Transport and Road Research Laboratory Overseas Unit

Department of Transport
Overseas Development Administration

Overseas Road Note 1

Maintenance management
for district engineers
(2nd edition)

Overseas Unit
Transport and Road Research Laboratory
Crowthorne Berkshire United Kingdom
1987
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This Note was drafted by Dr R Robinson of the TRRL

Overseas Unit. It is based on an original text produced by
Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick and Partners. Certain details of
the inspection procedures recommended are based on
those developed for System BSM by John Burrow &
Partners. The paved road intervention levels were devised
by Dr J Rolt, the appendix illustrating typical defects was
prepared by Dr G Morosiuk, and other contributions were
made by Mr D M Brooks, all of the TRRL Overseas Unit.
Final editing was carried out by Harold Lewis, Consultant
Technical Editor.

First published 1981

Reprinted with minor revisions 1983
Second edition 1987
Reprinted with minor revisions 1995

OVERSEAS ROAD NOTES

Overseas Road Notes are prepared principally for

road and road transport authorities in countries
receiving technical assistance from the British
Government. A limited number of copies is available
to other organisations and to individuals with an
interest in roads overseas, and may be obtained from:

Overseas Centre
Transport Research Laboratory
Crowthorne, Berkshire, RG45 6AU
United Kingdom

© Crown copyright 1987

Limited extracts from the text may be produced
provided the source is acknowledged. For more
extensive reproduction, please write to
Head of Overseas Centre,
Transport Research Laboratory

