Accumulated Depreciation
The part of the recognised replacement cost of a non-current asset which has been treated as an expense in successive profit and loss accounts. A measure of the loss of service potential of an asset since the asset was acquired or constructed.
ACS
- Aran Collection System
This is a broad set of software which enables the accurate collection of data from the ARAN.
Aquaplaning
A condition occurring on a wet road when a vehicle tire loses contact with the surface and rides on a film of water.
ARAN - Automatic Road Analyzer
The ARAN is the cornerstone of the Fugro Roadware product line. It is capable of measuring up to 15 different data items in a single pass at traffic speeds. The ARAN can be outfitted with various modular surveying subsystems and software and comes in three version; ARAN 9000, ARAN 8000 and ARAN 7000
Arterial Road
A road that predominantly carries traffic from one region to another, forming a principal avenue of communication for traffic movements.
Asset
A physical component of a road system or network. An asset is considered worthy of separate identification if it delivers services or benefits to the community of sufficient current or future value to warrant control and management on an individual basis. Typical assets include sections of road, sections of pavement, individual bridges, culverts, sets of traffic signals, signs, road furniture, road reserves, etc.
Asset Management/ Strategy
A systematic process of effectively maintaining, upgrading and operating assets, combining engineering principles with sound business practice and economic rationale, and providing the tools to facilitate a more organised and flexible approach to making decisions necessary to achieve the public’s expectations.
Asset Register / Asset Inventory
A list of assets considered worthy of identification as discrete assets, with information such as location, design standard, construction date, maintenance history, configuration, condition, and technical details about each. See also “Asset Inventory”.
Auxiliary Lane
A portion of the carriageway adjoining through traffic lanes, used for speed change or other purpose supplementary to through traffic movement.
Benchmarking
The process of measuring performance and analysing practices in key areas and comparing them to other similar operations or functions, to find ways of achieving better results.
Benefit Cost Analysis
A structured technique for assessing the economic efficiency of resource allocation, by quantifying in money terms the costs and benefits of a range of alternative proposals, comparing them against a base case, and deriving decision criteria such as benefit cost ratio (BCR), net present value (NPV), first year rate of return (FYRR), internal rate of return (IRR) and net present value per dollar of investment (NPVI). (Full details are in the 1996 Austroads Benefit Cost Manual (AP-42/96)).
Benefit-Cost Ratio
A term used in economic analysis for the ratio of discounted benefits of an investment(BCR) proposal (e.g. a project) to the change in discounted capital and maintenance costs compared to a base case, with benefits and costs both summed over an appropriate analysis period.
Bleeding (Also see flushing)
A surface defect characterized by an excess of binder covering the aggregate on the pavement surface, either eliminating or significantly reducing surface texture.
Bridge Management System
A method of information collection, analysis and decision-making, designed to permit the optimisation of resources for the maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction of bridges.
Capitalization
The process of bringing to account all expenditures of a capital nature in the determination of asset values.
Carriageway
That portion of a road or bridge devoted particularly to the use of vehicles, including shoulders and auxiliary lanes (i.e. between guide posts, curbs or safety barriers where these are provided).
Collector Road
A non-arterial road which collects and distributes traffic in an area, as well as serving abutting property.
Condition Based Depreciation
A method of determining depreciation of an asset, based on an assessment of the physical condition of the asset.
Condition Index
An indicator of asset condition, formed by a mathematical combination of a number of condition parameters, using weightings to reflect the relative contribution of each condition parameter to decisions about intervention and treatment.
Condition Monitoring
Continuous or periodic inspection, assessment, measurement, reporting and interpretation of resulting data to indicate the condition of a specific asset in order to determine the need for and nature and timing of maintenance. (Also see ‘Condition Survey’)
Condition Parameter
A quantifiable expression of a specific defect in an asset (e.g., Roughness, Surface texture, Skid Resistance, Edge Break, Deflection, etc are pavement condition parameters). Reporting can be either by bins or distress levels (e.g., good, fair, poor, bad, etc), or on a continuous numerical scale (IRI, Rut Depth, Crack Width, % area patched, etc).
