Challenges and opportunities in Australian highways

25/01/2019 |

Townsville City Council in Australia has procured Yotta's Horizons platform for its pavement asset management needs. Avesh Maharaj (pictured), business development manager at Yotta, explains the challenges and opportunities in the Australian infrastructure asset management market.

As a connected asset management software and services provider, Yotta’s stock-in-trade is helping organisations, agencies and companies with asset-rich environments to manage and make more informed decisions about their infrastructure assets. That’s been our focus in the UK for many years.

The challenges and complexities of highways infrastructure asset management are much discussed at a local government and broader industry level across the country. But these kinds of issues are not unique to the UK. Industry bodies worldwide have similar challenges to face – but the geographical, regulatory and economic environments in which they are working can be very different.

The Australian infrastructure asset management environment is a case in point. The broad asset management approach in Australia is theoretically based on that in the UK. Like the UK authorities, the Australian authorities look to follow ISO 55000, an international standard, introduced in 2014, covering the management of assets of any kind. Before that, the Australian authorities typically followed the UK’s PAS 55 standard, which was published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) in 2004 for physical assets, and later evolved into ISO 55000. It is important to note too that the ISO and PAS standards are across all asset classes including water, facilities and open spaces.

Australia also has also two important industry bodies in this space: Austroads, the peak organisation of Australasian road and transport agencies and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA).

The way ownership and funding of roads is organised in Australia is, however, quite distinct from the UK. Some roads are funded by local authorities. Some are funded by the state, which is also funded by the federal government. These are typically maintained either by the state, local government, or by a contractor. Other roads are owned by local government. These are funded by the state, rate payers and federal government, and maintained by the local authority or by the relevant contractor.

Funding is also typically tight. When authorities with responsibility for road maintenance discuss the challenges they face, it is generally the biggest talking point. For solution providers pitching into the marketplace therefore, the focus is typically on asset optimisation - being able to do more with less.

While serious concerns about the scarcity of funding will be only too familiar to highways and infrastructure asset management departments within UK councils and local authorities, the way that the approach is rolled out is quite different in the two countries.

Take the way that road information is measured and mapped, for example. While the UK has a data collection standard, Australia does not. Authorities typically either collect data from complex machine-based surveys or drive down the road and give it a rating score from one to 10.

Factors such as safety and traffic volumes are typically key considerations for the authorities when planning their overall strategies. Weather is also a critically important factor when it comes to road design and maintenance.

The country experiences a vast range of different climatic and weather conditions: from snow and ice to arid and tropical. Those that are relevant will of course need to be factored in when roads are designed, particularly with regards to the types of materials used in the road building and maintenance process.

Looking to the Future

Moving forwards, connected asset management is likely to become increasingly important to the authorities responsible for road ownership across Australia. Today, connected assets still only make up a small proportion of most councils’ overall asset portfolios.

Therefore, while the potential offered by connected asset management is likely to be huge over the years to come, linking field staff to office staff may well be the most important application for this kind of solution today. We also see potential for connected asset management technology to help in ensuring compliance obligations are met by making certain that complete records are kept of all inspections and defects.

In more general terms, while some councils remain risk averse and hesitant to adopt new technology, we see huge potential for the latest asset management approaches across Australia to help teams responsible for roads management to visualise, manage and optimise all their asset management strategies and records in a more efficient and effective manner.

And moving beyond that, we see great opportunities for them to start building connected infrastructure, which allows them to maximise the value of their assets, bring data, systems and people together and drive operational efficiencies.

Highways InProfile

latest magazine issue
Highways jobs

Project Lead - Bridges and Structures WMF3037e

£45,718 to £46,731
We are currently seeking to recruit a Project Lead to join our Bridges and Structures team Kendal, Cumbria
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Traffic Management Technician - WMF3040e

£27,711 - £28,624
Are you an organised and motivated individual who wants to make a difference to how our roads are managed? Cumbria / Various
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Traffic Management Officer - WMF2114e

£37,035 - £37,938
Are you an experienced and motivated professional looking to take the next step in your traffic management career? Cumbria / Various
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Senior Transport Planner

£47,532 - £50,574
Royal Greenwich is a borough synonymous with first class modern services Greenwich, London (Greater)
Recruiter: Royal Borough of Greenwich

Technician - Highway Inspector

Grade 8 £28,797 - £30,708 per annum (Pay Award Pending)
Within the Highways Maintenance Team we are looking for an enthusiastic, customer focused and experienced person to join the Service Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Project Delivery Senior Team Leader

£74,480 - £85,964
Are you an experienced Chartered Civil Engineer (or equivalent professional qualification) Glasgow City
Recruiter: Transport Scotland

Assistant Traffic Management Technician - WMF2104e

£25,584 - £25,992
Westmorland and Furness Council is seeking an organised and enthusiastic individual to join our South Lakeland team Kendal, Cumbria
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Bulky Operative

£25,584.00 - £27,269.00, Grade 5, 37 hours, Permanent.
An opportunity exists in the Council’s Street Scene Services for a Bulky Operative Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recruiter: Wakefield Council

Project Delivery Team Leader

£57,710 - £71,842
Are you an experienced Chartered Civil Engineer (or equivalent professional qualification). Glasgow City
Recruiter: Transport Scotland

Traffic Management Officer - WMF2102e

£37,035 - £37,938
This is a key role supporting the delivery a wide range of traffic and road safety schemes. Kendal, Cumbria
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Shared Service Manager (Waste) North Herts Council

£52000 - £61000 per annum
Shared Service Manager (Waste) North Herts CouncilNorth Herts CouncilPermanent, Full Time£52,866 - £61,866 per annum, plus car allowance (pay award pe England, Hertfordshire, Letchworth Garden City
Recruiter: Essex County Council

Street Scene Protection Officer - Braintree District Council

£30000 - £34000 per annum
Street Scene Protection Officer - Braintree District CouncilBraintree District CouncilPermanent, Full Time£30,313 to £34,612 per annumLocation
Recruiter: Essex County Council

Traffic Management Officer - WMF2102e

£37,035 - £37,938
This is a key role supporting the delivery a wide range of traffic and road safety schemes. Kendal, Cumbria
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Assistant Traffic Management Technician - WMF2104e

£25,584 - £25,992
This is a key support role, helping to deliver a wide range of traffic and road safety schemes across South Lakeland. Kendal, Cumbria
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

Flood Risk Engineering and Strategy Officer

£49,764 - £55,623
In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce Coventry, West Midlands
Recruiter: Coventry City Council

Senior Integrated Transport Officer

£34,324 - £37,529
Are you an experienced transport planning professional ready to influence strategic policy and drive real change Matlock, Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Roadworker Trainee LGV Driver (3 Posts)

Grade 6 £25,183 - £25,638 per annum (Pay award pending)
We’re looking for Roadworker/trainee LGV drivers to be part of our team undertaking major highway, bridge and related construction and reconstruction Derbyshire
Recruiter: Derbyshire County Council

Engineer

£44,430 - £51,663
This post is within the Highways Design and Delivery Team. London (Greater)
Recruiter: Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Civil Enforcement Officer - WMF3013e

£27,711 -£28,624
Are you seeking an active and challenging role, part of a friendly and welcoming team? Cumbria / Various
Recruiter: Westmorland and Furness Council

UGO Bus Driver

Up to £25081.00 per annum
UGO Bus DriverPermanent, Part TimeUp to £25,081 per annum (full time equivalent)Location
Recruiter: Essex County Council
SUBSCRIBE NOW

Latest Video

Subscribe to Highways today to ensure you keep your finger on the pulse of everything happening in the UK road network throughout the year.

SUBSCRIBE NOW