Maintenance Management and Strategy
The availability of a suitable and efficient transport infrastructure is a fundamental prerequisite for the mobility of society and the successful development of the economy. Politicians at the federal, state and local levels have recognized that the focus must be on maintenance rather than new construction, as the ageing substance of road structures, bridges and cycle paths must be urgently renewed or protected from further decay. In addition, the infrastructure must be selectively upgraded and expanded in order to handle the increase in (heavy) traffic, to shorten the time needed to travel and to increase traffic safety.
To be able to meet these numerous requirements specifically, suitable strategies are required that take account of the technical, financial and organisational aspects. These include, for example, strategies for the resource allocation between maintenance and renewal or proposals for solutions to deal with the overdue need for maintenance of local roads.
Decisions on a solid basis
For more than 25 years, HELLER has successfully supported the road administrations in the development of goal-oriented and sustainable maintenance strategies. The team of experienced civil engineers has extensive expertise and practical experience in technical and financial fields and sees itself as a supporting partner of the road administration. HELLER uses tried and tested methods to identify overdue needs for maintenance, to determine financial requirements, to develop suitable technical maintenance strategies or to allocate resources and prioritize maintenance measures. Many of the innovative solutions were developed by HELLER specifically for road administrations and are now regarded as standard.
Services at a glance
- Determination of the short, medium and long-term need for maintenance
- Determination and forecast of the necessary investment requirements
- Use of the pavement management system (PMS)
- Development of strategies for resource allocation
- Development of technical and financial maintenance strategies
- Determination and prioritization of the necessary maintenance measures
- Key figures for management and controlling
- Mediation between construction administration, finance department and politics
- Further education and training
Need for Maintenance
Many road authorities use a method developed by HELLER to determine the need for maintenance in the course of maintenance planning. The procedure, which can be adapted to the respective local requirements, isolates all sections in need for maintenance from the data of the condition survey and assessment (ZEB) and combines them into so-called maintenance sections. If desired, the engineers at HELLER classify the maintenance sections according to their condition and assign maintenance proposals. These are presented as lists or visualized on maps for further planning and specification of the construction program. The sections can be prioritized on the basis of predefined parameters, such as condition and traffic load. Due to its simplicity and transparency, the process is very popular among the engineers responsible and also among decision-makers in politics.
Pavement Management System (PMS)
Pavement management systems are software tools with which the condition development and the implementation of the necessary maintenance measures can be simulated on the basis of models. The tools are primarily used to answer strategic questions, e.g. to determine resource requirements or to develop and review maintenance strategies.
The company's own system PMS Core was specifically developed for the German market. It takes into account the current standards of the federal government and states and makes it possible to determine the resources required for a targeted quality of service (quality scenario). Moreover, it enables to forecast the development of the condition depending on the budgets used (budget scenario). The optimization algorithms are accepted by experts, based on established heuristic methods and deliver reliable results. These can be presented in the form of maps, lists and statistics and be displayed in the OnKo3 online information system for further planning.
Financial Requirements
HELLER's procedures enable the necessary financial requirements to be determined efficiently and presented transparently to economists and politicians. In many cases, the budget for road maintenance was successfully increased. The experts at HELLER use the existing inventory and condition data, determine the overdue needs for maintenance and forecast the necessary financial requirements for the systematic maintenance of the road network. In addition, HELLER determines the consequences of omitted maintenance and presents them to the political level of decision-making.
Resource Allocation
The allocation of resources to different investment areas is an integral part of budget planning. As a historically evolved process, it represents a compromise between the identified needs and the resources available. Budgets and distribution keys are traditionally based on subjective criteria. HELLER supports the road authorities in representing their interests and introducing objective and transparent procedures. HELLER uses the established methods of Asset Management and determines reliable key figures for the resource allocation.
Benefit from the experience of the market leader in the field of maintenance management:
- Transparent bases of decision-making for strategic and operational planning
- Tools for the efficient use of condition data in operational planning
- Results convince engineers, politicians and the public
We will be happy to introduce you to the individual modules of systematic maintenance management in more detail. Please do not hesitate and arrange a non-binding appointment with us on site. If you prefer, you are also welcome to visit us in Darmstadt for one of our annual exchanges of experience. Just give us a call or send us a short e-mail and we will add you to our mailing list.
HELLER: Surely a good decision!