The online tool, One Network Road Classification Performance Measures Reporting Tool (ONRC PMRT), is built for the Road Efficiency Group (REG) and a result of a collaboration between several new Zealand’s institutions: New Zealand’s Local Government, the Transport Agency, 69 road controlling authorities, the Department of Conservation, cities and district councils around New Zealand.
The NZ Local Government Magazine article says that the national roading database, believed to be the first globally, aims to standardize the roading network’s performance in the country and allow road controlling authorities to monitor and measure roads with the same tools and standards.
The roading database has received praise from roading experts and local and district authorities around New Zealand.
Dr. Theuns Henning, an expert in infrastructure asset management, says that “New Zealand is in a much better position and has a much clearer appreciation of where we stand with regards to their network performance from a national perspective. Now, people can see how they perform and how their costs are doing compared to their peers, which is a significant step forward and from the central funding perspective. So, it’s much clearer and more transparent.”
New Zealand Transport Authority’s (NZTA) Jim Harland appreciates its consistency. He says that they have used the online tool for the past 3-4 years, which has yielded consistent data.
Dawn Inglis from New Zealand’s Waipa Local district council says that through a national roading database, road controlling authorities can compare their roading networks with their peers, region, and the nation, which would give them a better understanding of safety outcomes in their networks. She adds that using the tool allows them to see the “data broken down to that level of granularity” and an “aha” moment for her and many people from the sector.
Transport asset manager Alison Tomlinson from the Queenstown Lakes District says that the roading database has given asset managers a “tangible tool enabling them to challenge and ask questions about their networks. It’s about understanding how we as a council look compared to our peers.”
The Chair of REG Jim Harland endorses the database’s usefulness to measure the networks’ performance against the money and skills invested in it.
Malcolm Alexander, former Local Government New Zealand chief executive and REG board member, says that the online tool results from the transport sector’s desire to advance its road networks’ operation and maintenance.
The database allows transport agencies and local government units to “understand the nature of seal on their roads, the quality of materials used, where there was a bumpy ride, and other metrics.”
One of the advantages of New Zealand’s relatively small size is that collaboration and innovation can happen fairly quickly.
The One Network Road Classification Performance Measures Reporting Tool is an excellent example of this and provides a good case study for other countries looking to achieve similar results.
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