BACKGROUND

Ongoing investments in maintenance are key to preserving the highway system and keeping the traveling public moving in a safe and reliable manner. However, it has been difficult for state departments of transportation (DOTs) to obtain adequate and consistent levels of funding to support maintenance needs. In 2014, NCHRP Domestic Scan Report 14-01: Leading Management Practices in Determining Funding Levels for Maintenance and Preservation investigated funding allocation practices within transportation agencies that have successfully ensured reliably adequate funding to support the delivery of efficient and effective maintenance programs. The scan identified three state DOTs using maintenance performance data to support the statewide allocation of funding for maintenance activities. Several additional state DOTs use maintenance performance data to allocate the funds provided for maintenance, but the degree to which performance data are used varies considerably.

NCHRP Domestic Scan Report 14-01 is available by clicking here (3.6 Mb PDF file).  A peer exchange was subsequently held to encourage the dissemination and application of the scan team’s findings. A summary of survey data shared during the peer exchange is available for download by clicking here (300 Kb PDF file); the full report of the peer exchange is available by clicking here (1 Mb PDF file).

Although many maintenance practitioners collect maintenance performance data as part of a maintenance quality assurance (MQA) program, the results are largely underutilized because agencies had little confidence in the data, an inadequate amount of data is being collected to make meaningful decisions, and/or early champions in an MQA program have retired and new employees do not understand its purpose. 

Because of the importance of life cycle planning for maintenance, and with planned investment strategies included in a DOT transportation asset management plan (TAMP) that specify planned expenditures in maintenance and preservation activities, guidance on how performance management approaches can be best applied to maintenance activities is needed. Research is needed to advance the use of performance-based decisions, as promoted by the AASHTO Performance Management Committee, and to advance the objectives of the AASHTO Maintenance Committee.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research was to develop a user-friendly guidebook for maintenance practitioners on the use of performance-based management (PBM) strategies in maintenance. The guidebook will include tools to help agencies address issues that hinder their use of MQA programs, implementation, and how successful adopters overcame those issues, and training materials suitable for online delivery.

The guidebook addresses:

• Strategies for estimating and optimizing the benefits of PBM for maintenance and asset management, and building buy-in among practitioners;
• Data management and approaches;
• Business processes and procedures that support PBM; and
• Organizational structures and practices that support successful performance-based programs.

STATUS: Research is complete. The Final Report is under review.