 The cost of preserving its roadway network will emerge as one of the largest items in the budget of any local government. Planning the budget for highways and streets, selecting projects and evaluating benefits of alternative projects are very demanding tasks faced by local government staffs. Pavement management methods have been developed to assist highway administrators and engineers in preserving roads, aiding in those essential activities required in the process. Systems have been implemented by most state highway agencies and are beginning to be utilized by cities, counties and townships. This video was produced at Arizona State University under sponsorship of the Federal Highway Administration. Through the Rural Technical Assistance Program, local government officials are introduced to concepts, benefits and costs of pavement management systems. In the United States, we are very fortunate to have the quality of life that access and easy travel allows. The kind of service provided by these roads is determined to a large extent by the quality of the pavement surface. Unfortunately, from the moment the pavement is constructed, combined effects of traffic and environment work to destroy the pavement surface. Without routine maintenance and timely rehabilitation, cracks, ruts and potholes develop, thus reducing the riding surface's quality. Initial distresses accelerate damage to pavements, leading to higher maintenance costs and eventually the need for expensive reconstruction of the pavement structure. Pavement engineers must make three basic decisions about pavement repair or maintenance. One, where the pavements are that require attention. Two, when repairs are required. And three, what is the appropriate repair method or repair strategy? The engineer cannot arrive at these decisions by himself. He must have guidance from administrators and elected officials on the level of the budget available and the level of pavement quality expected by the community. Naturally, administrators and officials need data from the engineers on cost of pavement maintenance and repair and information concerning the current condition of pavements. The Federal Highway Administration defines a pavement management system as a set of tools or methods that assist decision makers in finding cost-effective strategies for providing, evaluating and maintaining pavement in a serviceable condition. The components of a pavement management system are one, highway inventory. Two, pavement condition survey. Three, analysis of repair needs. Four, ranking of needs. And five, strategy and cost analysis. All pavement management systems require an inventory of the pavement network to define the construction history of the pavements, drainage structures and other roadway features. A number of pavement management systems are linked with other systems for managing other areas such as street signs, water and sewer systems and real estate assessment. All pavement management systems include an assessment of pavement conditions. This data is analyzed to determine which sections require maintenance and or repair. Following that, the pavement management system needs some method for ranking the relative maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction needs. The last component of the pavement management system is strategy selection and cost analysis models. The goal of all pavement management systems is to obtain the greatest return on money invested in pavements. Cost models allow the engineer to evaluate budget requirements for constructing and maintaining pavements at a desired level of quality. A key advantage of a pavement management system, or PMS, is the ability to coordinate all of the highway agency functions for providing and maintaining pavements. The system recommends those roads that need maintenance, when the maintenance should be performed and what is the most cost effective treatment. Highway agencies that have implemented pavement management systems reported many benefits. Following are the seven most commonly identified benefits of pavement management systems. First, PMS provides an objective survey of the condition of a pavement network. This usually includes both physical condition and ride quality. Second, PMS provides an objective means of selecting pavement maintenance and repair projects. Rarely does a highway agency have enough funds to maintain all pavements at a high quality level. Therefore, trade-offs are required for selecting maintenance and repair projects. Third, through a pavement management system, candidate pavement repair options are objectively evaluated. Fourth, cost effectiveness is achieved by improving the project selection process, selecting projects for repair at the optimum time, and selecting the most cost effective strategy for each pavement. Fifth, pavement performance information is used to predict the future condition of a pavement network. This allows the highway engineer to accurately prepare multi-year work plans and budgets. When coupled with information on which projects can be handled with various budget proposals, a what-if analysis can be performed to determine the impact of alternative funding levels. A work plan would list projects to be done, repair strategy, and accompanying costs for each year in the next three, five, four more years. Sixth, budgets are prepared for pavement repairs and construction from the PMS. This provides administrators with timely information on budget requirements, allowing the administrators to anticipate needs of the highway agency. Furthermore, these budgets are based on the needs of the agency, rather than on a fixed formula for distributing funds. The seventh advantage, improved communications between divisions of public works agencies. For example, planned pavement reconstruction can be coordinated with utility construction or repair projects to avoid problems such as utility cuts of new pavements. Additionally, there are a variety of reports and analysis that can be created from pavement management system information. Frequently, these reports are generated in response to citizen requests for information about specific roads. They also can provide specialized information to managers. The primary benefit a local agency will receive from a pavement management system is a more cost-effective use of funds required for building and maintaining pavements. Budgets should be based on an objective analysis of the pavement condition, the need and timing for maintenance, and cost of performing the maintenance. The pavement management system will allow local administrators or executives to make decisions on the desired conditions of the pavement in the network and the needed level of funding. The engineering staff then can select those projects and repair methods meeting criteria established by the local government. Project selection is an important