems objectives, such as
safety and level of service.

4.6.6 Long-term Planning

An asset management system must enable the agency to carry out planning in the long
term.

Given the multidimensional nature and the multiplicity of elements in each dimension, it
is vital that the ideal Road Asset Management System (RAMS) should be a
comprehensive and coordinated, yet flexible and sensitive enough that can adjust to
changes in the road transportation environment and public perceptions.

24
5. ROAD ASSET DATA COLLECTION

5.1 Type of Data Needed

A key objective of RAMS is to provide a factual basis for improving the quality of
decision making regarding the budgeting, design programming, construction,
maintenance and operation of a pavement network. Quality decision making requires a
current inventory of the pavement system, evaluation of the present condition and use
of the pavement system, estimation of future condition, and the implications of any
changes in condition.The specific type of data needed to make informed Pavement
Management Decisions will vary with factors such as the size, complexity and condition
of the pavement network, the levels of service to be provided, the agency budget and
budgeting process(ASTM:E1777-09 2009).

The data base is a central feature of RAMS in the modern context. The types of data
needed for pavement management can be broadly classified as inventory data and
pavement condition data. Inventory data describe the relatively permanent features
related to the pavement sections and would typically include pavement construction and
maintenance records. Pavement condition data include measures of pavement quality,
which are broadly classified as performance/roughness, structural, distress and
safety/skid data(Haas et al. 2015).

Data base acquisition and to maintain a database of historical and current conditions of
pavement is necessary for the efficient functioning and quality decision making within
RAMS as discussed above.

5.2 Levels of Data Collection

Data collection may be considered as belonging to one of the following three levels:

 Network-level data should answer the general planning, programming, and policy
decisions supported by the network-level RMS;
 Project-level data should support decisions about the best treatment to apply to a
selected section of road. As these data are collected, they can be stored to create a
more complete database over time. However, a method must be established to keep
the data current; and,
 Research-level data should be established to collect detailed data on specific
attributes to answer selected questions.

Requirements as per the analytical engine to be used

25
5.3 Method of Data Collection

The cost of data collection tends to be the largest component of managing and running
a RAMS. Further, the direct benefit of frequent (or regular) collection of information is
always questioned and is continually subject to budgetary scrutiny. It is therefore
important to select data acquisition technology that is appropriate to the objectives,
resources and modus operandi of the agency.

The criteria that can guide the selection of the data collection method are:

 Reliability: A trade-off between the accuracy of the method and its productivity.
 Accessibility (Resources): Deals with the efforts required to transfer the data from
the collection medium to the database, the capability for reviewing and verifying the
data before storage, and the speed and accuracy with which transference to storage
can be made;
 Affordability: Includes technical support, staff and financial resources required to
sustain the data acquisition process continually through the annual operations of the
agency.

The road inventory and pavement condition data collection has improved considerably
as a result of development of efficient and accurate equipment for data collection.

These can be summarized as:

 Automated Road Survey System (ARSS) based on Global Positioning System,
Pavement Distress Measurement Systems (PDMS) using High Resolution Camera,
Laser Crack Measurement System, Right-of-Way Video Imaging System (ROW-VIS)
using High Resolution Color Camera or LiDAR, Automatic Rut Measurement System
(ARMS) using Multi–point Laser, Laser Rut Measurement System, Laser Crack
Measurement System, LiDAR, Geometry Measurement System (GMS) etc. for
capturing road inventory and pavement condition data.

 Laser Profilometer (LP), Fifth Wheel Bump Integrator (FWBI), Automatic Road
Unevenness Recorder (ARUR), Car Axle Mounted Bump Integrator (CAMBI),
Accelerometer Based (AB) Equipment for roughness measurements (as per IRC-
SP16-2019)
 Laser Based Mean Profile Depth (MPD)/Texture Measurement, British Pendulum
Tester (BPT) and Continuous Friction Measuring System (CFMS) for measuring
frictional properties of pavement surface
 Benkelman Beam Deflection (BBD), Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD), Light
Weight Deflectometer(LWD) for measurement of pavement deflection
 Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) for determination of pavement layer
characteristics
Similarly, data collection equipment for traffic volume counts and axle-load survey
such as Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC), Static Weigh Scales (SWS) and

26
 Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) system are also essential to supplement traffic related data
while running any RMS modules for planning and programming purpose.

5.3.1 Factors for Selection

The factors that could influence the selection of method include:

 Accuracy of the data;

 Frequency and sampling density of the surveys (use of data in network-level or
project-level applications);
 Size of the network to be surveyed;
 Management of data acquisition, whether centralised, decentralised or out-sourced,
(and the feasibility for sharing the service with another agency); and
 Technical skills, maintenance support, staff resources and financial resources of the
agency.

5.3.2 Available Methods

Manual or Semi-automated methods, which are relatively slow, human resource-

intensive and require manual data transfer for database, are appropriate when the
network is small, the traffic volumes are low and the survey crew costs of conducting
the survey are inexpensive. Automated methods, particularly composite instrumentation
that measures several items simultaneously, are often fast, consistent, reliable and
provide direct data transfer, but they are usually expensive and are thus suited to large
or heavily trafficked networks, and to agencies that have maintenance support for
sophisticated electronic equipment.

5.3.3 Inventory of the Pavement Network

Inventory of the Pavement Network is most important step in the implementation of a

pavement management system. The inventory process is the foundation of a PMS, and
must be developed with a well-defined plan for the use of each and every data element
collected. The inventory data provides the pavement manager an accounting of the
extent of the network, the types of pavements, their geometry, traffic levels,
environmental conditions etc. Essentially, it incorporates information on what exists
now, plus past information on such items as maintenance and construction performed.
The inventory of the network generally refers to the permanent features of the highway.
Because a wide variety of data elements are candidates for inclusion, a balance
between the levels of details desired and practical cost considerations for collecting and
managing the data will usually be required. There are several major classes of inventory
data, historical data, traffic data, environmental data etc. to be considered in pavement
management, such as :
 Location - Section reference and description
 Geometry - classification and physical features
 Pavement structure - thickness and material types of layers
 Costs - construction, maintenance, rehabilitation and user costs

27
 Environment - Temperature and Rainfall
 Traffic - Volume and Load

5.3.4 Pavement condition surveys

Pavement condition surveys are another equally important requirement of PMS, which
can be broadly classified into manual methods and automated condition surveys. While
manual methods are cumbersome, slow to perform and includes safety risks,
automated surveys can be conducted at fairly high speed with greater level of precision.
Manual survey also requires well trained surveyors for measurement of distress or
defect values. Pavement condition survey methods are briefly depicted in Fig. 5.1.

Figure 5.1. Methods of Pavement Condition Surveys

5.3.4.1 Walkthrough (Manual) Method

As the name suggests, this method includes recording of the (inventory or condition)
data by a team of “pedestrian observers” usually on a sampling basis. Most items are
recorded by code indicating the presence, location and attributes of the item.

5.3.4.2 Windshield Method

This method includes recording the data from a moving vehicle on a paper or directly
into the electronic media (Computer).

5.3.4.3 Video Logging

28
This is very similar to Windshield method that involves recording of data from a moving
vehicle. This method is more suitable for recording pavement condition parameters and
other visible features. Examples are Network Survey Vehicle and LiDAR technology,
which have become popular to record some road related information.

5.3.4.4 Automated (Equipment) Measurements

This method involves deploying a combination of electronic and/or mechanical
equipment. The equipment will automatically measure the appropriate data with minimal
or no manual intervention. The data is recorded in digital form, making it instantly and
directly available as soon as the survey is completed. This eliminates the need for data
transcription or transfer into electronic format. However, data from this equipment may
require further processing or formatting before they are loaded into the database.

5.3.4.5 Transcription from Records

This method includes collecting information from other sources, which already have
information with them, popularly known as data collection through secondary sources.
This involves referring to published or available information, such as detailed
engineering drawings, project completion reports, First Information Reports (FIRs),
other office records or documents from archives and then transcribing them into digital
form for the database.

5.3.5 Frequency of Data Collection

The frequency of surveys for monitoring road, bridge, or traffic conditions has an
important bearing on the cost of surveys and the sustainability of data collection. Data
should be collected only as frequently as is required to ensure proper management of
the road network. The frequency can vary depending upon the data of interest. The
selection of frequency of data collection is guided by the following factors:
 Level of data collection (Network or Project);
 Intended use of the data (Planning or programming etc);
 Method of data collection (sampling or continuous);
 Significance of the Network (primary,secondary or tertiary road etc);
 Type of funding (public funds or private funds or loan/grant);
 Availability of human resources (In-house or outsourced);
 Compliance with Business plan (support from senior management).

The suggested frequency for various data items is summarised in Table 5.1 and
elaborated in subsections from 5.3.5.1 to 5.3.5.7:

29
 Table 5.1: Frequency of Data Collection

S. No. Type of Data Frequency

1 Road Inventory Data 5 years interval
2 Pavement Structural Data 3 to 5 years interval
3 Pavement Functional Data Every year
4 Pavement Surface Condition data Every year
5 Structures Inventory data Every year
6 Structures Condition data 5 to 7 years interval
7 Traffic Data Every year

5.3.5.1 Road Inventory Data are typically collected as a one-off exercise. They are
then updated when changes are made to the road stretch. It is suggested to
verify/update the data every five years. Base year information is suggested to be
collected using methods given above. It is then suggested to collate information from
other sources, such as DPRs, project completion reports, PWD records. The database
must be validated through a direct survey at five year interval.

5.3.5.2 Pavement Structural Data are usually collected at different frequencies,

depending on the road class. Pavement strength data are collected in 3 to 5 years
interval. The frequency needs to be sufficient to identify major changes that will
influence road maintenance decisions. Pavement composition and history data must be
collected through other sources as described above.

5.3.5.3 Pavement Functional Data are suggested to be collected at frequent intervals,

preferably each year. The frequency needs to be sufficient to identify major changes,
which will influence road maintenance intervention decisions.

5.3.5.4 Pavement Surface Condition Data are suggested to be collected at frequent

intervals, preferably every year. The frequency needs to be sufficient to identify major
changes, which will influence road maintenance intervention decisions.

5.3.5.5 Traffic Data are usually collected at designated traffic count stations. It is
suggested to collect short-term counts (typically seven days for traffic volumes and one
day for axle load) at selected (fixed or varying) locations each year. Accidents
information is suggested to be updated every year.

5.4 Criteria for Selecting Data Items

Some road administrations may fall into the trap of collecting large amount of data, but
making a limited use of the same for analysis and decision-making. The data acquisition
can be expensive but it is needed for implementing and operating a pavement

30
management system. As such, it is essential that appropriate sample size is
undertaken, so that the data obtained is relevant, appropriate, reliable and affordable,
and cost-effective results are obtained.

The most common problems encountered in the pavement management process are
related to data and database operations. The data entered into the PMS must meet
certain criteria and need to be entered in the proper format; otherwise the PMS software
will fail to give correct results. Therefore, it is essential that appropriate data collection
programme is undertaken so that cost-effective results are obtained. The following are
the criteria that should be considered when selecting data items: Relevance, Accuracy,
Appropriateness, Affordability, Validity and Security.

 Relevance - Every data item collected and stored must have a direct influence on
the output required from the system, which should already have been determined.
Other data items, which may be considered as desirable, interesting or possibly
useful in the future, should be omitted in favour of those that are essential, relevant
and of immediate use. Relevance also implies that the data units comply with
designated standards, particularly where national or international standards exist.
 Accuracy - The values in the database must represent the actual situation at the
time the data was collected. This is basically a data collection problem, and the
accuracy required must be defined by those responsible for making decisions based
on the fund, manpower and equipment constraint.
 Appropriateness -The technology and resources involved in acquiring, processing
and managing the data should be appropriate to the road administration's capacity
for maintaining the equipment, conducting the surveys and sustaining the data
processing. The volume of data and the frequency of updating them are major
determinants of the cost of operating the management system.
 Affordability - The size and quality of all of the data items, and the associated data
acquisition, must be affordable in terms of the financial and staff resources available
to collect data and keep them current. The scope and quality of data are choices that
must be weighed against the resources required to sustain them in the long term,
and against the value of the management decisions that rely upon them.
 Validity - A given value must be correct. To ensure that the values are correct, the
Data Base Management System(DBMS) should include some method to perform
edit checks on the data entered. The software should provide a simple method of
reviewing data entered and correcting errors.
 Security - There are several aspects of security such as data entry, data access,
and preventing data loss. Data entry should be restricted to those personnel who
have the training, the knowledge, and the need to enter and modify data. Several
people may have access to data but proper authorization should be required to enter
or modify the data in the database. Even with controls to prevent undesired changes
to the data, it can still be lost, damaged or corrupted. To safeguard against this, a
backup copy of the database must be stored on a secure place.

31
5.5 Data for PMS

The following two components have significant role in development of PMS.

 Location Referencing System
 Data Types and Acquisition

5.5.1 Location Referencing System

The entire structure of the pavement management database and all subsequent data
collection and analyses are affected by the definition of pavement sections. Therefore, it
is important to have a method of defining and location referencing these sections that is
workable, consistent and amenable to updating. The location referencing system used
by the pavement management system will significantly impact the utility of the system.
There are four basic methods of referencing pavement sections.. These are:
 Route-kilometer post
 Node-link
 Branch-section
 Coordinate based system

The Route-kilometer post system is the most commonly used referencing system in
highway agencies. In this system, each highway or route is given a unique name and
number, which defines the beginning of the segment. The total length of the segment is
then divided into equal increments of either ½ km, 1 km or 2 km.

In the Node-link system, key points in the network are defined as nodes and the
sections between these nodes are defined as links, which may further be subdivided by
fractions of a km.

In highway network, routes or streets may be defined as a branch, and homogeneous

sections within the route would be defined as sections.

The coordinate based location referencing system is used in latest GIS/GPS based
pavement management systems.

Each of these basic referencing systems has specific advantages and disadvantages
associated with its use. However, regardless of the method used to locate data, it must
be compatible with the rest of the PMS and analysis systems.

