Position Paper 2.21: P4 Managing Road Assets in Times of Multiple Extreme Flooding Events Project 2.21: New project management models for productivity improvement in infrastructure Project Partners Synopsis Position Paper 4 provides the background for NSW Roads & Maritime Services and Queensland Transport & Main Roads escalating maintenance costs related to the effects of flooding from multiple extreme weather events. This escalation puts into question traditional asset management rational choice methodology. The international benchmark of predictive maintenance to conserve road assets becomes impossible to operationalise under the continuing bombardment of extreme weather on the same assets year after year. The Position Paper outlines the ravages of flooding (2009- 2013) from Declared Natural Disasters (DND) events in both New South Wales and Queensland. From the statistics available it is easy to understand the extent of the problem. Location-based thinking (LBT) is offered as a solution to the reactive maintenance cost escalation problem. LBT is a fundamental proximity framework that shifts the focus onto service provision as an asset management solution. Acknowledgement This position paper has been developed with funding and support provided by Australia’s Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) and its Project Team partners. Core Members of SBEnrc in 2014 included Government of Western Australia, NSW Roads & Maritime Project leader Services, Queensland Transport & Main Roads, John Professor Russell Kenley Holland, Swinburne University of Technology, Curtin (Swinburne University of Technology) University and Griffith University. Research team members Citation Professor Geoff West (Curtin University) Kenley, R & Harfield, T (2014) “Managing road assets in Dr Toby Harfield times of multiple extreme flooding events”. Position Paper 4, (Swinburne University of Technology) Project 2.21 New project management models for Juliana Beddgood productivity improvement in infrastructure. Sustainable Built (Swinburne University of Technology) Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc), Perth. Raphael Dua (Balmoralhill Pty Ltd) www.sbenrc.com.au Copyright ã 2014 SBEnrc Industry team members Typeset in Arial by Russell Kenley using Corel VENTURA Publisher V10. David Bobbermen (Queensland Transport & Main Roads) Chris Harrison (NSW Roads & Maritime Services) David Grenfell (John Holland Group) ii New project management models for productivity improvement in infrastructure | PEOPLE, PROCESSES & PROCUREMENT MANAGING ROAD ASSETS IN TIMES OF MULTIPLE EXTREME FLOODING EVENTS raditional Portfolio Asset Management programs can no longer cope with multiple extreme flooding Tevents. The Commonwealth and state governments’ National Disaster Repair and Relief Arrangement has supported state transport authorities to return road networks “to normal” after flood damage. However, the continuing problem of multiple flooding of the same roads, calls for another solution. The service enablement perspective is fundamental for applying location-based proximity integration methodologies to road network management under conditions of disaster recovery. Introduction The importance of location for predictive and reactive maintenance This project was borne from the idea that, to make a radical improvement to the productivity of Location is the organising principle of economic construction work, it is first necessary to activity as well as social-ecological interaction. deconstruct the way we do things. This project Location-based thinking is implicit in all decisions aims to deepen our understanding of the way we for public road asset management (Kenley, organise construction work arising after 2014). Location-based thinking is also key to environmental disasters. both predictive and reactive maintenance informed by services enablement decision- The concepts are neither radical nor new. In fact, making processes for public roads asset the ideas come from direct observation of management. construction management and project administration. And yet, they seem radical and Whether or not roads have just been built, just perhaps even confronting. Any change can seem been flooded or are undergoing some a challenge to what we know. maintenance work, their geographic location provides an epicentre for government While Project 2.21 explores the way location is administration and user “reality”. already used in the management of infrastructure projects, this position paper presents the case for Public Roads as Assets a service oriented response to capital works arising from natural disasters. In this context, an The 2013 UK Highway Infrastructure Asset alternative approach to location-based thinking Management Guidance provides an explanation allows for location to be defined not only in terms for the purpose, the processes and the of physical location breakdowns, but also monitoring of a road authority asset management according service corridors where the principle of system. The most effective means of managing proximity applies to service lines. Thus continuity assets is a well ordered, standardised plan of of service (and minimising disruption) become maintenance. key components of asset management. In their 2014 journal article, Taggart et al. provide an easy-to-read, step-by-step overview of this guide from the perspective of rational choice SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT | Managing Road Assets in Times of Multiple Extreme Flooding Events 1 theory. Their paper describes public road asset Managing the Australian Road management complexity: levels of policy Networks Assets decision-making responsibility, operationalisation processes and whole-life monitoring/audit Historically, road travel has played a dominant expectations. role in the lives of Australians. In a country that The authors’ statements, in which a well- has a large landmass and a small population, managed and well-funded predictive roads are always critical for national productivity, maintenance regime is the outcome of an asset local economic growth and individual social well- management plan, are based on standardised being (BCA, 2014). ratings for prioritizing works. Prioritised planning Thus, responsibility for construction and that aims to identify short, medium and long-term maintenance of public roads is a major function activities, has its foundation in a “steady state” of all levels of government (Allen, 2009). The premise with utilitarian measuring of road “wear Transport Infrastructure COAG is the major and tear”. Human use, such as vehicular traffic, cooperative roads policy development can be measured, and changing safety or mechanism. It creates policy and operational construction standards can also be factored into ways and means for all Australian public road maintenance requirements. 2 New project management models for productivity improvement in infrastructure | PEOPLE, PROCESSES & PROCUREMENT networks to ensure positive economic and social Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) (Biggs, 2012). outcomes. The aim of NDRRA is to reduce the financial burden for states, communities and individuals Until recently the benchmark to obtain positive by providing financial assistance for specified outcomes was asset management based on a items during emergencies or recovery. standardised plan of predictive maintenance (Burningham and Stankevich, 2005). A Declared Natural Disaster (DND) is specified by the Federal Minister responsible at the time of However, predictive maintenance is often event. Two types of natural disasters effect replaced with reactive maintenance. For Australia. Bush fires are usually related to hot, example, between September 2010 and March dry weather. Storms (excessive rainfall, cyclones 2011 Australia experienced a doubling of the and tornadoes) are related to wet weather. annual rainfall. The heavy rains resulted in widespread and extensive flooding inundating The NDRRA archive lists DND (Australian the roads of major cities, towns and regional Government 2014) as shown in Table 1, events areas (ABS, 2012) forcing road authorities to between January 2006 and January 2014 for the focus on reactive maintenance procedures three states with the largest road networks. (Schraven et al., 2011). The DND descriptors provide evidence of the We have to accept that statistical analysis of number of extreme wet weather events data on road use (Taggart et al., 2014) is only characterised by storms and flooding. The part of the story. What is increasingly important is expected high percentages for both Queensland the 'wear and tear' impact of extreme weather (80.0%) and Western Australia (74.3%) during events. For road authorities responsible for a this period are not replicated in NSW in Table 2. significant proportion of the national road This is because NSW was afflicted by an usually network, the issue of managing road large number of dry weather DNDs. The 34 Bush maintenance and repair during and after heavy Fire DNDs (many burning concurrently) flooding is of growing concern (MRWA, 2012; outnumbered the flooding events that occurred QLDMR, 2012; NSW RMS, 2012). between August 2013 and January 2014. Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Table 2 compares the number of DNDs Arrangements (NDRRA) associated with extreme flooding during 2010- 2012 with the number of local government areas The Transport COAG was instrumental in the (LGA) affected. Although the number of events is development of the National Disaster Relief and small, the extent of the flooding is