Condition State
A combination of distresses and distress levels. To illustrate this concept, if roughness, rutting and cracking are adopted as condition parameters to describe a network, each with three distress levels (e.g., good, fair, poor), then each segment will fall within one of 27 possible condition states (e.g., roughness - good, rutting – poor, cracking – fair).
Condition Survey
The process of collecting data on the condition of an asset, e.g. the structural or functional condition of a pavement. (Also see ‘Condition Monitoring’)
Configuration
Physical attributes of an asset that define its capacity and capabilities. For road assets, configuration may be defined by parameters such as numbers of carriageways and lanes, surface width, structure type, etc.
Construction
Creation of a new infrastructure asset which is a significant addition to the asset stock - the new asset may replace an existing asset which remains in service, possibly with a changed function. Examples include an additional carriageway, a deviation such as a town bypass, a new road link, etc. The cost of construction is a capital cost. (Also see ‘Reconstruction’)
Corrugations
Transverse undulations, closely and regularly spaced, with wave lengths less than 2m.
Cracking
A pavement defect signified by vertical splitting of the pavement due to the action of traffic or environmental loading or material characteristics, usually identified as visible discontinues at the surface, not necessarily extending through the entire thickness of a course or pavement.
Defect
Visible evidence of an undesirable condition in the asset affecting serviceability, structural capacity or appearance.
Deferred Maintenance
Maintenance activity which, in accordance with stated strategy and/or agreed maintenance intervention levels, should be carried out in the current year, but is not funded.
Deflection
The elastic (recoverable) vertical movement deflection at the surface of a pavement due to the application of a load.
Demand Management
The active intervention in the market to influence the demand for services and the assets generated and/or used in the supply of these services in order to best match available resources to real needs and to ensure the services provided are delivered with the best value for money.
Depreciation
An amount representing the reduction of the service potential of an asset during an accounting period.
Deterioration Rate
The rate of change in asset condition from one year to another. Note that the rate typically varies over time and therefore may also be referred to as the “Deterioration Curve”.
Discount rate
The rate used in economic analysis to convert current dollar values of costs which occur in a future year to a present value in the base year.
Distress
An accumulation of defects.
Distress level
A form of reporting for condition, using terms such as good, fair, poor, bad, etc (sometimes referred to as ‘bins’), as distinct from a continuous numerical scale.
DOT
- Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT).
Economic Analysis
Similar to benefit cost analysis.
Edge Break
A pavement surface defect in which the edge of the bituminous surface is fretted, broken or irregular.
Edge Drop-Off
A pavement defect in which the vertical distance from the surface at the edge of the seal to the surface of the shoulder exceeds the acceptable amount (usually 10 to 15 mm).
Evenness
A term used in Europe with a similar meaning to roughness as defined in this Glossary. (Also see ‘Roughness’)
Fatigue Cracking
Cracking which occurs in a pavement course because the number of repetitions of tensile strain exceeds the capacity of the course. Surface cracking caused by propagation of fatigue cracking in a buried pavement layer is also referred to as Fatigue Cracking.
FHWA
– Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation.
FYRR- First Year Rate of Return
The total discounted benefits from the first full year of operation of a project, divided by discounted capital costs, expressed as a percentage
Flexible Pavement
A pavement which obtains its load spreading properties mainly by intergranular pressure, mechanical interlock and cohesion between the particles of the pavement material. In the case of an asphalt pavement, this further depends on the adhesion between the bitumen binder and the aggregate, and the cohesion of that binder. Generally, any pavement in which high strength Portland cement concrete is not used as a construction layer.
Flushing (Also see bleeding)
A pavement surface defect in which the binder is near the uppermost surfaces of the aggregate particles. The uppermost surfaces of the aggregate particles are still visible, but there is minimal surface texture.
Free Speed
For a particular vehicle type, the average speed that a vehicle would travel at when traffic volumes are low.
Freeway
A divided highway for through traffic with no access for traffic between interchanges and with grade separation at all intersections.
Granular Material
Gravel or crushed rock graded so as to be mechanically stable, workable and able to be compacted.
Heritage
The tangible evidence of a community’s cultural origins and its progress. Those aspects of the surrounding environment which communities value and wish to keep and preserve. Heritage items may include landscapes, places, works, buildings or relics. Governments maintain registers of identified heritage items.