5.5.2 Data Types and Acquisition

General types of pavement management data include the actual physical measurement
of the pavement, information about usage (i.e.traffic and accident data) and
administrative information. Performance related data can be collected either by manual

32
methods of surveys or through automated pavement condition surveys. Various types
of data items needed and their acquisition methods are given in Table 5.2.
Table 5.2 Pavement Management Data Items and Acquisition Methods
Data Category Typical Acquisition Method
Performance –Related
Roughness Subjective rating
Response type equipment
Profilograph measurements
Surface Distress Pavement Distress Surveys
(Manual or Automated)
Friction Continuous Pavement Surface Friction Measuring Equipment
Pendulum equipment
Texture measurement methods
Deflection Benkelman Beam Deflection
Falling Weight Deflectometer/Light Weight Deflectometer
Pavement Crust Details Test Pit (Destructive Method)
Ground Penetrating Radar
(Non-Destructive Method)
History Related
Maintenance History Records
Construction History Records
Traffic and Axle Loads Records and surveys
(Manual and Automatic)
Accidents Records
Cost-Related
Construction Costs Records / Standard Data Book
Maintenance Costs Records / Standard Data Book
User Costs Records
Policy Related
Budget Records, concerned officials and other agencies
Available alternatives Records, organizations, suppliers and other agencies
Levels of Service Public officials and policy statements
Geometry – Related
Section Dimensions Records, Estimates, Direct measure and in-situ testing
Horizontal Curvature Records and direct measure
Cross Slope Records and direct measure
Vertical Curvature Records and direct measure
Shoulder / Kerbs Records and direct measure
Environment – Related
Drainage Analysis from record or field observation/measurement
Climate Analysis from record or field observation/measurement

33
5.6 Selection of Appropriate Equipment

A user can decide the appropriate method for data collection based on type of the road
network. The details are summarised in Tables 5.3 to 5.6.
Table 5.3 Performance Related Parameters
Road Roughness Surface Rut Friction Deflection Layer
Category Distress Depth Texture Skid Material
(mm) Resistance Properties
Four As per IRC PDMS ARMS MPD CFMS FWD Laboratory
Lane SP16-2019 Testing
Divided guidelines
or More
Two As per IRC PDMS ARMS Sand BPT/CFMS FWD / Laboratory
Lane SP16-2019 Patch BBD Testing
guidelines Method
Single As per IRC Visual Manual Sand BPT BBD Laboratory
Lane SP16-2019 Survey using 3 m Patch Testing
guidelines straight Method
edge
PDMS: Pavement Distress Measurement Systems ; ARMS: Automatic Rut Measurement System
;MPD: Mean Profile Depth ;CFMS: Continuous Friction Measuring System ; FWD: Falling Weight
Deflectometer ; BPT: British Pendulum Tester ; BBD: Benkelman Beam Deflection

Table 5.4 History Related Parameters

Road Maintenance Construction Traffic Axle Load Accidents

Category History History
Four Lane Records to be Records to be AVC WIM based Records
Divided or verified with verified with Surveys
More coring or GPR coring and
GPR
Two Lane Records Records Manual SWS Records
Survey based
Surveys
Single Lane Records Records Manual Estimates Records
Survey
GPR: Ground Penetrating Radar ; AVC: Automatic Vehicle Classification ;
WIM: Weigh-In-Motion ; SWS: Static Weigh Scales

34
 Table 5.5 Inventory Related Parameters
Road Section Curvature Cross Vertical Shoulder /
Category Dimensions Slope curvature
curbs
Four Lane ROW-VIS GMS GMS GMS ROW-VIS
Divided or
More
Two Lane ROW-VIS or GMS or GMS or GMS or ROW-VIS or
Manual Manual Manual Manual Manual
Single Lane Records GMS or GMS or GMS or ROW-VIS or
Manual Manual Manual Manual
ROW-VIS: Right-of-Way Video Imaging System;
GMS: Geometry Measurement System

Table 5.6 Environment Related Parameters

Road Drainage
Category
Four Lane Visual Field Observation and Subjective Rating
Divided or
More
Two Lane Visual Field Observation and Subjective Rating
Single Lane Visual Field Observation and Subjective Rating

35
 5.7 Summary of Some Data Collection Equipment for RMS
A summary of Important Characteristics of Recommended Equipment for Data are given in Table 5.7.

Table 5.7 Important Characteristics of Recommended Equipment for Data collection

Name of Principle of Operating Multiple

Output Merits Limitations Guidelines
Equipment Operation Speed Measurement
Installed
with GPS, Road
Roughness, Rut, Recommended
advanced Inventory and Expensive, dry
Automatic Texture, Distress, Highly for Two Lane and
Laser/ 30- Pavement and clean
Road Right of Way, accurate and Above
LiDAR, 100kmph Surface surface
Survey System Geometry and efficient Carriageway Type
Camera Condition measurements
GPS coordinates
based Data
Sensors
Not Suitable
International for wet and
Roughness Index muddy
30-100
Laser Profile (IRI-m/km) and GPS, IRI and High Speed pavement As per IRC SP16-
kmph
Profilometer based Texture-Mean MPD Survey surface 2019
Profile Depth condition
(MPD-mm)

Fifth Wheel
Bump Not Suitable
Response Simple,
Integrator / for high speed
type Roughness Index Reliable As per IRC SP16-
Automated 32 kmph NIL road corridors
measureme (RI-mm/km) data 2019
Road (Four Lane and
nt collection
Unevenness More)
Recorder
Car Axle Response Simple, Not Suitable
Roughness Index As per IRC SP16-
Mounted type 32 kmph NIL Reliable for high speed
(RI-mm/km) 2019
Bump measureme data road corridors

36
 Integrator nt collection (Four Lane and
More)
Not Suitable
Response Average for low and
International
Accelerometer type Survey high speed As per IRC SP16-
Roughness Index GPS and IRI Portability
Based measureme Speed traffic 2019
(IRI-m/km)
nt 50 km/hr conditions

Elastic Rebound deflection

Simple,
Benkelman deflection at single point Walking Single point As per IRC 81-
NA quick,
Beam under static under Speed deflection 1997
cheap
load load
Elastic
Complete
deflection
Falling Weight GPS and deflection As per IRC 115-
under Deflection basin NA Expensive
Deflectometer Deflection profile is 2015
impulse
measured
load
Noting and
Measures
recording
British lateral As per ASTM
Simple, manual spots
Pendulum friction by Skid resistance NA NA E303-93 (2019)
portable measurements
Skid Tester swing
only
action
Ineffective in
Continuous
Measures winter, sharp
Friction Upto 135 GPS and Requires As per ICAO
of Skid Friction value curves and
Measuring kmph Friction Value traffic control Guidelines
Resistance steep grades
System
Load
measured Not suitable
Vehicles need As per standard
Static Weigh through load for high
Static loads NA NA to be stopped guidelines set by
Pads speed road
cells/load and aligned the manufacturer
corridors
bars

37
 Require
special surface
Piezo
conditions for
electric Speed, Traffic is not
installation with As per standard
Weigh-In- sensors and Weights of moving vehicle interrupted
NA smooth guidelines set by
Motion capacitor vehicles type and during
surfaces, steel the manufacturer
type weight studies
rimmed
sensor
tyres should be
avoided
Measureme
Walking
nt of GPS and About 90-95% As per standard
Type and Non
Thickness Pavement Crust Pavement Accuracy in guidelines set by
GPR Highway Destructive
of Details Crust thickness the manufacturer
Speed Test
Pavement Thickness measurements
Type
layers
Laser
Road assets with Excellent
Based geo- As per standard
its geo-referenced GPS and 3D tool for Data
referenced Highway guidelines set by
LiDAR 3D dimensions mapping of mapping of Processing
point cloud Speed the manufacturer
along with true Road Assets remote Time is Huge
data of road
pictures areas
assets

Note: Brief details of some Data Collection equipment are given in Appendix-II.

38
6. DATA ANALYSIS AND MODULES

6.1 GIS Based Asset Description

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) should be the basic platform for all spatial
features for road assets. GIS based Asset Description allows different physical and
operational aspects of a network of highway assets to be modelled as layers that can
be edited and manipulated using specialized software. Map outputs and displays are
then generated by switching on or off the appropriate layers and assigning to each
layer a pre-defined cartographic representation. While other RDBMS store information
in tables and provides links between the tables, a GIS goes a step further by providing
a geographic component for visualization purposes, an attribute that is particularly
relevant and consistent with the spatial nature of transportation system inventories and
operations.

6.2 Road Information System (RIS) and Bridge Information System (BIS)
The core of the a n y A s s e t M a n a g e m e n t S ys t e m i s Road Information System
(RIS) and Bridge Information System (BIS). These are series of databases linking
different road and bridge data items. T h e R I S a n d B I S s h o u l d b e w e b
b a s e d a n d be accessed either from a centrally linked server or as a distributed
database, which is independent of any network. The system should be designed for
multi- level user requirements (i.e. Headquarter, Circle, Division, Sub-Division as
well as the general public through the internet) with appropriate security, interfaces
and reporting facilities appropriate to the level of the user. The GIS based
information system for roads and bridges c a n be developed from the base data
of latest Survey of India map and/or satellite imageries of road network. The
number of layers and attributed database of the RIS-BIS should be sufficient enough
to maintain the in ve n t o ry a nd con d it io n diary besides some m in imu m
n u mb e rs of c ritical attributes to determine investment and maintenance /rehabilitation
needs. It should have capability to interface with other applications developed by any
agency to address various requirements of different management processes.

6.2.1 Road Information System (RIS)

The RIS should be web based to ensure operability and data updating using the
Internet/Intranet with linkage to data management applications required to meet the
needs of the other systems and the management requirements of the respective Govt /
Highway agency. It should operate under computer systems and software compatible
with the existing systems being used by respective State Government and Government
of India with user friendly interface designed around accepted international practices
(e.g. common user interface, data import/export standards, truth-in-data standards etc).
The RIS must have an inbuilt alert system to ensure updating of road and pavement
condition data by every a lt e rn a te year and flag the year of data collection while
analyzing for each parameter. The RIS must have reliable but flexible security system
for access and data processing, be capable to check data accuracy, inconsistencies,
and the data falling beyond acceptable ranges, be able to export to Excel all the road
network data stored on the RIS, being able to export to Excel all the average road
attributes for each kilometre of the network and being able to export to Excel all the

39
average road attributes for each homogeneous road section. It should be designed so
that the processing time for querying the database and extracting information is
satisfactory

The RIS data model should be capable of handling data of different spatial attributes
ranging from point data (e.g. km stones) to continuous or interval data (e.g.
roughness) and should handle overlapping sections. The system shall be
designed around a proper location referencing system with sufficient flexibility to
cater for changes to the system over time. It should also allow for the graphical
representation and presentation of information and shall interface with a Geographic
Information System (GIS) for mapping purposes.

6.2.2 Bridge Information System (BIS)

The BIS should contain cross-drainage and bridge information system databases
covering select photographs of CD /bridge structures with sufficient information for
any future e n g i n e e r i n g a n d economic analysis. The database may contain
inventory of all bridges, the results of bridge inspections, and a history of bridge
repairs and expenditures, using data available and data to be collected.

6.3 Pavement Management System (PMS)

For managing periodic and capital road works activities a Pavement Management
System (PMS) application i s r e q u i r e d which s h o u l d cover preservation of the
existing road network as well as expansion which may cover new links, multi-laning, or
capacity increases. The PMS in general s h o u l d be user-friendly, for simple and
direct application. The engineering and economic analytical tool of PMS should
include deterioration prediction model for both bituminous and concrete pavement.
The processes to be covered must include network-level planning, project-level
planning, multi-project programming and budgeting, optimization of projects under
budget constraints besides overall network performance monitoring and evaluation
against projected targets
6.4 Traffic Information System (TIS)
The module for Traffic Information System linked to the RIS should be capable of
storing regular and special traffic counts as well as the outcome from specific
studies. The data required to be stored in the TIS module are: continuous counts from
permanent traffic count stations, 7/3-day classified traffic counts, short-term (< 3 day)
classified traffic counts, traffic growth forecasts, vehicle fleet characteristics, sample
hourly flow data, processed weigh-in-motion or axle load survey data (i.e. aggregated
statistics as opposed to measurements of each vehicle) and road accidents. Through
analysis of this data, the Traffic Information System (TIS) m o d u le s h o u l d b e a b l e
t o produce and report t raffic volume and flow characteristics; average daily traffic
(ADT), average annual daily traffic (AADT), seasonal factors, K-Factors, hourly
distribution of annual traffic, traffic growth forecasts, predicted traffic patterns of
network using supplied traffic growth, vehicle loading characteristics such as average
axle loadings and equivalent standard axles, historical and forecast data in a graphical
format etc. It shall include, but not be limited to, network utilization, traffic volume
and loadings, annual vehicle km of travel, annual tonne km of freight by vehicle class

40
and /or road class besides average accident rates per road or per road class,
expressed in number per 100 million vehicle-km (number of total accidents, accidents
with fatalities, accidents with injuries and accidents with property damage only).

6.5 Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS) application is required

which determines routine maintenance investments for sections not receiving periodic
maintenance or improvements in that year.

6.6 Right of Way Features Information Management System (RWFIMS)

maintains all features such as structures, utility services both below and above
ground, trees etc, within the Right of Way (ROW) a n d f a c i l i t a t e i n g e n e r a t i n g
strip maps showing these features. These database need integration with Road
Information System (RIS).

6.7 Deterioration Modelling and Pavement Performance Evaluation

Pavements are complex physical structures responding in a complex way to the
influences of numerous environmental and load-related variables and their interactions.
The Pavement Deterioration model sometimes referred as pavement performance
prediction model, therefore, should consider the evolution of various distresses and how
they may be affected by both routine and planned maintenance. Such an approach is so
highly complex that a compromise procedure combining a strong empirical base and a
mechanistic approach is generally adopted to achieve a reliable model. The empirical
base includes time-series pavement condition data compiled on pavements exposed to
different environmental and loading conditions. With regard to mechanistic principles,
interactions between traffic loading and pavement strength parameters, between
loading and pavement deflections, and so on are carefully observed and included when
significant.

Performance is a broad, general term describing how pavement conditions change or

how pavements serve their intended function with accumulating use. What should be
included in a performance evaluation depends to a large measure on whether one's
interest lies in project-level or network-level activities. Various approaches have been
used in quantifying the performance measure. Pavement condition Rating (PCR), a
composite statistic derived from functional and structural conditions, is used as a
measure of serviceability. After a review of the various types of prediction models, one
can conclude that currently, an empirical mechanistic model is best suited, with a
systematic data base that includes the structural information, traffic volume, and
condition data for each "homogeneous" section of the road.

The task of predicting the responses of pavements to a battery of interrelated variables

is a complex problem that can be accomplished only by resorting to a number of
assumptions and simplifications with use of computational techniques. Ideally, data
collection would consist of complete histories, or sample functions, of PCR versus time
for roads belonging to a particular family of pavements. It would also be convenient for
data to be collected from roads put into use at the same time, so that their ages would
be identical.

41
6.8 Pavement Deterioration Models vis-a-vis Computational Techniques
Several performance prediction / deterioration models have been proposed over the
years. The models vary greatly in their comprehensiveness, their ability to predict
performance with reasonable accuracy, and input data requirement. Most of the models
are empirical and were developed for use under particular traffic and climatic conditions.
Few of the models are of mechanistic – empirical type in which some of the input
parameters can be calculated using mechanistic models.

Pavement Deterioration /Models may be categorized into two kinds: deterministic and
probabilistic. Deterministic models include primary response, structural performance,
functional performance, and damage models. All of these models may be either
empirical, implying they are developed from regression analysis, or mechanistic-
empirical correlations. For the latter type, a combination of mechanistic and empirical
parameters enter the prediction model. In the damage models, damage-an abstract
number (0-1 scale)-is being predicted.

Deterministic modelling techniques are most common because of their relative

simplicity, ease of use, and familiarity. These techniques include straight-line
extrapolation, S-shaped curves, polynomial constrained least squares, and logistic
growth models. However, these models do not take into account the uncertainties in
pavement behavior under variable traffic load and weather conditions. Developing
models require an accurate and abundant dataset. Accuracy of datasets can be greatly
affected by regular maintenance or minor rehabilitation activities. It is necessary to
include all confounding variables that affect pavement deterioration. The critical
disadvantage of deterministic models is that they do not take into account the
uncertainties. Modelling uncertainty requires the use of probabilistic operation research
techniques

Probabilistic models include Markov chain (MC) models and survivor curves. Knowing
the "before" condition or state of pavement in probabilistic form, one can employ the
Markov process to predict the "after" state, again in probabilistic forms, for as many time
steps as are desired. The evolution is governed by a characteristic transition rule,
otherwise known as transition probability matrix in MC theory. Survivor curves describe
pavement deterioration in the form of a cumulative distribution, which subsequently can
be employed to develop a transition probability matrix. The principal advantage of
probabilistic predictions lies in their ability to recognize and accommodate uncertainties
in design/analysis leading to reliability-based designs.;

Application of Probabilistic Pavement Deterioration Model for modelling pavement

performance was first discussed in the early 1970’s. Among the probabilistic models,
the Markov model is generally considered in modelling pavement performance. Many
researchers attempted to develop the pavement performance model using the Markov
process so as to work as a decision support system for pavement maintenance
management. The advantages of using a Markov process in the pavement
management system (PMS) has been studied by many researchers. A critical

42
component of the Markov model is the transition probability matrix (TPM). Generally, the
TPM is calculated based on the historical pavement condition data. The Markov process
can be defined in a discrete or continuous time with a countable state space. In order to
explain a discrete-time Markov process, consider a road for which the condition is
observed at year 0, 1, 2, …, n. Let be the condition at year n for n = 0, 1, 2, …. can be
denoted as the state of the process at time, with denoting the initial state. If it takes
values in a discrete space such as, then the process is said to be discrete-valued. The
Markov model provides a prediction of pavement performance. Pavement performance
can be determined by each distress index or a combined index representing the overall
pavement condition. Most commonly used pavement distress indices are transverse,
fatigue, longitudinal cracking, roughness, pot hole, ravelling and roughness. Usually,
these indices range from 0 to 100, where 100 represents the best condition and 0 for
the worst condition.

