Guidebook on Using Performance-Based Management Approaches for Maintenance

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. 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 American Association of State Highway and Administration (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.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4947

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $500,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 08-136

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  McKenney, Christopher

• Performing Organizations:

  Applied Pavement Technology, Inc.

  115 West Main Street, Suite 400
  Urbana, Illinois  United States  61801
• Principal Investigators:

  Allen, Brad

• Start Date: 20221117
• Expected Completion Date: 20250630
• Actual Completion Date: 20240630

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Best practices; Financing; Handbooks; Highway maintenance; Investments; Life cycle analysis; Maintenance management; Performance based specifications; Performance measurement; State departments of transportation
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Finance; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01745336
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 08-136
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Jul 15 2020 1:23PM