task in any highway agency. In some cases, projects are selected by subjective reasoning rather than through the use of objective engineering analysis. While a pavement management system will not and should not totally subvert administrative decisions, it will provide objective information on the pavements that need restoration. Community concerns also impact project selection. Complaints about potholes and rough pavements are politically sensitive. However, with a pavement management system, the engineering staff can respond to complaints with specific information on the overall condition of a road, the condition of that road relative to other roads in the area, and can report on the scheduling of repair or maintenance of the road. A local highway agency interested in implementing a pavement management system has three basic options. An existing pavement management system can be purchased, usually for a nominal fee. Depending on the size and sophistication of the highway agency, a system can be developed in-house. Alternatively, a consultant may be hired to implement a pavement management system. There are advantages and disadvantages to all three approaches. Adopting an existing pavement management system can be the most economical way to get started. Although some pavement management systems lack flexibility, many of the systems are written in commercial off-the-shelf software languages, such as basic, debase, or other database management systems, which can be modified. The Federal Highway Administration maintains a list of public domain and proprietary systems that can be used by local government agencies. Many successful pavement management systems have been developed in-house by user agencies. There are two primary advantages of this approach. First is the ability to develop the system to exactly match requirements of the highway agency. Second, an internal development of the system guarantees that personnel in the agency have detailed knowledge of how the system operates. This can foster a positive attitude toward continued use of the pavement management system. Pavement management system services are available through engineering consulting firms. The primary advantages of hiring a consultant is the experience and expertise the consultant brings to establishing a pavement management system. A potential drawback of hiring a consultant is the lack of continuity of the program over a period of time. Unless the consultant contract has adequate provisions for training the local staff, the agency may be faced with either a system that becomes outdated over time, or a system that requires the hiring of the consultant on a continuous or annual basis. Regardless of the options selected for starting a pavement management system, successful implementation of a system requires an individual or staff that is knowledgeable in the principles of pavement engineering and management systems. Several sources of information are available for staff training, such as the Road Surface Management for Local Governments training course developed by a consultant for the National Highway Institute of the Federal Highway Administration. Information on this course is available from your local Technology Transfer Center or the Federal Highway Administration Division office in your state. A first step to take when developing or implementing a PMS is to form a committee. This committee will oversee the development of the pavement management system. The committee should include representatives of each division of the local highway agency, such as planning, design, maintenance and operations. Eventually, the pavement management system will be widely used throughout the highway agency. Having a wide cross-section of personnel overseeing development of the system will ease implementation of the system. Staff training is extremely important for successful development of a pavement management system. An individual member of the agency's staff should be assigned responsibility for the pavement management system. If possible, this person should be relieved of other duties in proportion to the amount of time spent on developing the system. Regardless of whether the agency decides to develop the system in-house, adopt an existing system, or hire a consultant, there should be an in-house pavement management expert for ensuring the system meets the needs of the agency. The budget for the pavement management system should include periodic training of pavement condition survey crews. Typically, the pavement condition survey will be performed during only one part of the year. The crew may need refresher training to ensure consistent data collection procedures. Once the initial system is developed, data must be collected, input into the computer and analyzed. This will include inventory of the network and the pavement condition survey. Frequently, the initial pavement management system is developed and tested on a limited part of the roadway network. Once the system has proven itself on the partial network, it can be expanded to cover all the roads in the network. As with any worthwhile project, costs will be associated with the development and use of the pavement management system. These costs will vary depending on the complexity of the system and the extent of the network, so it is very difficult to give an accurate cost estimate without studying the specific highway network. A study at the University of California found system development costs between $100 to $300 per lane mile, while maintaining and using the system costs approximately $25 to $50 per lane mile. Most pavement management systems for local agencies can operate efficiently on a computer system costing $6,000 or less, and the computer usually may be used for other purposes. Annual collection and analysis of the pavement condition data are the major operational costs of the pavement management system. The data collection costs depend on the mileage of the highway network and the speed of the condition survey. Pavement management systems are designed to receive the best value for the money invested in pavements. This requires coordinating all activities needed for providing pavements. A large amount of information and short courses are available to guide the development of a pavement management system. The search for this information might well start with your local technology transfer center. It is important to remember that pavements are a major investment at all levels of government. Government officials have a responsibility to ensure that the public is getting the best return on dollars spent. Management methods are readily available for improving pavement investments, and the time to start using these methods is now. This presentation has been prepared by Arizona State University for the Rural Technical Assistance Program of the Federal Highway Administration.