Prediction of the pavement condition for the future using the Markov model for the
deterioration progression usually starts with developing a transition probability matrix
(TPM). A TPM represents the probability that a segment will stay in a specific condition
for a specific year. As reported in the literature, some highway agency utilizes three
types of deterioration models in their pavement management system (PMS): site-
specific, family, and expert opinion curves. These curves are developed using
deterministic techniques.

Formulation of the Distress Indices is one primary requirement in the pavement

deterioration model. The distress indices can be scaled from 0 to 100, where 100
represents a flawless pavement with no distresses and 0 represents the worst condition.
The Markov model provides a prediction of pavement performance from the distress
index either by each distress index or a combined index representing the overall
pavement condition. Most commonly used pavement distress indices are cracking
(transverse and longitudinal), rutting, ravelling and roughness. Usually, these indices
range from 0 to 100, where 100 represents the best condition and 0 for the worst
condition. A pavement section begins its life in a near-perfect condition. Over the years,
the pavement condition deteriorates due to many factors such as traffic loading,
weather conditions and level of routine maintenance. In order to develop the
deterioration models using the Markov process, it is required to collect the distress data
continuously for minimum five years including history of preservation / rehabilitation.

The selection of independent variables for the prediction equations in the model
depends on a) the period during which the pavement has been in service, age of the
pavement (Age, years); b) the traffic volume and weight, which are expressed in terms
of yearly equivalent single-axle loads (ESALs);c) The thickness of last overlay, T and d)
the strength and condition of pavement structure represented by structural number
(SN). After these factors affecting pavement deterioration have been identified, one can
derive a regression equation (i.e., a statistical transform) using simple computational
tools that can be used to make future predictions of pavement condition. As the

43
performance of each roadway segment is different, it is essential that segment-specific
deterioration curve be generated so as to satisfy certain conditions, including at least
five years of historical pavement distress data after last rehabilitation while limiting the
standard deviation of the data and the minimum coefficient of regression to some
predefined threshold value. The segment-specific performance curves can be
generated for a smaller number of segments satisfying the required conditions to
validated the prediction models.

6.9 Pavement Condition Rating

There are several methodologies for rating road pavements. The most commonly used
methods are the Pavement Condition Index (PCI). The PCI rates the severity and
density of specific distresses in pavement over its service life . Once the condition is
known, the remaining service life of the asset can be determined using a chart similar to
Figure 6.1 below. Using this chart; if a road section with a 35-year useful life has a
current PCI condition rating of 80 the road section would be at an estimated age of 12
years. Within 3 years the road section should be at condition rating 75. At this condition
rating a renewal strategy, as identified in the asset management plan, would be applied.
Likewise, at condition rating 35 in year 25 of the assets to remain useful, a second
strategy would be applied and finally the asset replaced at year 35 or condition rating
25. Condition based planning can also be applied to maintenance activities

Fig.6.1. Pavement Condition Based Service Life Prediction

6.10 Bridge Deterioration and Condition Rating

Bridges are a critical infrastructure element of highways to provide uninterrupted flow of
traffic. A sizable capital investment is made in construction of bridges, but due to lack of
adequate and timely maintenance, structural deterioration occurs and ultimately, it
affects the safety of the bridges. One of the options to assess condition of the bridge is
by rating the bridge using Bridge Condition Index (BCI). This is a planning tool that can
help to schedule maintenance and upkeep. To calculate the BCI rating, the current

44
value is divided by the replacement cost of the bridge. The replacement value is based
on the cost to reconstruct a new bridge. The BCI is not used to rate or indicate the
safety of a bridge. The result can be organized into ranges from 0 to 100. Immediate
action is taken to address any safety concerns. One can have following indicator for
BCI.

1- Good - BCI Range 70 -100 (For a bridge with a BCI greater than 70,
maintenance work may not be required within the next five years).

2 Fair - BCI Range 60 -70 (For a bridge with a BCI between 60 and 70 the
maintenance work can be scheduled within the next five years. This is the ideal
time to schedule major bridge repairs from an economic perspective.

3 Poor - BCI Less than 60 (For a bridge with a BCI rating of less than 60,
maintenance work should be scheduled within one year).

6.11 Bridge Structural Health Index

Bridge elements deteriorate over an extended period of time and the rate of
deterioration is a function of various parameters. The environment the structure is
located in, the length of time the structure has been in service (Age), the function the
structure is required to perform (Road Class) and the quality of inspection and
monitoring. In order to compute condition index of each of the bridge element and
overall rating of the bridge, it is important to understand and document the type of
distress, area of distress, degree of deterioration, material vulnerability factor, structural
significance factor, age factor, environment factor, road importance factor as well as
inspection factor. The Structural Health Index (SHI) integrates all the above parameters
that influence structural efficiency. SHI (Structural Health Index) is an indicator of overall
condition of the structure and can be used as a relative index for prioritising
maintenance and rehabilitation activities for bridges.

A unified condition rating procedure may be followed to determine the Overall Structural
Condition Index (OSCI) from the estimated SHI to represent the overall state of
condition of the bridge. To evaluate SHI, the condition index of each of the bridge
elements i.e. Element Structural Condition Index (ESCI) are to be computed first.
ESCI takes into account the Area of distress (qi) and the Severity of distress (ci), and is
expressed as:

∑ (𝒒𝒊 𝑿 𝒄𝒊)
ESCI = ∑𝒒𝒊
The values of extent of distress qi & severity of distress ci are obtained from the
condition survey of different elements of the bridge. The Structural Health Index (SHI)
integrates bridge elementwise ESCI values with all other parameters that influence
overall structural efficiency and is estimated as follows.
∑ 𝑺𝒊 𝑿 𝑴𝒊 𝑿 𝑬𝑺𝑪𝑰𝒊
SHI = CF 𝒏
Where

45
  CF is the Causal Factor
 Si is the Structural importance factor
 Mi is the material vulnerability factor
 ESCI is the Element Structural Condition Index
 n is the number of element types
The range of SHI may be 1 – 100. This Index can be applied for prioritization of bridges
for maintenance and rehabilitation. The priority for maintenance increases as the
number increases. Considering all the parameters and in order to keep the uniformity of
quantity ranges, the overall condition of the bridge OSCI can be linked to the overall
condition of the bridge as defined in the following Table.
Table: Overall Structural Condition Index (OSCI)

Sl No. SHI OSCI Condition Bridge

1 When SHI= 1 OSCI =1 Good
2 When 1<SHI <10 OSCI =2 Fair
3 When 10<SHI<70 OSCI =3 Poor
4 When 70<SHI <100 OSCI = 4 Very Poor

The re-rated rating number for OSCI is applicable for prioritisation and also selecting the
major remedial strategies such as repair, strengthening and replacement based on
above condition rating.

6.12 Analytical tools / numerical methods/ COTS software

6.12.1 GIS based tools

For managing highway asset, data can be classified as those that are GIS-based and
those that are not. The main GIS software packages include TransCAD, ArcInfo,
ArcView, and ArcIMS. TransCAD combines GIS and state of the art methods for solving
problems in transportation planning, management and operations. It is the first GIS
software developed specifically for transportation professionals to store, display,
manage and analyze transportation data. The software integrates GIS and
transportation modeling capabilities in a single platform. TransCAD can be used for any
mode of transportation, at the neighborhood, city, state, national or worldwide scale.
The software provides a built-in relational database manager with methods for linking all
forms of data, and an assortment of tools for analyzing, interpreting and making
effective transportation graphics and presentation using maps. It is a complete
application for transportation planning, vehicle routing and distribution logistics. ArcView
is a full featured GIS software for visualizing managing, creating and analyzing
geographic data. It is the most widely used desktop GIS software as it allows the user to
view and analyze the geographic data in an easy way. ArcView can be used for viewing
and analyzing spatial data, for building new geographic datasets quickly and easily, to
visually model and manage the spatial database, tables, files and other data resources
from a single application and to perform calculations with the geographic data and make
better decisions. ArcInfo includes all the functionality of ArcView and adds advanced
geoprocessing and data conversion capabilities. The software can be used for all
aspects of data building, modeling, analysis and map display for screen and output. It

46
can be used to store, edit, display, and plot a simulation network, both before
assignment and after. Before a simulation is run, ArcInfo can make maintaining
simulation networks easier by maintaining a base network and tracking projects that will
change that network over time. By maintaining one network rather than many, problems
of network tracking, documentation, and consistency are eliminated. ArcInfo also
provides a range of network editing tools and a powerful way to display model results. It
is also possible to conduct further analysis of transportation data in ArcInfo using the
Network and GRID modules. ArcIMS is a server based GIS application which is used for
many types of centrally hosted GIS computing. A centralized GIS application is set-up at
the server to provide GIS capabilities to a large number of users over the network.
ArcIMS is the solution for delivering and sharing dynamic maps and GIS data and
services using the internet. It provides a highly scalable framework for GIS web
publishing that meets the needs of corporate intranets and demands of worldwide
internet access.

6.12.2 Planning tools for PMS Application

They should be established and widely accepted economic evaluation model based
on sound engineering and economic priority principles, capable of undertaking both
strategic and project level analyses at the appropriate organizational levels, such as
the Highway Development and Management Model (HDM-4) or equivalent. The
economic evaluation model should have capability in making strategic budgeting studies,
project level technical analyses, multi-year road works programming and optimization
under budget constraints, and projection of network condition under various budget
scenarios covering both road condition and capacity improvements. The strategic
budgeting studies is re qu ired to establish necessary funding levels in general
budget categories using data of an appropriate Information Quality Level (IQL). The
analysis should be based on a life cycle cost approach. The RMS should be able to
establish a medium term budget framework including budget forecasts both for the
plan and non-plan budgets; to achieve certain Performance Indicators (PIs). The
planning analytic tool is required to conduct the project level analysis for
specific sections of road for different technically feasible options such as periodic
maintenance, resurfacing, rehabilitation, reconstruction, widening and geometric
improvement etc. To allow for preparing optimized multi-year rolling programs, the
AMS must include a multi-year programming module which shall optimize the
selection and timing of pavement works under different budget constraints to achieve
various performance indicators. The works under these programs would include road
widening, reconstruction, rehabilitation, strengthening, resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation
/ replacement /construction, road safety interventions etc. The works under these
plans should be prioritized using rational criteria for investment decisions to
maximize the benefits of investment. The optimization shall be done using a heuristic
approach such as that adopted for the HDM-4 model or equivalent which contains
suitable pavement performance models for predicting the future pavement condition
which can be refined over the years. The output for such Multi- year Rolling Plans and
Annual Maintenance Plans over short and medium term. shall be year-wise optimized
work program covering different budget categories and work classes. such as periodic
renewals , routine maintenance , emergency maintenance , and special repairs .

47
The RAMS user should be able to refine these programs to obtain the most
appropriate program given logistical and other considerations. The unconstrained
budget requirements for multi-year rolling plans should be prioritized into year wise
rolling plans for both road improvement and periodic maintenance considering the
budget forecasts from the Government and other sources. The program output should
be d e l i v e r e d i n a timeframe that meets the Government’s budgeting cycle and
should have options for revision in an iterative process as more accurate forecasts or
actual budget is known. The output of the planning tools i.e the prioritized road
sections for the investments in the various plans should be capable of being exported
to GIS to be accessible to senior managers of the Government / Highway agency to
enable decision making.

6.12.3 COTS Software

They are readily available software applications for road asset management which can
be on commercial basis. These applications are developed by software vendors who
continually develop and upgrade as the new requirements emerge and technology
changes. The COTS packages are generally open ended with some standard templates
for various modules explained earlier. These templates may be modified for each
implementation considering the business processes and requirements of the agency
being considered. It is essential to have GIS interfacing and embedded in the COTS for
easy data visualization and assistance in the decision making process. Some notable
COTS software include dTIMS, HIMS, Bentley Exor and TRL iROAD. There may be
other software packages but these four packages are generally being implemented in
India. Most of these packages provide similar outputs for entry and mid-level users
while some outputs and functionality may vary for advanced users.

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7. ASSET MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING AND MAINTENANCE PLAN

7.1 Decision Making Criteria

The asset management decisions are generally made at the project level and at the
network level. At the management level, the decision-making problem faced by asset
managers and the factors that affect the asset manager’s decision are mostly
dependent on the road policy of the concerned highway agency / government
organization besides the institutional issues.

7.1.1 Network-level analysis

It involves system-wide management functions such as establishing priorities for various
projects, determining the optimal use of limited funds, selecting optimum maintenance
policies for the entire network and assessing network-level impacts of alternative asset
maintenance strategies . The advantage of network level analysis is that it affords the
asset managers a birds-eye perspective of the assets under their control, particularly,
the performance consequences of different maintenance budgets. A disadvantage is
that this level of analysis often utilizes data that are only aggregate in nature and thus
does not always consider all factors associated with asset maintenance at the project
level.

7.1.2. Project-level analysis

Project level analysis generally involves the selection and evaluation of maintenance
strategies for a specific asset (such as a section of road or bridge). Project-level models
are typically comprehensive, dealing with technical concerns and requiring detailed
information. Often at the project level, the common task is to select maintenance
strategies that will provide an acceptable level of service to the user over a given period
of time at a minimum overall cost. Project-level analysis often occurs at each individual
component management system.

7.1.3. Decisions making options

The decision making options can be influenced by either single criterion OR multi
criterion Network Level Optimisation along with budget consideration. In many
situations, network level optimisation can be undertaken on a single criterion (often
economic) parameter. When more than one criterion is used to define the optimum
solution the single criterion optimisation may be inappropriate and multiple criteria
optimisation(MCO) should be considered

7.1.4 Budget Considerations

Whilst the asset management approach advocates the identification of needs, these
must often be tampered by the reality of the available budget. Often management
decision must be taken within the context of limited budget availability.

7.2 Project Level Decision Making

Here, the asset manager seeks to answer the question “for a specific individual asset,
what’s the best maintenance treatment to be done at any given time?” For a single
performance measure such as life cycle cost or service life, the answer is relatively

49
straightforward. For several performance measures, however, the decision problem can
be structured and solved using multiple criteria techniques. The asset manager thus
makes a decision on the basis of the following: asset current condition or/and current
age, time-trend in asset condition, current or expected future levels of usage or climatic
effects, expected effectiveness of each treatment (increase in condition, treatment life,
extension in asset life), cost of the treatment (agency or user or both).

Decision mechanisms to select the best asset maintenance treatment at a given time or
strategy over the remaining life, are useful for asset management because they can
provide an indication of when a treatment is needed for each asset on the highway
system. As such, these decision mechanisms are also useful for life cycle cost analysis
and also for long-term needs assessment studies.

The mechanism of the decision is typically in the form of decision trees or decision
matrices. To establish this basis, one has to be guided by expert opinion, historical data
and practices (average values or models), or rational analysis of both benefit and cost
performance measures through mathematical optimization.

Most highway agencies have developed decision support tools for selecting appropriate
maintenance or rehabilitation treatments at any given point in the life of a highway
asset, mostly for their pavement assets. While most of these tools were developed
primarily for rehabilitation treatments, an increasing number of states are now including
maintenance treatments of a preventive nature, particularly as data on the cost and
effectiveness of preventive treatments become increasingly available. Decision trees
(also sometimes presented in tabular or matrix form) have typically been used for
prescribing appropriate maintenance or rehabilitation treatment to address a given state
of pavement deterioration or a given state or age of the asset. Such decision tools are
typically characterized by a set of sequential logical rules and criteria, and are largely
based on past experience and expert opinions of pavement scientists and engineers.
Typically, such tools include the criteria such as asset material and design type, asset
age or/and condition, functional class of highway on which the asset is located, and
level of asset usage.

