The road maintenance sector is to benefit from two new asset management tool that will provide assistance for strategic planning and practical delivery.
The new Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme (HMEP) toolkit will provide online training for local highway authority staff to learn the necessary long-term planning skills required to deliver better roads and services more efficiently. It has been designed to help enable an asset management culture across the whole highway authority. As such, it provides an important strategic tool.
This is in contrast to the asset management tool currently being developed by the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) together with TRL, ADEPT, TAG and HTMA, which is aimed at providing a ‘free at the point of use’ tool to allow highway authorities make the right decision at ‘pavement level’. This includes choosing the right maintenance treatment and most viable road surface treatment for each particular site. The new tool will be launched at the RSTA Conference on 7th April 2016 at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, and will thereafter be rolled out to local authorities across the UK.
RSTA has welcomed the launch of the new HMEP online asset management toolkit believing that this strategic toolkit will complement its own ‘pavement’ level asset management tool. Howard Robinson, RSTA Chief Executive said: “The road network of a local authority is its greatest asset. Therefore, proper asset management of that road network is essential. The availability of a strategic tool and a pavement level tool will empower local highway authorities to both plan and deliver effective and efficient asset management programmes.”