Heritage Assets
Those assets which are intended to be preserved in trust for future generations because of their cultural, environmental or historical associations.
HPMS- Highway Performance Monitoring System
The Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) is a national level highway information system that includes data on the extent, condition, performance, use, and operating characteristics of US highways. This data is required to help federal officials plan and allocate resources to States, Counties and Municipalities.
Incremental Benefit Cost Ratio (IBCR)
A term used in economic analysis for the ratio of the present value of incremental benefit to the present value of incremental cost.
Inertial Profilometer
A vehicle-based road profile measuring system that includes an accelerometer to provide the reference datum, a height sensor for datum-to-ground measurement, a longitudinal distance sensor, a computer, and various electronics to power the sensors and connect them to the computer. Early inertial profilometers (e.g., the original General Motors Research (GMR) type) sensed height above the road surface using a follower wheel instrumented with a potentiometer. This required testing at low speeds to avoid bouncing, was subject to mechanical wear, and has been replaced with a non-contact laser-based sensor in the modern inertial profilometers now used in Australian and New Zealand. In other places, optical or ultrasonic sensors are use in some profilometers to measure height. (Also see ‘profilometer’)
Intelligent Transport System
Sophisticated multi-modal ‘tools’, which integrate advanced technologies and apply them to transport to develop solutions that will improve the quality of life. The integrated application of advanced technologies, such as computing and communication technologies, to improve the transport system by making it more efficient, safer and sustainable in terms of technology, society and the environment. Electronics, communications, or information processing used singly or in combination to improve the efficiency or safety of a surface transportation system.
IRI- International Roughness Index
International Roughness Index, a measure of roughness developed in the 1980s by the World Bank and adopted by the World Road Association (PIARC) and Austroads. IRI is a numerical representation of a road profile, designed to replicate the traditional roughness measures obtained from response-type road roughness measuring systems such as the NAASRA roughness meter. IRI represents the vertical response to the measured longitudinal road profile of a hypothetical quarter-car (as replicated by a mathematical model) travelling at 80 km/h. A small number of slightly different IRIs have been defined as described in the Austroads Guidelines for Road Condition Monitoring, Part 1 - Pavement Roughness. IRI is a dimensionless measure expressed in Australasia in m/km (and in US as inches per mile, conversion factor 0.0158).
Lane IRI
Road surface profiles are measured along one or more wheel tracks. A “Lane IRI” is a combination of the surface profiles of two wheel tracks. There are two methods to calculate “Lane IRI”, with “Lane IRIqc” (quarter car) and “Lane IRIhc” (half car), as described in the Austroads Guidelines for Road Condition Monitoring, Part 1 -Pavement Roughness. The Austroads guidelines favour the “quarter-car” method, and the resultant “Lane IRIqc ” is commonly expressed simply as “IRI”.
Level of Service
A generic term used to describe the quality of services provided by the asset under consideration. Road agencies usually define Levels of Service in terms of the convenience of travel and safety performance of the road network. Depending upon various factors such as demand or importance, a higher Level of Service may be required for some assets compared to others. In road asset management, the term “service level” means the same as “level of service”. In traffic engineering, the term “Level of Service” is used as a qualitative measure, with 6 levels designated A to E, describing operational conditions within a traffic stream, and their perception by motorists and/or passengers.
Life Cycle Cost
The sum of acquisition cost and ownership cost of an asset over its entire life. Acquisition cost includes planning, investigation, design and construction costs. Ownership cost includes maintenance, rehabilitation, operating expenses, and disposal costs.
Local Road
A road or street used primarily for access to abutting properties.
Location System
A tool enabling asset data to be accurately identified with respect to the physical asset over a long period of time. Location systems generally comprise permanent land marks and reference points, and a database.
Longitudinal profile Macrotexture (see also megatexture, microtexture, roughness, texture depth and surface texture) See “Profile”.
Pavement surface irregularities with wave lengths between 0.5mm and 50mm, related to the size, spacing and arrangement of the aggregate particles at the surface. Macrotexture relates to potential channels for water to drain off the surface of a pavement.
LRMS
– Laser Rut Measurement System
Fugro Roadware offers a system jointly developed with INO called the Laser Rut Measurement System (LRMS) which is named Laser XVP. The Laser XVP measures up to 1,280 data points and can operate day or night.