As any strategy consists of one or more treatments, the total cost of constituent
treatments can be calculated for that strategy. Also, each treatment in the strategy is
associated with a jump in performance (which can also be translated as a reduction in
the rate of deterioration) and it is therefore possible to determine the benefit of each
strategy as an area under the curve, extension of service life or a reduction in vehicle
operating costs. For each strategy, the overall cost-effectiveness can be estimated over
the asset life and the optimal maintenance strategy can be identified for each specific
asset type.

7.3 Network Level Decision Making

At the network level, decisions to be made include: which asset deserve some
maintenance action; for those that deserve some maintenance action, what is the best
maintenance action to be done and when (which year) to undertake the action. The

50
answers to these questions involve a yes/no formulation and thus the decision variable
is discrete (often, binary). Another problem context is to decide how much to spend
every year to preserve the entire network of assets, in which case the decision variable
is continuous. The basic matrix for asset project selection at the network level can be
prepared based on accepted strategy. The question that arises is on what basis are
these decisions taken. The basis includes expert opinion, historical data and practices
(such as raw averages or statistical/econometric models, and rational cost-benefit
analysis including mathematical optimization.

7.4 Asset Maintenance Planning

Road asset “maintenance” refers to the set of activities that ensure that an asset
remains in satisfactory condition. Several different maintenance terminology such as
routine maintenance, periodic maintenance and major maintenance besides frequency /
time interval of maintenance intervention exist in our country. Asset Maintenance
Treatment generally is a specific maintenance, rehabilitation or reconstruction
(replacement) activity applied at a given time. Individual road agencies / Government
organization have established, for each asset type, a standard set of treatments to be
applied to the asset at a certain age or condition.

7.4.1 Asset Maintenance Strategy and Life Cycle Planning

An asset maintenance “strategy” is a combination of maintenance activities applied at
various times within pavement rehabilitation life-cycle. This could be over the entire
asset reconstruction life cycle (from construction to reconstruction); over the
rehabilitation life cycle (the interval between successive rehabilitation treatments); or
over the remaining life of an existing asset. An asset maintenance strategy can be
based on asset age or asset condition, or both. Synonyms include schedule or set of
actions.

Asset maintenance strategies typically consist of treatments of a preventive (proactive)

nature, such as crack sealing and thin overlays for pavements. Such preventive
treatments are applied before the onset of significant structural deterioration. In some
studies, corrective (reactive) maintenance treatments have generally been excluded
from strategy formulations because it has been argued that unlike preventive
maintenance, they are typically carried out not in anticipation of distress, but to address
distress that have already occurred and therefore cannot be included in a strategy
unless the occurrence of structural distress types can be reliably predicted.

7.4.2 Asset Rehabilitation Life-Cycle

Also referred to as rehabilitation interval, this refers to the period between (a) asset
construction and subsequent rehabilitation, (b) two consecutive asset rehabilitations, or
(c) asset rehabilitation and subsequent reconstruction. For a given asset type, the
rehabilitation life-cycle could be long or short depending on agency policy, traffic
loading, climatic condition, funding availability, etc. Often, asset managers seek to
update agency policy on rehabilitation intervals by establishing the optimal intervals for
a given asset type, traffic loading, and climatic conditions. However, implementation of
such prescribed intervals may be associated with more frequent rehabilitation compared

51
to existing practice and thus greater funding needs than current agency budgets can
support.

7.4.3 Asset Rehabilitation Schedule

An asset’s rehabilitation strategy is defined as a combination of high-level maintenance
treatments applied at various times within asset replacement life cycle. A schematic
illustration of an asset rehabilitation strategy is provided below. Rehabilitation
treatments are shown as thick vertical lines. For pavement assets for example,
rehabilitation may include a structural overlay, a concrete overlay, or concrete pavement
restoration.

Fig.7.1. Road Pavement Asset Rehabilitation During Life-Cycle

7.4.4 Asset Replacement Life or Life Expectancy

Replacement life is defined as the period between two consecutive reconstruction
activities. In some literature, this is referred to as life expectancy. The literature provides
some typical values of life expectancies of highway assets. Highway assets deteriorate
with age due to the accumulated effects of usage/loading, weather, environmental
exposures and other factors. In order to properly plan and program maintenance and
replacement activities, it is essential that the highway asset manager acquires a good
understanding of the behaviour of each asset type in terms of its deterioration pattern
and consequently, its life expectancy. For most purposes, asset life expectancy can be
defined as “the length of time until the asset must be retired, replaced, or removed from
service.” Updated values of the life expectancy of assets due to new designs, materials,
operating conditions, or maintenance programs can help agencies assess the feasibility
of extending the time intervals between asset replacements.

8. IMPLEMENTATIOIN, MONITORING AND EVALUATION

8.1 Asset Management Implementation

The implementation and operationalization of RAMS primarily involves
i) collection of physical data on inventory and condition of assets (for both
roads and bridges) including traffic details using automated equipment
based technology, either every year or alternate year depending upon

52
 category/importance of the road as per defined process/policy/procedures of
the organization,
ii) development / commissioning of appropriate numerical tool /
package/system for analysis of the condition and traffic data using concept
of deterioration modelling,
iii) analysis of various alternatives for maintenance/ improvement optimization
as per the maintenance/upgradation strategy/policy of the organization,
iv) preparation of annual work programme with prioritization for implementation
on ground considering financial budget availability, and
v) dissemination of useful information in public domain using web based
application with appropriate IT technology.

While looking in to above five primary activities of RAMS, it can be well understood that
defined policy/procedures/strategy of the organization, use of appropriate equipment
based technology for collection of reliable and useful field data, use of appropriate
numerical tool for analysis of data and more importantly availability of exclusive
qualified/trained personnel within the organization are some of the key requirements for
successful implementation and sustainability of asset management. A dedicated cell/
wing with trained / qualified personnel within the organization conversant with field data
of pavement distress, data validation, calibration, verification and data management is a
prime requirement for the above. Similarly, another team of dedicated personnel
conversant with computer application of RAMS, road deterioration modelling, GIS
application and web related issues is required for performing activities for entry of
collected data in to the developed system and its analysis using developed system
software (RAMS), preparation of annual maintenance strategy/ plan/ report for each
road (category wise) under each division/circle / defined jurisdiction within the
organization and finally clubbing for entire organization, budget planning and fund
allocation considering different schemes / sources of fund on the basis of output
generated from RAMS. Therefore, it can be concluded that processes, people and
technology are the three critical factors for successful implementation of Road Asset
Management. The introduction of RAMS in any organization by itself is not a guarantee
that it will be used, or that it will be successful unless there is involvement of and
acceptance by senior level engineers/decision makers during the implementation of the
system. Development of RAMS by some agencies without clearly defining how it is to
be used and who will use it within the agency / department has been reported in some
case study reviews. In several instances, it has been observed that the development of
RAMS has been done under the assumption that it would find its position within the
institution when completed and introduced to the senior management. Therefore, role of
the RAMS must be clear from the onset so that its successful use can be made by the
organization / highway agency during operationilzation.

8.2 Institutionalization of RAMS

For sustainability of Road Asset Management within an organization/agency’s work
culture, it is important that institutional support is available from high ranking decision-
makers who are fully committed to the asset management/asset preservation
‘philosophy’. A separate organizational unit within the department / agencies staffing

53
structure is essential with explicit responsibility for the RAMS, which must be staffed
with well-qualified and trained personnel. The development/ commissioning,
implementation, and operationalization of RAMS (including all computer systems, data,
policies and procedures) should be driven by a dedicated group within the department /
agency, preferably in the planning division or equivalent. This dedicated group should
actively seek to promote the system within the agency, especially to higher level
management, raise awareness of the system, manage data collection, constantly look
for ways of improving data collection procedures and data quality assurance, periodical
review of off-the-shelf RAMS packages available and used worldwide, create and
maintain technical and functional requirements for planning and programming systems,
and coordinate all efforts related to the RAMS in terms of other applications.

Apart from the key process of asset management, a number of other processes would
contribute, including budgeting, financial management, human resource management,
and IT management. These processes would be essential in ensuring sustainability of
the RAMS in terms of data collection, staff training and development, hardware and
software maintenance etc. There should be a budget for the operation of the system,
including all staffing, equipment, data collection (outsourced or in-house), field travel,
quality assurance etc. There should be a continual training and development program
(and budget) for staff to deal with staff turnover and re-training where necessary. Strong
contract administration management skills are necessary especially for highway
agencies that outsource any data collection. The agency should follow good basic
management principles, covering procedures, records, auditing etc. There should be a
commitment to continual quality improvement.

8.3 Adoption of Appropriate Technology

As far as technology is concerned, in the present web based computerized
environment, it is important that the RAMS implementation should fit within the overall
IT strategy of the department / highway agency, and should be properly supported from
an IT perspective. It should not be implemented in isolation from the agency’s IT
strategy. Highway agencies/ department may consider outsourcing / external hosting of
their systems where possible, given their local environment and according to their
overall organizational policies. Any sizeable organization procuring IT should have a
Technology Architecture, or explicit technology standards and directions. This is
important to avoid a profusion of different infrastructure software (operating systems,
databases, GIS etc.) with all the attendant support issues. It is also important in helping
to define a replacement/upgrade strategy for hardware and software. There are also
distinct economies of scale that can be achieved through centralized procurement of
hardware and system software. All IT implementations should preferably use
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products, wherever possible as custom developed
applications have often proved difficult and expensive to sustain. The potential
advantages of COTS over developing bespoke software (either in-house or through
consultancy projects) is that COTS packages are usually much cheaper to buy than to
develop from scratch, the client is not tied to one particular consultant since many
suppliers may offer implementation support for the application, the timeframe of
implementation is small as COTS package can be quickly used, experience from other

54
organizations / agencies who have used such similar package for a number of years
can provide useful information about users adaptability through quick in-house testing,
COTS often provides more useful functionality than the client’s requirement. Besides it
provides scope for ongoing development and up-gradation. The potential disadvantages
of COTS are mainly on requirements as the functionality may not be exactly what is
required by any agency and therefore some workarounds may be needed. Similarly,
during Customization, the time to implement new ideas in the software may take longer,
since the software vendor/supplier has a responsibility to other clients also. As regards
up-gradation, the timing of upgrades is controlled by the software developer, and
agencies are often compelled to follow this schedule to ensure future system
maintenance. For any future implementation of RAMS, a set of functional and technical
requirements should be drawn up. Functional requirements should include the functions
that the software should perform. From the wealth of experience available, it is relatively
easy to determine generic functional requirements of RAMS to suit the requirement of
the organization / road agency. Technical requirements should describe the technology
environment within which the RAMS will fit (ie hardware, operating systems, databases,
GIS, and other applications). This should relate to the agency’s /organization’s
Technology Architecture. Agencies should develop and adhere to a long-term IT budget
strategy that includes costs of hardware and software maintenance agreements (in
addition to hardware replacement strategies).

It must be acknowledged that RAMS like any other system is not static as technology
continues to move forward in a number of areas such as IT, data collection, road
deterioration modeling, maintenance treatments etc It is observed that many successful
agencies are always looking towards room for refinement and improvement in data
collection procedures, quality assurance, road deterioration modeling etc. Therefore, it
is essential that dedicated staff looking after RAMS in an organization must keep
themselves abreast of developments and look for opportunities to improve the system
and its uptake. Organizational planning and budgeting should take this into account,
and agencies should be aware of the long-term impact of implementing RAMS. It can be
concluded that for development / implementation of RAMS to be fruitful, there is need
for continuous support of dedicated people, defined procedures/processes and time
tested technology.

8.4 Data Collection Modalities and Contract Administration

Implementation of RAMS primarily depends on reliable data. The RAMS will not
succeed without reliable data. It is therefore important that data collection equipment
and approaches be tailored to the capacity of the road agency/ organization. The
required data (ie inventory, condition, traffic, environmental, and cost data) is vital for
successful operationalization of developed RAMS. However, it is observed that
collection of data in a scientific manner is also expensive. Each data item requires time,
effort, and money to collect, store, retrieve, and use. Therefore, only the key data that
are required for use in decision-making process should be collected and stored in the
RAMS. These data should be collected at the minimum level of detail with the most
appropriate data collection technology given the constraints and capabilities of the
organization/ agency. Wherever possible, data collection should be outsourced. It has

55
been reported in various case studies that in many instances the RAMS could not be
sustainable due to collection efforts for too much of data in high level of detail. Data
collection policies and procedures need to be formalized and should be readily
available. If the agency has concerns about operation and maintenance of specialist
data equipment in-house, then consideration should be given for outsourcing the data
collection surveys. However, it must be recognized that for outsourcing to succeed,
there needs to be strong management and quality assurance policies and procedures.
Training of agency staff to administer and manage outsourced contracts must be
provided in this regard. Strict data quality assurance procedures should be adhered to
so that all system users have confidence in the data and analyses provided to them.

In case of out sourcing option for data collection, it is important to have some basic data
collection contract management framework. It is required that validation of data for at
least 100 km of the network be done prior to the full survey. This will help the vendor /
contractor to sort out logistical and technical issues early on and before the full survey
commences. This validation survey data should be completely processed and imported
to the RAMS where it is verified as suitable. This will (i) confirm that the data processing
steps are in place to use the data, and, (ii) ensure that the client/ authority can review
the submitted data on a timely basis. It must be ensured that every data collection team
of the vendor / contractor must perform the validation survey, in case multiple number of
equipment/ team are used for the survey. If there are different teams, different vehicles,
and different equipment, then all should be tested. The vendor / contractor must
produce their own Quality Assurance Plan prior to the start of the survey. This should be
approved by the client/ authority. Documentary evidence of calibration prior to, and
during, the surveys should be mandatory. Considering the dynamic nature of the data, it
must be ensured that required data be submitted within a short time period after
collection (less than 2 weeks if possible, and certainly not more than 1 month).

8.5 Performance Monitoring and Evaluation

It is desirable to have a process for monitoring and evaluating the asset management
implementation by the highway agency/organization through performance measure
parameters. Specific and realistic key performance indicators and targets to measure
the asset value and to preserve/enhance that value must be periodically done and be
explained to the higher management. Some of the key indicators / targets need to be
monitored to assess at the end of each year whether they have been achieved or not to
facilitate taking appropriate action. Maintenance plan and policies including
achievements in a particular financial year need to be published in Annual Reports of
the agency. There should be defined policies and procedures in place for data
collection, and for quality assurance of the data. Technical (internal and/or external)
auditing must be carried out on data and systems, and the recommendations acted on.

There are a number of different ways of carrying out performance measurement. Some
of the most commonly used are Random Auditing, where audits can include customer
satisfaction, surveys, sample condition surveys, and ad hoc inspections. Random audits
are frequently used to independently audit the performance of Highway Authorities who

56
are working under quality management systems. Their purpose therefore is to provide
an independent crosscheck on performance.

Similarly one can have System Audits, where asset management software systems
have been implemented and if properly used, will provide a source of performance
management data. For example customer query systems will be able to provide
response times to queries and also be able to identify areas of exception. i.e. particular
types of complaint or query or particular geographical areas generating a high number
of queries. Where established management systems are in place, it is possible to obtain
monthly performance statistics. In general these may focus on activities and the time
taken to complete them. Progress against an established programme may also provide
a useful management tool. Similarly, some indicators will be based upon information
supplied by others annually. This limits the use of such indicators to annual reviews.

8.6 Performance Measures

The key steps in defining highway network performance measures is to first identify the
objective. Many highway organizations have published vision, mission and goal
statements, as well as objectives. In these instances, the objectives form a logical
starting point for the development of performance measures and specifically to identify
what aspect of performance is being measured. Sometimes, objectives are often
grouped. For example, into areas such as safety, availability, customer service, asset
preservation and environmental. This is the approach recommended, by grouping
proposed performance measures to support levels of service. The levels of service from
either individual performance measure or when grouped together considering safety
aspects of the asset ( for example percentage of killed and seriously injured accidents
in which asset condition is reported as a contributing factor), condition of the asset
(percentage of potholes repaired within 24 hours of alert), availability / accessibility of
the asset, environmental impact of the asset, comparison of funding figures/ historical
expenditure, plan funding, service improvements and innovation, asset growth etc helps
to develop an understanding of how the system of service delivery is (or isn’t)
supporting progress toward achieving established strategic goals while operationalizing
RAMS within an organization. Therefore, the important consideration in starting, by
identifying the objective first, is to establish that the elements of the service being
measured genuinely contribute to the delivery of a strategic goal.

8.7 Key Performance Indicators

In generic terms of implementing the principles of asset management, any highway
agency / organization adopts options/alternatives available within Road Routine
Maintenance Management System (RRMS) or the life cycle option of Pavement
Management system (PMS) for multi year plan programme. While doing so, the agency
/organization generally carry out in someway or other three activities i.e. i) Routine and
Reactive Repair, where the strategy is for routine repair of defects by deployment of
available resources on emergency and other non-emergency repairs, ii) Planned
Maintenance Preventative action, where the strategy is for upgrading elements to
prevent deterioration and iii) Planned Maintenance Corrective action where strategy
would be structure replacement/ strengthening works involving programme approach as

57
per defined priorities based on overall budgetary allocation. Thus, some of the Key
Performance Indicators (KPI) can be derived from above three activities by which the
organization/ highway agency can monitor and evaluate performance of Road Asset
Management System. For example, the average condition of the network in terms of
Pavement Condition Indices (PCI) values before and after implementation of RAMS,
Percentage of road network above a threshold values of Roughness Index (IRI) as an
indication of timely intervention for improvement in riding quality, Percentage of distress
in a road network above a threshold values of Potholes/ Rut Depth/ Cracking/Ravelling
or combination of these, number of km of pavements maintained per year, increase in
road maintenance funding, multi-year plan works/programme, current replacement cost
and depreciated replacement cost etc. provide the basis for many of the KPIs.

8.8 Capacity Building and Training of Stakeholders

There are no fixed set of rules to define and implement Road Asset Management. Each
agency is unique in terms of geographical situations, construction and management of
its road network, availability of materials, financial and human resources, etc. Therefore,
the respective agency must assess and realise its potential, constraints and processes
specific to their circumstances. To achieve the best outcomes from the whole process of
road asset management, the relevant stakeholders including the senior management
must be exposed to the best practices internally within India and also overseas.
Capacity building and training must be recognised as important as any other
implementation task explained above. CRRI and IAHE introduced formal training which
provide overview, process and benefits of the asset management for the beginners. The
World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other funding agencies carry out specific
research in this space and share best practices with stakeholders. The successful
implementation within India and overseas can be referred to for learning the process of
introducing and managing the road asset management concepts and systems.

58
 Appendix-I
BROAD OVERVIEW OF BRIDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (BMS)
1. Introduction
Bridges are essential vital link in any road network and are valuable assets and cannot
be built and just forgotten. Though the pavement failures are common and visible,
bridge failure when they occur often become catastrophic. Therefore, asset
management practices need to be implemented by Highway Authorities to achieve
target Levels of Service (LOS) in the most effective manner.
Bridge management is not merely a routine, but an art, wherein special techniques
and knowledge have to be applied to ascertain the physical condition of the structure
and recommend suitable remedial measures for portions adversely affected. It
ensures that the bridges remain fit for their intended purpose over long period at
minimum life cycle cost. Considering the fact that the number of bridge assets is
increasing quite rapidly, there is a need to have scientific and rational approach based
Bridge Management System. It is required to allocate scarce funds optimally in an
orderly and systematic manner considering the short and long term needs of the
bridges. Even though, bridges cannot be managed without the practical, experienced,
and knowledgeable input of the engineer, function of BMS is to provide bridge
information and data analysis capabilities to improve the decision-making abilities of
bridge managers. Bridge Management System can be classified into (i) Project Level
and (II) Network Level Management.
2. BMS implementation activities
The various activities involved in BMS includes (I) inventorisation of bridge stocks (II)
Inspection (iii) condition rating (iv) prioritization of bridges for repair and rehabilitation,
(v) load carrying capacity evaluation of distressed/ deteriorated bridge (if bridges are
to be strengthened) (vi) repair, rehabilitation and strengthening and (vii) budgeting.
Bridge inventory can be categorized into culvert inventory, minor bridge inventory and
major bridge inventory depending on the span of structures and the construction
material. The bridge inventory may include administrative data, general data, technical
details, hydraulic data (for river bridges), geotechnical data, structural design details,
structural drawing and photographs.

Bridge inspection is an essential element of any BMS especially for aged and
deteriorated bridges and a pathway for condition rating. The validity of condition
assessment relies predominantly on the quality of bridge inspection. Different types of
bridge inspection may be required during the service life of a bridge such as routine,
detailed and special inspection. IRC has prepared guidelines such as SP:18, SP:35
and IRC SP :52, which may be referred for inspection of different type of bridges. The
distresses in concrete bridges and diagnostics have been discussed in IRC: SP:40.
The procedure for load carrying capacity evaluation of bridges based on working stress
approach is addressed in IRC SP:37 and if load testing of bridges is to be adopted,
then refer IRC: SP:51 IRC SP:40 provides the guidelines for repair, strengthening and
rehabilitation of bridges. For repair and rehabilitation of steel bridges IRC SP:74 and
for retrofitting IRC SP:75 may be referred.

59
3. Bridge Condition Survey – Concepts
A. It is a misconception that a bridge once constructed does not require any
substantial maintenance for the first couple of decades.
B. To maintain the serviceability of the bridges and to ensure a reliable level of
service, due recognition by the maintenance authorities is essential.
C. Large number of bridges are on the verge of un-serviceability due to
repeated heavier loading.
D. Even high quality of construction without proper maintenance, will lead to early
failure of the bridge.

The steps necessary for a reliable serviceability level of the bridge:

Bridge

condition survey is required a) to evaluate structural soundness b) to establish a

database in the BIS c) to take timely action for maintenance to prevent further
deterioration
4. Critical attributes of Bridge Condition Survey
I. Cracking
II. Spalling
III. Corrosion
IV. Settlement / scour / deformity
V. Condition of bearings

60
5. B
ri
d
g
e
Di
st
re
s
s
s
e
v
er
it
y
&
E
xt
e
nt

6. Bridge Condition Rating

Four-step process
• Identifying the distress types

61
 • Visual observation of distress (of severity & extent)
• Condition rating for elements
• Overall rating of the bridge

References
a) IRC:SP:18 Manual for Highway Bridge Inspection
b) IRC:SP:35, Guidelines for Inspection and Maintenance of Bridges
c) IRC: SP:37 Guidelines for Evaluation of Load Carrying Capacity Bridges.
d) IRC: SP:40, Guidelines on Repair, Strengthening and Rehabilitation of Bridges
e) IRC:SP:52 Bridge Inspectors Reference Manual
f) IRC:SP:51 Load Testing of Bridges
g) IRC: SP:74 Guidelines for Repair and Rehabilitation of steel bridges
h) IRC:SP 75 Guidelines for Retrofitting of Steel Bridges

62
 Appendix-II

Brief details of Some Data Collection Equipment

1. Automated Road Survey System (ARSS)/Network Survey Vehicle (NSV)

ARSS/NSV is equipped with the following major equipment:

 Distance Measuring Instrument (DMI)
 Global Positioning System (GPS)
 Roughness and Texture using Laser Profilometer (LP)
 Pavement Distress Measurement System (PDMS)
(High Resolution Cameras; Laser Crack Measurement System, LiDAR etc.)
 Road Inventory using Right-of-Way Video Imaging System (ROW-VIS)
(High Resolution Color Cameras or LiDAR etc.)
 Rut measurement using Automatic Rut Measurement System (ARMS)
(Multi–point Laser, Laser Rut Measurement System, Laser Crack Measurement
System, LiDAR etc.)
 Geometry details using Geometry Measurement System (GMS)
Various parameters recorded by ARSS/NSV are presented in Table A.2..1and a
schematic illustration of ARSS is given in Figure A.2.1.

Table A.2.1. Parameters recorded by ARSS/NSV

Parameter Recorded Equipment /Technologies
Distance Measurement Instrument (DMI)
Distance Measurement connected to the wheel axle to provide
distance and velocity information.
GPS equipped with the vehicle is capable
of recording location coordinates of vehicle
Geographical Position and Geo
as well as geo reference important
Referencing
structures like bridges, culverts, railway
crossings etc.
Roughness is measured in terms of IRI,
from the longitudinal profile of the road
Roughness and Texture generated with help of Class-1 Laser
Profilometer and Texture as Mean Profile
Depth (MPD)
Pavement Distress Measurement System
(PDMS) using High Resolution Camera,
Pavement Surface Distress
Laser Crack Measurement System, LiDAR
etc.,
Road Inventory Right-of-Way Video Imaging System
(ROW-VIS) using High Resolution Color
Camera or LiDAR
Rut measurement Automatic Rut Measurement System

63
 (ARMS) using Multi–point Laser, Laser Rut
Measurement System, Laser Crack
Measurement System, LiDAR
Geometric details like gradient, rise and
fall, cross slope and horizontal curvature
are measured with Geometry
Geometric Details Measurement System (GMS), which is
normally based on accelerometer and
gyroscope sensors.

Figure A.2.1: A Typical View of NSV

64
2. Laser Profilometer (LP)

Laser based road profiling is a high-speed road roughness measuring system as per
ASTM E950 (Class-1 category). The Laser Profilometer beam is installed in the front or
back of the survey vehicle. This system is based on the measurement of vertical
displacements using Laser Rays. Laser Profilometer Bar comprises of two laser sensors
used for the measurement of longitudinal profile of two wheel paths of the pavement
surface as shown in Figure A.2.2. The system directly gives International Roughness
Index (IRI) for both wheel paths viz. Left IRI and Right IRI in terms of m/km. This
equipment has self-calibration mechanism.

Figure A.2.2: Laser Profilometer

65
3. Fifth Wheel Bump Integrator (FWBI) / Automated Road Unevenness Recorder
(ARUR)

Fifth Wheel Bump Integrator (Figure A.2.3) is a response type road roughness measuring
system. The equipment consists of a trailer towed by a vehicle. A standard pneumatic tyre
wheel inflated to a tyre pressure of 2.1 kg/sqm is mounted within the trailer chassis, with a
single leaf spring on either side of the wheel supporting the chassis. Two dashpots provide
viscous damping between chassis and axle. The frame is provided with a counter weight at
the front to make the device practically free from the effects of the vertical motion of the
vehicle. A mechanical integrator makes cumulative measurements of the unidirectional
vertical movement of the wheel relative to the chassis. The distance travelled is measured by
a distance-measuring unit. The test is conducted at a speed of 32+/-1km/hour. Roughness
Index is defined as the ratio of the cumulative vertical displacement to the distance travelled
and is expressed in mm/km.

The equipment is driven over the road surface at a speed of 32+/-1km/hour, keeping steady
motion and avoiding swerving. The readings of the revolution counter and integrating
counters are noted or automatically recorded in the data sheet/logger.

Figure A.2.3: Fifth Wheel Bump Integrator

The bump integrator values are recorded at preset distance or when the wheel revolution
counter records 1000 units which correspond to 1 km. The brief description of the road
surface is also noted as the observer travels over the surface. The fifth wheel should
preferably travel on wheel path. For measurement of roughness, one measurement in each
lane is recommended for riding comforts evaluation. This equipment need to be calibrated
and validated with respect to some Class-1 equipment as per the standard procedure.

4. Car Axle Mounted Bump Integrator (CAMBI)

The car axle mounted integrator (Figure A.2.4) consists of a bump integrating unit as
provided in the fifth wheel Bump Integrator. The integrating unit is fitted with the rear axle and
mounted in the rear portion of the car or rear floor of a jeep.
66
 Figure A.2.4: Car Axle Mounted Bump Integrator

The differential movement between the rear axle and the body of the vehicle due to road
unevenness is measured by the upward vertical motion of a wire which is transmitted into
unidirectional rotator movement of the pulley of the integrator unit. There is an arrangement
in the integrating unit for converting the rotational movement into electric pulses, which is
recorded by the counters/loggers. One count corresponds to 1 cm relative movement
between axle and floor of the vehicle. One count in distance counter corresponds to 1 m
length of distance travelled.

The road roughness is affected by the vehicle speed. A bump gets magnified if the speed is
not maintained. Vehicle load is another factor that influences the roughness measurement.
For getting the realistic values, the constant vehicle speed must be maintained (calibration
speed) or equipment shall be calibrated for multiple survey speeds. The laden weight of the
vehicle is also standardized. While taking measurements, the vehicle should carry maximum
three passengers. It should be ensured that the outer vehicle wheel travels on the wheel
path. This equipment need to be calibrated and validated with respect to some Class-1
equipment as per the standard procedure.

5. Accelerometer Based (AB)Equipment

Equipment based on the principle of measurement of vertical acceleration of the survey

vehicle may also be used for the measurement of road roughness index after due calibration
and validation with respect to Class-1 equipment.

Some portable type of roughness measuring equipment are available which consists of a
small accelerometer (sensor) device (one or two) installed at the rear axle of the survey
vehicle, a distance measuring instrument, interface module and a controller. The pavement
roughness measurements using these equipment are required to be done preferably near to
50 ± 10 km/hr, in order to obtain most reliable and accurate data. The output is in the units of
International Roughness Index (IRI). Another device in this category is measurement of
international roughness index using mobile app-based system, this system is based on the
67
 use of in-built accelerometer and GPS sensors of the mobile phone and accumulates the
vertical displacement, which occurs due to response (Vertical Movement) of the survey
vehicle on the test road depending upon road evenness.

Although these-equipment claim to have self calibration mechanism for their accelerometer
sensor, but being a response type equipment, it is recommended that such equipment is
calibrated/validated for different roughness level covering a wide range of spectrum of
surface roughness ranging from very smooth to very rough (say IRI 2.0 m/km to12.0 m/km)
with respect to some Class-1 equipment as per the standard procedure.

6. Benkelman Beam

The Benkelman Beam(A.2.5) is a simple and inexpensive device for deflection

measurements. It was developed at the WASHO Road Test and has been used
extensively by highway agencies for pavement research, evaluation and overlay
design around the world. The Benkelman Beam consists of a simple lever arm
attached to a light weight aluminium frame. Measurements are made by placing the
tip of the beam probe between the dual tires of a loaded (8.17 T rear axle) truck at
the point where deflection is to be determined. As the loaded vehicle moves away
from the test point, rebound or recovery movement of the pavement is measured by
the dial gauge. Measurements can be made either by WASHO or CGRA method.
The equipment is versatile and simple to operate. However, it is slow and labour
intensive. In some cases, particularly on strong pavements, the supporting legs may
be within the deflected area resulting in influencing the measurements.

Figure A.2.5: A Typical View of Benkelman Beam

7. Falling Weight Deflectometer

The deflection device that is receiving much attention now-a-days is the Falling Weight
Deflectometer. In principle, this is a very simple device which consists of a weight which falls
on a set of rubber buffers that is mounted on a circular foot plate with a diameter of 300mm.
Fig.A.2,.6 gives a schematic representation of the loading and the resulted typical deflection
basis. From the description given above, it is clear that FWD produces an impact load. The
68
 shape of the load pulse is more or less a half sine, and the duration of the pulse is about 25
milli seconds. The deflections are measured in the centre of the loading plate as well as at
various distances from the plate. Normally 7 geophones (velocity transducers) are used, the
velocity signal received by geophone is integrated once to obtain the vertical displacement.
With respect to the loading plate, it is mentioned that, in principle, this is a stiff plate. At the
bottom of the plate, however, a rubber mat is glued to ensure full contact between plate and
pavement to ensure uniform stress distribution under the loading plate.