Maintenance (see also pavement maintenance)
All actions necessary for retaining an asset as near as practicable to its original configuration and condition, or reducing its deterioration. Any activity carried out on an asset to ensure that the asset continues to perform its intended function, or to repair the asset.
Maintenance Plan
A budgeting tool consisting of a list of costed activities scheduled over a period of 3 to 5 years, reviewed annually, with year 1 activities funded, and aimed at maintaining the asset within specified maintenance standards.
Maintenance Intervention Level
The value of a condition parameter which triggers maintenance investigation or activity.
Maintenance
A systematic approach to maintenance planning, budgeting and work, usually management system supported by software to assist in organising and analysing data on asset inventory and condition and on maintenance activities (e.g., type, costs, productivity, location, history).
Maintenance Standard
Same as “Maintenance Intervention Level”.
Megatexture (see also macrotexture, microtexture and roughness)
Pavement surface irregularities with wave lengths between 50mm and 500mm, related to small defects in the surfacing, such as rutting, potholes, patching, stone loss (stripping), ravelling, major joints and major cracks.
Microtexture (see also macrotexture, megatexture and roughness
)
Pavement surface irregularities with wave lengths less than 0.5mm, associated with asperities on the surface of individual pieces of aggregate which make up the road surface.
NAASRA Roughness Meter
A standard mechanical device used extensively in Australia and New Zealand since the 1970s for measuring road roughness by recording the upward vertical movement of the rear axle of a standard station sedan relative to the vehicle’s body as the vehicle travels at a standard speed along the road being tested. A cumulative upward vertical movement of 15.2 mm corresponds to one NAASRA Roughness Count (1 NRM/km).
NHS
- National Highway System
The National Highway System (NHS) of the United States is approximately 256,000 kilometers and includes the Interstate Highway System.
Net Present Value
A term used in economic analysis for the difference between discounted benefits and discounted costs over the life of the project.
Network Level
A type of road condition survey or data analysis where the main purpose is to monitor network performance or assist with network asset management decisions, as distinct from project decisions.
Non-Current Asset
A non-current asset is an asset which has a useful life extending over more than one accounting period. (Road infrastructure is invariably a non-current asset.)
Operating Speed
For a particular vehicle type, the average speed that a vehicle would travel at, taking congestion into account.
Optimisation
A process for selecting from alternative proposals with the aim of achieving the highest return from anticipated resource levels. Optimisation includes consideration of life cycle costs (road agency costs and road user costs) and relevant non-economic criteria, at the project or network level. At the network level, optimisation involves determining for a specified time frame, either achievable standards for road configuration and condition within a given budget, or the required level of funding to achieve specified standards.
Overlay
The addition of one or more courses of pavement material to an existing road surface, generally to increase pavement strength and stiffness, or to improve riding quality.
Pavement
The portion of the road placed above the subgrade for the support of and to form a running surface, for vehicular traffic. A pavement usually comprises subbase, base and wearing surface layers.
Pavement Construction
Action to provide a new pavement, or to increase either strength or capacity or both of an existing pavement, beyond the initial as-constructed values. Pavement construction includes rehabilitation if, after rehabilitation, the pavement is stronger or wider than the strength or width originally constructed. Pavement construction provides additional capacity or service potential, usually to carry increased axle loads (pavement strength) or traffic volumes (pavement or seal width), and sometimes to improve safety performance (e.g., widening for turning traffic, sealing shoulders).
Pavement Design
A process to select the most economic pavement thickness and composition which will provide a satisfactory level of service for the anticipated traffic and environmental loading.
Pavement Maintenance
Actions which are intended to preserve the pavement and are mainly directed to the surface, with no improvement in strength or capacity beyond that from original construction or design intention. Maintenance includes rehabilitation if, after rehabilitation, the pavement is no stronger or wider than when it was first constructed.
Pavement Management
A systematic method of information collection, analysis and decision-making, designed to permit the optimal use of resources for the maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction of pavements.
PMS
– Pavement Management System
A Pavement Management System (PMS) is a tool that is able to predict pavement deterioration and then is able to come up with strategies as to when and how to repair the pavement.