Figure A.2.6: A Typical View of Falling Weight Deflectometer

8. British Pendulum Tester

It is a simple equipment used for measuring skid resistance of pavement. It is a dynamic

pendulum(Figure A.2.7) impact type tester for measuring the resistance offered by a surface
under test. It consists of a spring loaded standard rubber slider mounted at one end of the
pendulum arm, sliding over the surface under standard conditions. It is used for measuring
spot values of surface friction at representative locations. Though it provides good
information on the skid resistance of the pavement, it cannot provide data with different
speeds.

69
 Figure A.2.7: British Pendulum Tester

9. Continuous Friction Tester

The continuous pavement friction equipment is used to capture the skid resistance on the
pavement surface along the wheel path under wet pavement surface condition.
Various continuous pavement friction equipment based on different operating
principles as per International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines are
available in the global market. The same equipment is recommend to be used for
evaluation of skid resistance on high speed road corridors.

10. Static Wheel Weigh Pads

The static wheel weigh pads are portable, can be easily transported to any site and installed in the
field without much of time. The weighing platform consists of two high quality cover plates of
metal/alloy having high stiffness and anti-corrosive properties. Load bars or load cells or
special load sensors are sandwiched between these cover plates. The weighing pad is
connected to the indicator unit which gets power supply through a portable source capable
of providing smooth DC supply (maintenance free rechargeable battery). The load cells/load
bars have a metal body with foil strain gauges cemented to the body. The digital indicator
gives the instant display of load.

70
 Figure A.2.8: A Typical View of Static Weight Pad

11. Weigh-in-Motion System (WIM)

There are two types of WIM systems that are currently available globally. One system is
permanent type and the other one is portable.

Permanent WIM System

There are a number of permanent WIM systems available. Basically in a permanent WIM
system, two weighing platforms rectangular in shape, with slight variation in dimensions
from manufacturer to manufacturer, are embedded in the road surface by cutting grooves
at appropriate places. Apart from these, there is vehicle detection loop and one platform is
located in each wheel path, with associated electronic monitoring system placed on the
roadside. Some systems use strain gauge load cells while others use oil-filled piston which
acts as a load cell.

Apart from this, there are permanent WIM systems that use peizo weigh sensor, which has
a length of peizo electric cable mounted in a U-section channel and encapsulated in the
resin. The sensor is set into a slot cut across the traffic lane, with its top face level with the
road surface. The buried loop vehicle detector is installed adjacent to the sensors. The
entire system when installed gives information on axle load, vehicle classification, gross
vehicle weight, vehicle speed, vehicle count, vehicle length etc.

Portable WIM System

The piezo-electric strip sensors provide axle load data. The WIM equipment is automatic
weighing and vehicle classification equipment for use at normal highway speeds. The
system is capable of measuring vehicle loads and speeds on roads upto four lanes
width. The WIM is micro-processor based. The WIM interface and data base
computer system provides link with the road sensors. The data collection system is
71
 compatible to any computer and stores vehicle records. The user defined reports can
be down loaded to an office computer through a floppy diskette/CD. The equipment
operates on solar energy or battery powered system.

The road side electronics can also be housed in the experimental van and moved from site
to site, as required. The van houses the hardware of the WIM system including solar
panel. Besides these the other items useful for continuous work of the staff in the field
are also housed inside. The equipment records and provides the information on
vehicle weight and axle loads, and speed identification for speed and weight violation
etc. The equipment stores the information related to site details, time and date of
passage, vehicle index number within the data collection period, vehicle speed,
vehicle classification, weight of each vehicle, spacing of vehicles and vehicle length
etc. The equipment is ideal for characterisation of 90-100% vehicles even on heavy
traffic roads.

Figure A.2.9: A Typical View of WIM

12. Ground Penetrating Radar

GPR is most often employed as a technique that uses high – frequency electromagnetic (EM)
waves (from 10 MHz to 3000 MHz) to acquire subsurface information. GPR detects changes
in EM properties (dielectric permittivity, conductivity, and magnetic permeability), that in a
geological setting, are a function of soil and rock material, water content and bulk density.
Data are normally acquired using antennas placed on the ground surface or in boreholes.
The transmitting antenna radiates EM waves that propagate in the sub surface and reflect
from boundaries at which there are EM property contrasts. The receiving GPR antenna
records the reflected waves over a selectable time range(Figure A.2.8). The depths to the
reflecting interfaces are calculated from the arrival times in the GPR data if the EM
propagation velocity in the sub surface can be estimated or measured.
72
 Figure A.2.8: Evaluation of Pavement Crust Details Using GPR
13. LiDAR
LiDAR is a remote sensing technology which uses laser pulses for the scanning and measure
3D dimension of an object with a 3D Data Capture. It performs point cloud scanning by
bombarding millions of laser points and measures the reflected scan. LiDAR can be mounted
on various platforms like terrestrial, mobile and airborne, depending upon the object to be
scanned. The data accuracy of the LiDAR scanner varies from cm to mm. This accuracy can
be obtained as per the requirement of application. The application of LiDAR has a variety of
role in roads and highways. The data can be used for various calculation and analysis like
pavement analysis, road asset management, road damage assessment, as-built
documentation etc. LiDAR captures all road assets like sign boards, signals, tolls plazas,
buildings, Utility poles & Cables, divider, etc. with its geo-referenced 3D dimensions along
with true pictures. The entire 3D model is developed on the basis of these inputs with high
accuracy and further helps decision makers to take effective and robust decision.

73
 Figure A.2.10: A Typical View of Mobile LIDAR System

14. Automatic Vehicle Classification / Traffic Counter and Classifier (AVC/ATCC)

A traffic counter and classifier is a device, often electronic in nature, used to count, classify,
and/or measure the speed of vehicular traffic passing along a given roadway. The device is
usually deployed in near proximity to the roadway and uses an on-road medium, such as
pneumatic road tubes laid across the roadway, piezo-electric sensors embedded in the
roadway, inductive loops cut into the roadway, or a combination of these to detect the
passing vehicles. Pneumatic road tubes are generally used for temporary studies to study a
sample of traffic, while piezo-electric sensors and inductive loops are used for permanent
studies which can ascertain seasonal traffic trends and are often used in congestion
monitoring on major roads.

Formats for data collection and reporting are given in Appendix - III

Details of RAMS adopted in some states and NHAI are given in Appendix - IV

74
 Appendix-III

Formats for Data Collection and Reporting

P1 - Pavement Inventory Details (Through Secondary

Name and Category of the Road: Division:

Section: From Km to Km State/District:
Link ID/ Name: Date:
Types of
Carrigeway/ Shoulder Shoulder Shoulder Junctions (T,X,
Pavement No. of Shoulder Side Drainage Median
From (Km) To (Km) RoW Pavement Paved/ Drop in mm Drop in mm No. of Junctions Signalised,
Type Lanes Width (m) Condition Width (M)
Width (m) unpaved (Left Side) (Right Side) Railway level
crossings etc.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Flexible/Rigid

P2 - Pavement Surface Condition

Name and Category of the Road: Division:
Section: From Km to Km State/District:
Link ID/Name : Date:
Total
Condition Roughness Ravelled Potholes Edge Break Rut Depth Patch Work Texture
From (Km) To (Km) Cracking 2 Remarks
Year MM/YY IRI (m/km) Area (%) (no./Km) (m /km) (mm) Area % Depth (mm)
Area (%)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

75
 P3 - Pavement Crust and Strength Details
Name and Caegory of Road: Division :
Section: From Km to Km State/District :
Link ID/ Name : Date::
Pavement Crust Details
Surface Base Subbase Subgrade Soil Height of
From Km To Km
Thickness Thickness Thickness Embankment
Type Type Type Type CBR
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

P4 - Pavement Construction and Mainteinance History

Name and Category of the Road: Division:

Section: From Km to Km State/District:
Link ID/ Name: Date:
From (km) To (km) Pavement History

Construction Strengthening Resurfacing Preventive Treatment, if any Remarks

(BC+DBM) or (SDBC+BM) ( BC/SDBC etc.) (Fog Seal/Liquid Seal/
etc. Sand Seal etc.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Year Specification Year Specification Year Specification Year Specification

P5 - Classified Traffic Volume Data

Name and Number of the Road: PWD Circle/Division:
Section: From Km to Km Period : (Month/Year): Survey Location: State/District :
Link
Date:
ID/Name :
Time Motorised Vehicles Non Motorised Vehicles
LCV Semi Semi Cycle Total Non-
LCV 2 Axle Truck 3 Axle Truck Truck Total Animal Pedestrian
Two Three Cars Passenge Bus Truck Truck Cycles Riksha Motorised
Goods Truck Trailer Truck Trailer Trailer Motorised Carts
Wheelers Wheelers /Jeeps r Trailer Trailer ws Vehicles
Vehicles
Code:1 Code:2 Code:3 Code:4 Code:5 Code:6 Code:7 Code:8 Code:9 Code:10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21

Note: For Code 1 to 10 Please Refer Vehicle Codes given with Axle Load Survey Format

76
 P6 - Axle Loads Survey Data
Name and Number of the Road: PWD Circle/Division:
Section: From Km to Km State/District:
Link ID/Name: Date:
Wheel Weight (kg.)
Vehicle Code
Sl. No. Type of Vehicle
(As per figure) Front Rear-1 Rear-2 Rear-3 Rear-4 Rear-5

P7 - Pavement Geometrics Data

Name and Category of the Road: Division :
Section: From Km to Km State :
Link ID/Name : Period (year/month):
No. of Rises & Falls Horizontal Curvature
From (Km) To (Km) Rise + Fall (m/km) Cross Slope (%) Remarks
(/km) (deg/km)
1 2 3 4 5 6

77
 CD1 - Inventory on Cross Drainage Structures
Name and Category of the Road: PWD Circle/Division :
Section: From Km to Km State/District :
Link ID/Name : Date:
Culvert Details Bridge Details
Others
From No. of Length of Type of Including
To (Km) Type of CD Type of Name of Length of Carriageway Year of
(km) Pipes/Diameter/No. of Structure super/sub- Type Length No. of Span Causeways /
(Pipe/Slab/Arch) Foundation River/Drain Span width construction
Spans, etc. (m) structure Railway
bridges
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

78
 Appendix - IV

Details of RAMS Adopted in Some States and NHAI

Overview on Odisha Road Asset Management System (ORAMS)

The road network of Odisha Works Department (OWD) comprises of 4848 km of National Highways,
4104 km State Highways, 2817 km Major District Roads, 18869 km of Other District Roads totalling to 30638 km.
In order to effectively prioritise works based on technical parameters and to improve the quality and delivery
of OWD services in the management of the state road network, the department has developed and
commissioned “Odisha Roads Asset Management System (ORAMS)” during 2015 with the help of Consultant
M/s Lea Associates South Asia Private Limited, India in Joint Venture with LEA international Limited, Canada in
association with Geo Infospace Pvt. Ltd., India and software vendor Bentley Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd.. The
World Bank has assisted OWD to develop this objective maintenance planning and resource allocation system
for road maintenance under Institutional Development component of World Bank Aided Odisha State Roads
Project.

A Planning and Road Asset Management Cell has been established within OWD since 2015 for
Planning, and Programming of road works. The RAM Cell is headed by the Chief Engineer (Design, Planning,
Investigation and Roads) with Superintending Engineer (Planning), Executive Engineer( Planning &AMS),
Deputy Executive Engineer/ Asst. Executive Engineer/ Assistant Engineer/ Junior Engineers to look after
various activities required for ORAMS such as collection of inventory and condition data, running of ORAMS
modules, reporting and budgeting activities etc.. The technical team is supported by a dedicated IT support
team comprising of Programmer, Database Administrator and GIS personnel.

The core of the ORAMS is a web based Road Information System (RIS) and Bridge Information System
(BIS). These are series of databases linking different road and bridge data items. It is accessed from a centrally
linked server, (which is currently housed in OWD head office at NIRMAN SOUDHA) which is independent of
any network. The system is designed for multi-level user requirements (i.e. 1. Headquarters and, 2. Circle/
Division) as well as the general public through the internet) with appropriate security, interfaces and reporting
facilities appropriate to the level of the user. There are number of applications developed to address the
various requirements of road and bridge asset management having interface with the RIS-BIS. These
applications are designed, based on the specific requirements of the different management processes.

The ORAMS has been developed by configuring the following commercial-of-the-shelf products

1. Oracle 11 g Enterprise suit and Oracle Fusion middleware as the core database engine
2. Bentley System’s Oracle Database based EXOR Software configured to store and process data
related to roads, bridges, traffic and to store spatial data
3. The Highway Development and Management (HDM-4) software used to predict the road condition
and suggest treatments by a life-cycle costing method using analytical engine for different years
4. Bentley System’s TIG (Transportation Intelligence Gateway) Software used to transform data from
the database to HDM-4 accepted data input format
5. Arc GIS server and Desktop Software applications used as GIS platform for all spatial features of
the roads assets and
6. Bentley System’s IM (Information Manger) used for Portal Base reporting.

The system architecture and Implementation Architecture of ORAMS are shown at Fig-1 & Fig-2
respectively.

79
Fig.1. System Architecture of ORAMS

80
Fig.2. Implementation Architecture of ORAMS

81
The system dataflow showing the above applications is shown in Fig. 3

Fig.3. System Data Flow of ORAMS

82
 The developed system has been installed in the servers located within the OWD premises at Nirman Soudha.
The details of the servers with ORAMS application are presented below.

Server RAM HDD Processor Process code Processor OS Type System Server Model
Name size Size Name details Speed Type Type Name
APP-
Intel® Xeon® Windows Proliant
1/GIS Rack
32GB 560GB CPU E5-4603 0 4 2.00 GHz Server 2008 64-bit DL560
SERVER Server
@ 2.00 GHz R2 Datacenter Gen8
ORACLE
Intel® Xeon® Windows Proliant
DB Rack
32GB 560GB CPU E5-4603 0 4 2.00 GHz Server 2012 64-bit DL560
SERVER Server
@ 2.00 GHz R2 Datacenter Gen8
HP Blade
WEB Intel® Xeon(R) Windows
Blade System
APP 16GB 280GB CPU E5-2450 0 8 2.10 GHz Server 2012 64-bit
server c7000
SERVER @ 2.10 GHz R2 Datacenter
enclosure

The web based ORAMS hoisted in servers of OWD is accessible to the public through the URL
http://orams.in/. A screenshot showing the modules of ORAMS is shown in Fig. 4:

Fig.4. Asset Management Cell user web page of ORAMS

The present web based ORAMS has the following applications

A. For OWD Users

1. Road Information System (RIS) for Road Network and Data Management
2. Bridge Information System (BIS) for Bridge Inventory and Condition
3. Pavement Management System (PMS) for Interface to HDM-4
4. Traffic Information System (TIS) for Traffic Data processing for RIS/PMS modules

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 5. Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS) for Estimate for Routine Maintenance
Requirements

B. For Public Users

Web-GIS View and Reporting Tools for GIS based search, satellite image overlay, thematic maps
1. Road Information System (RIS): The Road Information System (RIS) is the principal module of O-RAMS. It
consists of web-based applications designed to input / upload, store, edit, update, view, download the road
network and asset data such as Carriageway, Shoulders, Pavement Composition, Pavement Condition,
Roughness etc. It also manages Users of the system, their roles and jurisdiction access.

2. Bridge Information System (BIS): Bridge Information System (BIS) is a web-based application, designed to
input / upload, store, edit, update, view, download the bridge inventory, inspection data, photographs of
bridges, documents referenced over the road network.

3. Pavement Management System (PMS) : Pavement Management System (PMS) consists of tools to ascertain
maintenance requirements for OWD road network. The Highway Development and Management Tool
(HDM-4) software is used to predict road condition and suggest treatments by a life-cycle costing method
using analytical engine for different years.