Pavement Rehabilitation
Major surfacing action or pavement treatment for the purpose of improving the structural condition of the pavement, either to reach original as constructed or design condition (when the cost would be regarded as a recurring expense for maintenance work), or to exceed the original as constructed condition (when the cost would be regarded as a capital investment for construction work), so that it may be expected to function at a satisfactory level of service for a further period of time.
Pavement Strength
A measure of the ability of a pavement to resist deformation from traffic loading.
Periodic Maintenance (pavement)
Surface type treatments conducted at fairly regular intervals of longer than one year. Bitumen resealing and asphalt resheeting are the most common forms of periodic maintenance for pavements.
Polishing
A pavement surface defect in which the upper faces of the aggregate become smoother and rounder, particularly in the wheel tracks, as a result of the abrasive effect of traffic, reducing the available friction between the road surface and a vehicle tire.
Present Value
A term used in economic analysis for the equivalent value in the base year of a benefit or cost to be incurred at some other point in time.
Preventive Maintenance
Maintenance activity before or at an early stage in the development of one or more defects, aimed at preventing occurrence or progression of the defect(s), usually undertaken on a proactive rather than reactive basis.
Prioritisation
A method of putting proposals on a list indicating which are to be funded first.
Profile / Transverse Profile
A two-dimensional slice of the road surface, taken along an imaginary line. Longitudinal profile is the shape of a road surface measured in a vertical plane parallel to the traffic flow. Transverse profile is the shape of a road surface measured in a vertical plane at right angles to the traffic flow (i.e., along a cross section).
Profiler
Some literature, especially from the United States, refers to profilometers as profilers. In Australasia, the term “profiler” mostly means a self propelled machine which removes a controlled depth of pavement material. An exception is the “ARRB Walking Profiler” which is a commercial name for a profilometer with proprietary technology and international patents.
Profilometer
A device for producing a series of numbers related in a well-defined way to a reference profile. Roughness measuring devices, other than mechanical response-type devices and most static devices, are commonly referred to as profilometers. (Also see ‘inertial profilometer’)
Project Level
A type of road condition survey or data analysis where the main purpose is to assist with decisions about proposals for a specific project on a short length of road, as distinct from network decisions.
Pumping
The ejection by traffic action, or ground water pressure, of water and fine particles in suspension through joints or cracks in a pavement.
Ravelling
A pavement surface defect involving progressive disintegration of the pavement surface through loss of both binder and aggregates.
Reconstruction
Construction of a new asset which replaces or upgrades an existing asset generally in the same location and at essentially the same alignment as the asset being replaced – the existing asset will no longer be in service. Examples include formation or bridge widening, pavement or bridge strengthening, and local improvements such as at curves and intersections. The cost of reconstruction is a capital cost. (Also see ‘construction’ and ‘rehabilitation’)
Reflection Cracking
Cracking at the pavement surfacing resulting from movement associated with cracks or joints in an underlying pavement layer. It is caused by vertical or horizontal movements in the pavement beneath an overlay, brought on by expansion and contraction with temperature or moisture changes or the action of traffic.
Rehabilitation
See “Pavement rehabilitation”.
Rejuvenation (surface)
A light application of an emulsified bituminous material to replace part of the lost maltene fraction in oxidised bitumen.
Remaining Life
The period, under current or stated use (e.g., traffic volume, type and growth), during which the asset condition is expected to remain within stated limits, provided that appropriate routine and preventive (periodic) maintenance are carried out.
Replacement Cost
A form of asset valuation where the asset value is determined by calculating the current cost of the most appropriate modern asset with equivalent service potential.
Reproduction Cost
A form of asset valuation where the asset value is determined by calculating the current cost of constructing or acquiring a copy of the existing asset.
Reseal
A sprayed seal applied to a surface which has an existing seal.
Residual Value
A term used in economic analysis for the value of an asset at the end of the evaluation period.
RFP
– Request for Proposal
A request for proposal (RFP) is an invitation to suppliers to submit a proposal on a service or product.
RFQ
– Request for Quotation
A request for quotation (RFQ) is a process where suppliers are invited to take part in a bidding process and bid on certain services or products.
RFT
– Request for Tender
A request for tender (RFT) is an invitation to suppliers to supply services or products.
Revaluation
A fresh valuation, as distinct from an indexed version of an earlier valuation. The act of recognising a reassessment of the carrying amount of a non-current asset to its fair value at a particular date, bur excludes recoverable amount write-downs.
Rigid pavement
A pavement with a Portland cement concrete base.
RMS
– Roadware Management Suite
Roadware Management Suite. RMS is the suite of Fugro Roadware's data processing software.
Road
A route trafficable by motor vehicles; in law, the public right-of-way between boundaries of adjoining properties.
Roughness (see also macrotexture, megatexture, and microtexture)
A condition parameter to characterise deviations from the intended longitudinal profile of a road surface, with characteristic dimensions that affect vehicle dynamics (and hence road user costs), ride quality and dynamic loading on pavements and bridges. A measure of surface irregularities with wavelengths between 0.5m and 50m in the longitudinal profile of one or two wheel tracks in a traffic lane, reported in dimensionless units as either International Roughness Index (IRI, m/km) or as NAASRA Roughness Meter counts (NRM, counts per kilometre) for the lane.
Routine Maintenance
Small mainly reactive works which are normally anticipated within a budget timeframe, but their precise nature, location and timing are not known in advance. Routine maintenance mainly consists of minor activities planned on a short term basis, usually about two weeks or less.
Rutting
A condition parameter to characterise the transverse profile of a road surface. Rutting is a form of pavement deformation being a longitudinal depression in a road surface, usually but not always in a wheelpath, with a length/width ratio greater than 4:1.
Segment
A section of road within which the road service level standard is consistent. Segments are defined on the basis of uniformity of inventory, treatment history, condition and use. Most pavement management systems rely on dividing a road network into a manageable number of segments to simplify analysis. A segment for pavement management purposes is generally between 500 m and 5 km long in rural areas (much shorter in urban areas). Segments are also referred to as links, blocks, treatment lengths, etc.
Service Level
Same as “Level of service”.
Shoulder
The portion of the carriageway beyond the traffic lanes, and contiguous and flush with the surface of the traffic lanes.
Shoving
Lateral displacement of pavement structure, caused by braking, accelerating or turning vehicles.
Skid Resistance
A condition parameter to characterise the contribution that a road makes to the friction between a road surface and a vehicle tire. Skid resistance is usually measured on wet surfaces.
Spalling
A surface defect chiefly in concrete and occasionally in heavily bound pavements, where disintegration occurs at edges, joints, corners or cracks.
Sprayed Seal
A thin layer of binder sprayed onto a road surface with a layer of aggregate incorporated (usually rolled in), intended to be impervious to water.
Stabilisation (Pavement)
Treatment of a pavement material to improve it or correct a known deficiency, and thus enhance its ability to perform its function in the pavement.
Stripping
The loss of aggregate from a sprayed seal under traffic, caused by the separation of the binder film from the surface of the aggregate, usually in the presence of water.
Surface Texture
A condition parameter to characterise the average height between peaks and troughs in the surface of the road. Macrotexture depth is usually the reported condition parameter for surface texture, and may be reported as “mean texture depth” as obtained from the sand patch test method.
Surface Texture Deficiency
A general term for defects manifested by reductions in macrotexture and microtexture, loss of surfacing materials, flushing, polishing, ravelling, stripping and delamination.
Surfacing / Wearing Surface
The uppermost part of the pavement or bridge deck specifically designed to resist abrasion from traffic and to minimise the entry of water. Sometimes referred to as the wearing surface.
Texture Depth
The average height of aggregate particles above the binder in a road surface. (Essentially the same as “Surface Texture”.)
Traffic Lane
A portion of the carriageway allocated for a single line of vehicles
.
Value Management
A structured, analytical process to assist in project evaluation at the concept and design stages, by carefully defining project objectives, considering a range of alternative options for achieving the essential objectives, and relating achievement to cost, so that the investment returns are maximised.
Valuation of Assets
The process of attributing a cost to an asset, for the purpose of recognising the asset in the corporate financial statements.
Works Effects
The effects of physical treatments on both the absolute value and the rate of change over time of specific pavement condition parameters or combinations of condition parameters, recognising that some condition parameters are related.