To supply data to HDM-4 software, the data held within road database such as road inventory,
composition, pavement inspection, roughness, structural strength and traffic are converted to a format
acceptable by HDM-4 software using Transportation Intelligence Gateway (TIG) module; This software is
configured to extract data from the database, prepare homogenous sections based on user defined
parameters, and transform the data to representative values in the format acceptable to perform
programme and strategy analysis using HDM-4.

4. Traffic Information System (TIS): The Traffic Information System (TIS) is a web-GIS-based custom built
application, designed to input, store, manage, analyse and report traffic volume and axle-load data.

5. Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS): Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS) is
a web-based custom built application, designed to determine on-carriageway routine maintenance
requirements for sections not receiving any improvements for a year and prepare routine maintenance
budget required for a section, division or a circle. Routine maintenance is a regular activity which is carried
out throughout the year based on fund allocated.

Data Collection for ORAMS:

i. GIS data Collection:

The key feature of ORAMS is its GIS based information system for all roads and bridges under the
administrative control of OWD and the availability of the same to public through online portal, i.e orams.in. This GIS
based information system for road and bridges have been developed from the satellite imageries of road network.
These data are procured by the OWD from Remote Sensing Agencies of Govt. of India, such as Orissa Remote
Sensing Application Centre (ORSAC). The last updated orthorectified geo-referenced satellite data procured from
ORSAC is during 2018.

Besides, the field engineers are trained to collect the spatial information of the new roads, (in the event of
transfer of any road from other Department to OWD) using a Hand Held GPS or GPS enabled mobile handset using
suitable application. The spatial data collected from the field, is then validated using the satellite imageries available
84
with ORSAC by the Asset Management Unit before uploading the same in the ORAMS web portal for information of
General Public. Tools used for GPS data collection are shown Fig. 5.

a. Image showing a Typical Hand Held GPS b. Image showing Capturing GPS information
using suitable application in GPS enabled
mobile hand set
Fig.5. Tools used for GPS Data Collection

ii. Inventory Data Collection:

Collection and updation of annual data on road inventory has got significant role in the sustainability
of the Asset Management system. Hence, an office order has been issued to all field divisions to collect and
submit the Inventory Data of all new Roads, new Bridges & new Culverts, under their respective jurisdiction,
taken over to the PWD Book of Accounts in the preceding Financial Year. Formats for data collection have
been developed and shared through the web portal of ORAMS, i.e through the FORMAT module of the
Portal. Field staffs are trained to access the format using the ORAMS web portal, update the requisite
information in the prescribed excel file format available through the web-portal and communicate the
updated data to the centralised unit through proper channel for uploading of the information to the
Database of ORAMS. The inventory information so collected, after due verification, is made available
through the Web-GIS module for better appreciation.

iii. Road Condition Data Collection:

The collection of condition data has been outsourced to CSIR-Central Road Research Institution
(CRRI), which is a premier institution in the Country in the area of road research including pavement
evaluation. The Condition Data of the Road Assets are being collected annually on the road network through
Automated Road Surveying Systems (ARSS) vehicle of CRRI shown at Fig-6. This network survey vehicle fitted
with DGPS, Digital Camera for Pavement, Laser Profilometer, Rut Scanner, Road geometry Measurement
equipment captures condition data such as Cracking, Ravelling, Pothole, Rutting, Roughness etc. alongwith
the other inventories of the road. A typical road data condition output after survey though ARSS vehicle is
presented at Fig-7.

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 Fig.6. Automated Road Surveying Systems vehicle of CRRI used for data collection in Odisha

Fig.7. Sample data collection output after survey using ARSS vehicle of CRRI

In case automated method of data collection is not feasible on a specific road stretch, then visual/manual mode of
data collection is being resorted to and the field staff have been trained to collect condition data by visual/ manual
mode.

Similarly, the structural strength data are being collected through Falling Weight Deflectometre (FWD) through the
outsourced data collection mechanism by CRRI. A view of FWD 0f CRRI used in Odisha is shown in Fig. 8.

Fig.8. Falling Weight Deflectometer of CRRI used in Odisha

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iv. Traffic Data collection:

Field Divisions provide the annual three-day Traffic Volume data after survey at identified Traffic Count
stations . Field staffs have been trained about the methodology of Traffic volume data collection. Formats
for traffic data collection have been shared through the format module of the ORAMS web portal.
Accordingly, Traffic Volume data have been received from time to time and updated in ORAMS data base.

ORAMS output

1. Routine Maintenance and Management Assessment

The routine maintenance requirement of a road stretch are assessed using the Routine Maintenance
and Management System (RMMS) module of ORAMS. The RMMS determines the maintenance requirement
of the road stretch based on the present condition i.e type of distress, severity and extent of distress,
approved treatment measures, unit cost of treatment. Typical output of RMMS as derived from ORAMS for
a sample road is shown at Fig-9.

Fig. 9 RMMS output for a sample road showing details of maintenance treatment & costing

2. Pavement Management System (PMS):

For managing periodic and capital road works activities a Pavement Management System (PMS)
application has been developed. The core of the PMS currently being used in ORAMS is HDM-4 software ( i.e
a Highway Development and Management tool globally used by World Bank & other multi-lateral funding
agencies ). The HDM-4, as an integral part of ORAMS, is a user-friendly desktop application for PMS. The
engineering and economic analytical tool of HDM-4 include deterioration prediction model for both
bituminous and concrete pavement and life cycle cost analysis to facilitate decision making in case of both
constrained budgetary scenario. A network level PMS output derived from ORAMS is shown at Fig-10.

87
 F
i
g
.
1
0
.

P
M
S

o
u
Fig. 10 output at Network level for a sample road network

88
 Overview of Karnataka Road Management System (KRAMS)

Public Works, Ports and Inland Water Transport Department has the responsibility for the development and
maintenance of National Highways, State Highways, Major District Roads and Village Roads and construction and
maintenance of Government Buildings. The road network in Karnataka comprises 6,977 km of National Highways
(NH), 19,578 km of State Highways (SH), 49,909 km of Major District Roads (MDR), and 147,212 km of Village Roads
(VR). Insufficient funding for road maintenance and lack of an objective data-driven process for prioritisation of
roads and allocation of funds had increased the number of roads that are beyond maintainable condition.

Over the years, Government of Karnataka has initiated various programmes with assistance from ADB and World
Bank to develop, improve and maintain the transportation infrastructure. One of the main objectives of Karnataka
State Road Policy, launched in 2009, was to strengthen the institutions in the road sector for orderly, efficient and
regulated development of the sector and maintenance of its assets. A joint mission of ADB and World Bank in June
2010 held extensive discussions with PWP & IWTD and agreed upon an Institutional Development and Strategy
Action Plan (IDSAP). One of the principal features of the IDSAP was the establishment of a Planning and Road Asset
Management Centre (PRAMC) in PWP & IWTD.

PWP & IWTD established Planning and Road Asset Management Centre
(PRAMC), vide Government Order No. PWD/11/EAP/2011 dated 23.08.2012,
whose functions include Policy Development and Planning, Programming, Road
safety, Information Technology support across the whole of PWP & IWTD and
Training support across whole of PWP & IWTD.

Planning and Road Asset Management Centre is a cohesive central office for
Planning, Budgeting, and Programming of public roads in Karnataka. At the
Secretariat, PRAMC is headed by a Principal Secretary and a Secretary. Chief
Engineer is the administrative and professional Head of the PRAMC.

Planning and Road Asset Management Centre acts as Sector Apex body for
policy development, planning and programming related to development,
maintenance and management of road assets, with the following core
functions:

 Preparation of Annual Works Program and infrastructure budgets for PWP & IWTD,
 Act as a Road Safety Cell for PWP & IWTD by coordinating road safety activities in PWP & IWTD,
 Improved decision making capability in the context of a rational framework,
 Improved planning, budget preparation and programming of public road works,
 Technical based decision making process (Engineering, Economic, Social, Environmental factors),
 Cost effective road network planning and infrastructure asset management,
 Preparation of Social and Environmental policies,
 Improve staff development and training in PWP & IWTD to help sustain the new processes.

Specific Functions of Policy and Planning Unit

 Management of roads and bridges,
 Preparation of road network development plans,
 Identify investment interventions on the basis of economic efficiency criteria (“value for money”) under
constrained budgets,
 Provide inputs to the PWP & IWTD planning and annual budgeting process,
 Perform project level and programme level analyses using the Highway Development and Management (HDM-4)
software modelling tool,
 Improve the management and inspection of bridges and the planning of bridge rehabilitation and maintenance
interventions,

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  Implementation and execution of specialised asset management system software tools including Pavement
Management System (PMS), Bridge Management System (BMS) and other systems of KRAMS.

Functions of Programming and Monitoring Unit

 Evaluate and prioritise projects for inclusion in Annual Works Programme,
 Preparation of Annual Works Program and infrastructure budget,
 Monitor the progress of annual works programme implementation and execution,
 Monitor the procurement of Right-of-Way.

Functions of Road Safety Unit

 Act as a single office for coordinating all road safety functions of PWP & IWTD and improve coordination among
various stakeholders including traffic police, health care agencies, education agencies and the Transport
Department,
 Road accident data collection and data quality assurance,
 Implementation and execution of specialized Traffic Incident Management System software tool,
 Conduct black spot analysis and preparation of an annual black spot rectification programme,
 Carry out Road Safety Audits,
 Compilation and collation of all road traffic accident statistics.

Functions of Information Technology Unit

 Provide technical support for planning, procurement, implementation and integration with IT systems across
PRAMC and PWP & IWTD including the various management system applications,
 IT budgeting and procurement,
 User account and band width management,
 Firewall management and intrusion detection,
 Server monitoring and backup and recovery,
 Desktop policies and security,
 End User Support and training,
 Development and management of Intranet services.

Functions of Training Unit

 Identify training needs across PWP & IWTD,
 Identification of training courses (internal and external),
 Preparation of an annual training calendar,
 Advertise and schedule training courses,
 Record staff completion of courses and training,
 Monitor effectiveness of training courses and employee feedback.

The PRAMC Process Management System (PPMS) is designed as a system of interrelated processes. Quality System
Processes and their sub-processes are clearly documented in the quality manual and in associated operational
procedures and work instructions. QMS documentation also defined criteria and methods needed to ensure that the
operation and control of PPMS processes are effective. This includes assignment of responsibilities and allocation of
resources for each process, instructions on how to perform the process, and definition of methods for monitoring
and/or measuring the effectiveness of the process.

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PRAMC is responsible for planning, programming and monitoring the road maintenance works on the PWD & IWTD
road network. Within the overall road network of the state, the Government of Karnataka (GoK) identified an initial
Core Road Network (CRN) of approximately 25,000 km. This CRN comprises the mix of road links of National
Highways (NH), State Highways (SH), Major District Roads (MDRs), which are considered most important for the
economic and social development of the State. The composition of the CRN is as below:

PRAMC procured the following state-of-the-art and international standard equipment for collection of inventory and
condition data:

 Laser Based Road Condition Data Collection Vehicle (RCDCV)

 Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD)
 Ground Penetration Radars (GPR)
 Bridge Inspection Vehicle (BIV)

Laser Based Road Condition Data Collection Vehicle (RCDCV)

PRAMC procured Road Measurement Data Acquisition System (ROMDAS) for collecting high accuracy and reliable
data road inventory and pavement condition data. ROMDAS is equipment with Distance Measuring Instrument (DMI
for accurate measurement of linear distance), Differential correction enabled GPS receiver for recording Road
Alignment, Dual wheelpath Laser Profilers (for measuring Roughness and Texture), Laser Rut Measurement System
(LRMS for accurate measurement for Rut Depth), High Definition Video Cameras (for recording Right of Way view)

91
and High Resolution Pavement Camera for recording pavement surface view, Rating keyboards for rating surface
defects using semi-automated method.

Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

Vehicle mounted Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) was procured to collect pavement deflection and layers
elasticity moduli. GPR is used to collect continuous pavement composition (layers). Both FWD and GPR installed on
the same vehicle and collected the deflection and pavement layers simultaneously.

Bridge Inspection Vehicle (BIV)

A bucket type Bridge Inspection Vehicle (BIV) mounted on Volvo Vehicle FM 330 6x2 Euro 4 suitable for Indian
conditions with operating range of up to 12.0 m width of Bridge, lowering depth 16.5 0m below Bridge Deck and
working height 15.20 m above in Overhead mode and 3 booms to give boom rotation of 1800 procured for accurate
assessment for the physical and functional condition of Bridges. This BIV has the facility to reach under parts and
sides of the bridges where deterioration remains generally unnoticed. This is used to assess the condition of the
structure in detail and conduct the Non Destructive Testing (NDT) of Bridges at critical components (such as the Sofit
and bearing locations etc) without any effect or with very minimal disruption to traffic movement over the bridge.

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The Karnataka Road Asset Management System (KRAMS) is a comprehensive and integrated software application
comprising of configuring the commercial-of-the-shelf HIMS Asset Management System (COTS HIMS), existing web
based Road Information System (RIS), HDM-4 and Transport Modelling Tool (TMT) designed to assist PRAMC in
providing enhanced and streamlined management of roads under its jurisdiction This tool is assisting PWP & IWTD in
utilising public funds more effectively and efficiently, while maintaining the road network at acceptable levels of
service. The KRAMS supports both manual and automated equipment based data collection, data storage and
processing of data for the network under the jurisdiction of PWP & IWTD.

The following eleven (11) modules are included in KRAMS:

1. Central Data Base (CDB): A central repository system for non-spatial attribute data interfacing with RIS. The
historical information is stored and managed in the CDB.

93
2. Traffic Data Management System (TDMS): TDMS stores, processes, analyses and reports related to traffic
volume, axle load and origin and destination data. The outputs from the TDMS, in terms of traffic and vehicle
related information are finalised considering the requirements of HDM-4 and linked with PMS. TDMS is also
interfaced with TMT.

3. Transport Modelling Tool (TMT): This is a third party application dealing with road network development
master plan and interfaced with COTS HIMS. It takes relevant inputs from CDS, TDMS and TIMS to predict
future changes in the pattern of traffic distribution over the Karnataka State Highway inter-urban road
network resulting from changes in infrastructure and through economic sectoral land use developments etc.
The TMT links with KRAMS specifically in the sense of identifying new or upgraded road links on the basis of
forecast changes/upgrades in transport infrastructure, modes and land use patterns and thereby supply
future year traffic volume information to KRAMS/HDM-4.

4. Pavement Management System (PMS): PMS, a major decision support system intended for management of
periodic and capital road work activities, such as widening, reconstruction and strengthening, using HDM-4
and decision tree based approach. HDM-4 is used for the Core Road Network of state roads, whereas a
decision tree is expected to be used for the rest of the road network. This application will cover preservation
of the existing road network as well as expansion which may cover new links, multi-laning, or capacity
increase. The engineering and economic analytical tools available within HDM-4 is providing deterioration
prediction.

5. Bridge Management System (BMS): The BMS is an integral part of the KRAMS and is used to store inventory
data on minor and major bridges and other structures from information collected through routine and
special inspections. All structures types having a span greater than 6.0m such as major and minor Bridges,
Fly overs, ROB, RUB etc, and other cross drainage structures having spans less than 6.0m, such as box
culverts and others requiring structural assessment are included in the BMS. After a thorough review of the
available bridge maintenance planning methods, Bridge Condition Index (BCI) approach is adopted. The
maintenance intervention is determined on the basis of the BCI.

6. Routine Maintenance Management System (RMMS): The RMMS determines routine maintenance
requirements of the road network, with periodicity including pre and post monsoon activities, for sections
not receiving periodic maintenance or improvements in that year. RMMS deals with assets such as culverts,
traffic signs, km stones, shoulders and vegetation clearance etc.

7. Traffic Incident (Crash) Management System (TIMS): The TIMS records data related to Killed and Serious
Injury (KSI) accidents (crashes) and road safety features (such as objects in the safety clear zone) with exact
location (linear and/or geo-referencing) along with distance etc from carriageway. This System enables to
enter and maintain road accident data, suitable analysis tools and a reporting system for black spot and
network level investigations. KSHIP has developed Road Accident and Analysis System (RAAS). TIMS is
developed to interface with RAAS to exchange information.

8. Environment and Social Information System (ESIS): ESIS provides an assessment of the social and
environmental impact criteria which are critical to the development and management of the road asset.
Levels of importance for each criteria or group of criteria is established and these are assessed in relation to
road network or project development. The ESIS stores the environment and social information data used for
decision-making to plan and implement the improvement, up-gradation and maintenance of roads.

9. Monitoring and Evaluation System (MES): PWP&ITWD operates a Progress Monitoring System (PrMS) which
stores and manages data related to roads and buildings works. The MES has the capability of monitoring
physical and financial progress of civil works, goods and consultancy services in the department. MES is
interfaced with the existing system (PrMS) to avoid duplication. All required data for MES are accessed from
the existing Progress Monitoring System. The MES provides input data to the Pavement Management
System (PMS) in terms of roads under construction / maintenance or construction / maintenance likely to be
initiated. Based on this information, the PMS does not include those sections in the analysis.

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 10. Cross Asset Prioritisation System (CAPS): CAPS combines the maintenance needs determined from PMS for
pavements, BMS for bridges and culverts, RMMS for routine maintenance and TIMS for rectification of black
spots and other accidents to prepare a combined and prioritized AWP. User defined weightage factors,
which can be modified each year by PWP&ITWD, are used to define the priority of maintenance works.

11. Administrative Modules (AM): KPRAMC has a comprehensive and integrated User Administration, Data
Migration & Management, Data Dictionary and CDB Health, CDB Connection Management, Error Handling
and Support Management functionality.

Road Information system (RIS): PWP & ITWD has been using a desktop and a web based RIS for more than a decade.
Desktop version was used for location referencing functions and historical data with internal access to PWP&ITWD.
Web based version is used for the public access with summarised information and GIS functionality. Given its long
history, PWP&ITWD decided to continue to use the web based RIS with some improvements and including location
referencing functions. Now RIS is only available through the web based interface. The architecture of WebRIS is
given below.

Web / Application Server

(Oracle 10g)

Data Layer
Oracle Map
Web Client
Viewer
Layer
(HTML,
JavaScript)
JSP
Central Database
(Oracle 10g Spatial)
Users

KML Factory

Users

After a thorough and careful analysis PRAMC hosted the COTS part of the KRAMS in-house. PRAMC established a
Data center with world class servers and network equipment to support its IT needs. DC has huge storage space to
manage data such as videos, images, large size data files, engineering drawings and GIS maps. It is empowered with
high bandwidth secured internet connections and thereby providing access to all the stake holders.

PWP&ITWD was finalizing the road maintenance works using more traditional and adhoc analysis. KRAMS was
introduced with an objective of adopting more scientific approach towards determining the maintenance and

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improvement requirements of State road network. Considering the success of KRAMS, the Government of Karnataka
issued an order (GO) mandating to prepare the prioritised list of maintenance of roads from KRAMS for next five
years to receive road maintenance funds. PRAMC prepared the AWP for 2017-18 and 2018-19 and committed to
prepare future AWPs using KRAMS. PRAMC is preparing detailed project reports and implementing rectification
measures of identified black spots. PRAMC trained around 500 Engineers of PWP & IWTD in data collection, data
processing in KRAMS and preparation of AWPs.

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 Overview of NHAI Road Asset Management System (RAMS)

National Highways in India have a total length of over 1,00,000 km and serve as the arterial road network of the
country. The development of National Highways is the responsibility of the Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways (MoRTH), and its associated executing organisations; National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), NHIDCL,
State PWDs and Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

In the past, both NHAI and MoRTH have developed Road Management Systems (RMS) to manage their respective
National Highways. In 2005-06, NHAI developed a GIS and web-based system called “Road Information System” (RIS)
for operation and maintenance, strategic planning and decision-making relating to the National Highways entrusted
to it. The RIS contained static and dynamic inventory data on National Highways stretches on Golden Quadrilateral
(GQ), National Highways connecting Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata-Delhi, obtained from primary field surveys
during 2003 (1,159 km), plus static data (from secondary source) on further 4,700 km of NH falling on GQ and 5,000
km of North South (NS) and East West (EW) corridors obtained from Detailed Project Reports. Thus, the RIS was
populated with data from Primary and Secondary sources for an approximate length of 11,000 km. MoRTH
developed National Highways Information System (NHIS) through Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) between
2006 and 2010. NHIS was GIS based and provided options for storing data on road inventory, traffic, pavement
structure and history, pavement condition and other road features. The database was designed to support the use of
HDM-4 as a primary analysis tool to produce a long-term strategic road network plan and rolling multi-year works
programmes. NHIS was developed for National Highways under the jurisdiction of MoRTH. Both RIS and NHIS
couldn’t be implemented due to issues related to institutional aspects.

NHAI, engaged HIMS Limited, New Zealand and SATRA Infrastructure Management Services Ltd, India to develop a
Road Asset Management System (RAMS) for the entire National Highways in India, under a World Bank financed
project (WBTA-12: Loan 7980-IN). NH RAMS was developed and handed over to NHAI in 2017 with the following
modules:
 Location Reference Management System (LRMS): Location Reference Management System (LRMS) was
developed to maintain centralised location referencing for RAMS. The LRMS formed the core of the RAMS, a
system that defined and enforced the proper referencing conventions of the roads and associated assets. RAMS
has facility for linear and geo-referencing (spatial) features. The primary functions of Location Reference
Management (LRM) are:
 to enter, validate and store location referencing data (Road, Link, Node, LRP etc.),
 to manage location referencing data for all modules of RAMS,
 to edit, delete road/links / sections,
 to modify location referencing data and trigger relevant changes in other modules of RAMS,
 to maintain historical changes in the road network.
 Road Information System (RIS): Asset Management System (AMS) or Road Information System (RIS) was
developed to store assets inventory, condition and other relevant information. RIS provides information to other
sub systems (modules) within RAMS. RIS has the following key functions:
 Store and manage inventory and condition data,
 Store and manage spatial data,
 Store and manage pavement strength data;
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  Manage historical data and identify latest data;
 Facilities for adhoc and statistical queries;
 GIS platform to view network and other attribute data;
 Summarised (and current) attribute data to other modules such as PMS, BIS, AIS etc.;
 Thematic maps, tabular reports and charts.
 Pavement Management System (PMS): The major function of the Pavement Management System (Planning and
Budgeting tool) is to determine the maintenance needs of the National Highways, in terms of Preservation (what
is the appropriate periodic maintenance strategy to preserve the road asset), Improvement (what maintenance
treatments are required for pavements whose condition requires a major treatment before periodic
maintenance can be applied) and Capacity Augmentation (what capacity is required for current and future traffic
loading). HDM-4 analysis engine, based on sound engineering and economic priority principles, is adopted for
undertaking both strategic and project level analyses. Given the past experience, two sub systems under
Pavement Management System are included:
 Simple Decision Tree or Multi Criteria Analysis approach for Programme level analysis (Renewals,
Rehabilitation and Widening);
 HDM-4 analysis for Strategy and Project Level Analysis.
 Bridge Information System (BIS): The main purpose of the Bridge Information System (BIS) is to provide
information on inventory and condition of bridges and culverts, to facilitate identification of bridge repairs and
improvements in a systematic way, enabling early identification of deficiencies and applying preventive
maintenance. BIS stores bridge inventory and condition data and source other requisite data from other sub
systems, i.e. road inventory data and traffic data etc. MoRTH developed Indian Bridge Management System
(IBMS) for all Bridges on National Highways. IT is intended to interface BIS with IBMS and source relevant
information.
 Traffic Information System (TIS): The main purpose of the Traffic Information System (TIS) is to store classified
traffic volume count and axle load data along with other necessary information, i.e. vehicle fleet characteristic,
vehicle types, traffic count locations. IHMCL developed Traffic Management System (TMS), which stores and
manages traffic volume data for all predefined volume count locations. These are primarily established close to
the Toll Plazas where toll is collected from road users. It is intended that TIS is interfaced with IHMCL-TMS.
 Accident Information System (AIS): The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in road safety analysis has
increased rapidly in recent years. A major reason for this growing interest is the fact that spatial factors such as
land use, population density, population distribution, socio-economic factors as well as environmental factors
have strong influences on accident occurrence in addition to the commonly known geometric design elements of
roadways and road users’ behaviour. The key purpose of this sub system will be to manage, analyse and report
on accident data for purposes of identifying black spots.
 Environmental Information System (EIS): The main purpose of the Environmental Information System (EIS) is to
store environment, social and land use along with other necessary information. EIS has the following key
functionality:
 Store environment related information (linear and spatial location details),
 Identify road sections with environmental and social constraints,
 Display bottlenecks and constraints on the embedded GIS map.
 Geographical Information System (GIS): This module provides GIS platform for viewing, managing and sourcing
information to help make decisions on the road maintenance planning.

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 System Administration Module (SAM): This will include User Administration module, Batch Process Management
tools, Database Connectivity tools etc. This determines the user’s access level and road network area using their
Login credentials. System backup and routine maintenance facilities are included in this subsystem.

NHAI adopted a bespoke development approach for design and development of RAMS. The technical architecture of
the RAMS is given below.

The physical architecture is given below:

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 Disaster Recovery

Internet
Remote office users Secondary ISP App / Web GIS Server Database Server
Server

Computer Computer
Primary ISP

Primary Secondary

User
User

Roaming Users Honeypot Probe

Secondary
Primary Firewall
Firewall
Web Server
On DMZ

Secondary
Primary
Optional
Connectivity

HO Users

App
Server
Domain Controller, LDAP Server

HO LAN
VM
Controller
GIS Server
Backup
Database Server
Database Server

The following software was selected for development of RAMS after thorough and detailed discussions on Open
Source Software (OSS) and Closed Source Software (CSS) between MoRTH, NHAI and NIC.

Component Software / Technology

Application development / framework Microsoft .Net, ASP.Net and C#.net
Backend Database Microsoft SQL Server 2014
GIS Engine Arc GIS 10.3 Server
Scripting Language Java Scripts

RAMS was hosted with NIC on its Cloud Server initially. It was moved to ERP Consultant Server who will maintain and
provide support for 7 years.

The cost of data collection tends to be the largest component of managing and running RAMS. Further, the direct
benefit of frequent (or regular) collection of information shall be justified for continual allocation of funds for
collection of information. Hence, the data requirements including method and frequency of collection were chosen
after thorough review of all plausible options to provide the anticipated sustainability to the RAMS. The collection of
data items suggested for the purpose of development and subsequent update of the RAMS is given below. All data
items are recommended to be collected in the base year.

Data Item Selection Method

Annually
Surface distresses # Mandatory Windshield / Video logging
Roughness and Rut depth Mandatory Automated
Shoulder and Drain condition Mandatory Windshield
Traffic volume and Axle loads Mandatory Manual / ATCC / Transcription
Accidents Mandatory Transcription
Other condition Optional Windshield / Video logging
Structures condition Mandatory Visual

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 Data Item Selection Method
ROW video Mandatory Automated
Every 5 Years
Network * Mandatory Automated
Road Inventory * Mandatory Windshield/Video
logging/Transcription
Pavement deflection, Composition and History Mandatory Automated / Transcription
Structures inventory Mandatory Visual
# Recommended to review the method at a later date to explore the possibility of using automated equipment measurements.
th
* Validation survey suggested every 5 year subject to availability of funds and considering the reliability of the data obtained
from other sources.

It is ideal to have the unified and consistent data readily available over the entire National Highway network in India.
However, the cost of data collection for over 1,00,000 km is expensive and resource intensive. However, it must be
considered that several streches of the National Highways are developed and managed using private funds
(Concessionaries or Operators) where the respective asset owner, NHAI or MORTH has limited role in road
maintenance planning, except enforcing the provisions stipulated in the Concession Agreement. NHAI or MORTH is
not directly responsible for upkeep of the road sections, however responsible for enforcing and monitoring the
Concessionaries or Contractors obligations. Therefore, data over these road sections need not necessarily be of
equal frequency and comparable precision as that of the remaining roads, which uses public funds. The appropriate
data requirements and strategy for their collection specific to each type of network (public funded and private
funded) were created specifically. The effectiveness and sustainability of RAMS was given due importance while
developing the data collection strategy. Given that most of the required data not available with MORTH, it is
recommended to collect all data mentioned above for public funded roads. Although there are some issues in
reconciliation associated with the data proposed to be obtained from the BOT Concessionaries and OMT Operators,
but given the limited role played by NHAI/MoRTH in decision making or managing these privately funded roads,
annual data collection is not recommended. It is suggested to develop some specific and simplified data formats to
obtain requisite data for implementation of RAMS to privately funded roads.

The following method or equipment used to collect data over 3,000 km to develop RAMS.

Date Item Equipment / Module / Source

Method
Location Reference ROMDAS NSV HRDMI, Keyboards and Trimble SPS 461 or
equivalent
Road Inventory ROMDAS NSV Keyboard
Visual condition ROMDAS NSV Keyboard
Roughness ROMDAS NSV Dual wheel path Laser profilometer
Rut depth ROMDAS / NSV Multi point Lasers Profilometer
Bridge Inventory Visual Aided by tape measure and still camera
Bridge Condition Visual Aided by tape measure and still camera
Culvert Inventory Visual Aided by tape measure and still camera
Culvert Condition Visual Aided by tape measure and still camera
Pavement Deflection (Strength) FWD Trailer mounted single mass
Pavement History Transcription NHAI, MORTH, PIUs, CMUs etc
Axle Load Static Axle load Portable pads

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 Date Item Equipment / Module / Source
Method
pads
ROW (Front view) Video ROMDAS NSV HD Video
Traffic Volume Counts Manual Obtain from IHMCL
Road Accident Transcription Obtain from Secondary Sources
The location of the inventory features can be obtained through the chainage measurement (from DMI) and GPS
coordinates (from DGPS).

It was proposed to establish a dedicated RAMS Cell in NHAI or MORTH to take over the further implementation and
continual operation of the RAMS. It is preferred that RAMS Cell be established on full-time basis and as an
independent unit. RAMS Cell will bring all initiatives related to data collection, data management, and information
sharing on National Highways under one umbrella including annual data collection by NH Divisions of State PWDs,
Concessionaries, Contractors and Consultants. The main objective of the RAMS Cell is to operate, maintain, update
and upgrade RAMS system developed for all National Highways in India, with the following key functions:

 To plan, monitor and manage annual data collection of National Highways,

 To process, manage and perform quality assurance of the data collected,
 To load processed data into RAMS,
 To operate RAMS on daily basis,
 To provide or answer daily or ad hoc enquiries,
 To identify potential improvement and up-gradation of projects on PPP/EPC basis or otherwise,
 To prepare annual maintenance needs and related budget for public funded roads,
 To monitor Concessionaire obligations in terms of key performance indicators for privately funded roads,
 To impart training and technology transfer on operation of RAMS,
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 To provide helpdesk support to RAMS users,
 To manage and monitor external consultants working on RAMS.

The following organisation structure is finalised in consultation with stakeholders.

RAMS CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Head - Data Head - Highway Head -

Head - IT and
Collection and Planning BOT/OMT
Helpdesk
Management Obligations

Pavement /
Planning
Highway BOT Engineer IT Engineer
Engineer
Engineer

Training
Traffic Engineer HDM-4 Engineer OMT Engneer
Engineer

Transport
Bridge Engineer
Economist

Data
Management
Engineer

GIS

Both options, deputing internal resources or outsourcing model were discussed with senior management of NHAI
and MORTH. It is felt that NHAI or MORTH may not be able to depute such high rank staff on full time basis.
Therefore, it was decided to adopt outsource model initially for a few years (say 3 to 5 years) and managed by NHAI.
The data will be collected through outsourcing model by engaging experienced Consultant.

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