ISSN 0951-8987
CONTENTS

page
1. Introduction 1
Purpose and scope 1
Structure of the Note I
2. The role of the maintenance engineer 1
Management responsibilities 1
Involvement on site 1
Delegation 2
Training 2
Using microcomputers 2
Implementation 2
3. Maintenance activities 3
4. Management tasks 3
5. Inventory 4
Content and preparation 4
Presentation 4
6. Inspection 6
Frequency of inspection 6
Condition survey 6
Recording results 7
7. Determination of maintenance requirements 11
Recurrent and periodic maintenance of unpaved roads 11
Intervention levels on paved roads 12
Diagnozing the cause of deterioration 12
Specifying the work required 12
8. Resource estimation 16
Choice of work method 16
Use of contractors 16
Labour 16
Equipment 17
Materials 19
Resource allocation 20
9. Identification of priorities 22
Maintenance activities by order of importance 22
Roads by order of importance 22
Priority matrix 23
Adapting priorities to local conditions 23
Determining the work programme 23
10. Work scheduling and execution 24
Schedules 24
Worksheets 24
11. Monitoring 26
Site inspections 26
Desk review 26
 page
References 26
Appendix A - Field procedures for inventory and condition measurement surveys 27
A.l General procedure 27
Recording 27
Organization of teams 27
Safety 27
Transport 27
Notes for inspectors 28
Duties of team members 28
Order of work 28
Accuracy 28
A.2 Condition measurement 28
General considerations 28
Side drains and turnouts (all roads) 28
Loss of material (gravel roads) 29
Deformation (all roads) 29
Cracking (paved roads) 29
Pot-holes (all roads) 29
Edge drainage (paved roads) 29
Edge step (paved roads) 29
Appendix B - Management of grading for unpaved roads 32
B.1 Determining optimum grading frequencies 32
B.2 Monitoring of optimum frequencies 32
B.3 Measurement methods 33
Reference 33
Appendix C - Traffic counting 34
C.1 Frequency and duration of counts 34
C.2 Estimation of ADT from counts 34
C.3 Manual counts 34
C.4 Automatic counters 34
C.5 Moving observer counts 34
C.6 Development of traffic counts 35
Appendix D - Recommended standard forms 36
Appendix E - Illustrations of typical defects 42
1. INTRODUCTION
Purpose and scope
1.1 This Note is a practical guide to the management of
maintenance operations. It outlines a rational approach
that will help maintenance engineers organize and
control the activities for which they are responsible, so as
to improve efficiency and make more productive use of
maintenance resources.
1.2 The maintenance operations discussed here are those
required to keep roads in good condition and repair. The
Note does not deal with any form of road improvement
works, pavement strengthening or reconstruction, even
where these activities are undertaken by an organization
responsible also for normal maintenance.
1.3 The Note offers advice on techniques basic to good
maintenance practice, but it does not set out to define
'model' systems that should be copied generally or to
describe all the management procedures an ideal
maintenance organization would follow. This is because
in any location the best management system will be one
which is matched closely to the technical skills, human
resources and equipment available to the individual
maintenance organization; and the most effective
procedures will be those that are appropriate to the
experience and capabilities of its staff. Using this Note,
engineers will be able to assess the range of management
techniques applicable to road maintenance and so
identity methods they can usefully put into practice
within the context of their own organizations.
Structure of the Note
1.4 Following this introduction, Section 2 summarizes
the responsibilities of the maintenance engineer and
comments on the approach he should adopt to key
management tasks. Section 3 sets out a classification of
maintenance activities, and Section 4 defines the
sequence of management tasks which the engineer has to
fulfil. These tasks are the subject of Sections 5 to 11,
which explain each stage of the management process in
turn. Appendices A to D provide details of technical
procedures and illustrate standard forms and worksheets.
Appendix E illustrates typical defects found on roads.
2. THE ROLE OF THE
MAINTENANCE ENGINEER
2.1 Roads are expensive to build. They repay their
initial investment only by means of long4erm care and
maintenance. A road system that is well maintained
brings important social and economic benefits:
• the transport links on which development
depends are kept in good working order
• roads have a longer lifetime of service because
their surfaces do not deteriorate so rapidly
• vehicle operating costs are reduced because
traffic is able to run smoothly
• transport operations are safer and more reliable
2.2 The maintenance engineer responsible for
operations at regional or district level has a key role
to play in achieving these benefits. His success
depends largely on the way he approaches the task
of management.
Management responsibilities
2.3 This task normally involves five main
responsibilities:
• planning the annual programme of
maintenance work for his area, assessing the
resources needed and preparing an appropriate
budget estimate
• arranging that funds are allocated fairly to the
various parts of the road network, and deciding
on priorities if the funds available do not allow
him to undertake the full programme
• authorising and scheduling work
• making sure that his staff know how to carry
out the work methodically and efficiently
• monitoring the quality and effectiveness of
maintenance activities.
2.4 Each of these responsibilities forms a major step in
the sequence of maintenance management explained in
Sections 5 to 11 of this Note.
Involvement on site
2.5 In performing his management role, the maintenance
engineer will, of course, have many hours of office work
on matters such as planning and administration. But it is
essential that he also gets out into the field as much as
possible. The simple procedure of seeing things for
themselves would help maintenance engineers overcome
many of the problems that at present affect their
operations.
2.6 There are several reasons why site visits are
important:
1
• they enable the maintenance engineer to become
thoroughly familiar with road conditions in the area,
and so recognize trouble spots and other places
where difficulties are likely to occur
• he can gain first-hand knowledge of the extent and
quality of the maintenance that has actually been
carried out, instead of having to rely on what he
reads in reports
• he can use this knowledge to assess maintenance
priorities much more confidently
• his presence on the spot means that he can advise on
problems as they arise
• seeing him regularly on site should boost the morale
of road gangs and improve their standard of work
and their output. His attitude will have more
influence on their performance than any other
factor, and site visits are the most effective way of
demonstrating his commitment to getting the job
done successfully.
Delegation
2.7 The maintenance engineer should use his
knowledge of road conditions to decide which operations
need his personal supervision and which he can safely
delegate to staff. On lengths of road where maintenance
is straightforward and easy to specify in advance, it
should be possible to leave day-to-day work in the hands
of suitably trained foremen or contractor's staff. On other
roads where there are problems requiring complicated
treatment and on-the-spot judgment, the maintenance
engineer will have to become personally involved in
determining what needs to be done and supervising the
work. Thy key point is that he should not let his time be
taken up by simple operations which less qualified staff
are able to manage.
Using microcomputers
2.10 Now that 'micros' are becoming widely
available, their application to maintenance management
is a subject where staff training may be particularly
useful. A growing range of specialised software is
available to help process data and analyze problems, and
using a micro can save considerable time beside freeing
the maintenance engineer for inspection and monitoring
on site. But expenditure on computers can prove an
expensive mistake if the system is not chosen with care
and if suitable personnel are not available to make the
best use of it. Maintenance can be managed efficiently
without a micro; and even if there is one in the office, it
does not lessen the need for regular and accurate data
collection in the field.
Implementation
2.11 For most organizations, the management
approach recommended in this Note will take some time
to implement - perhaps a period of several years. The
maintenance engineer should not try to put everything
into practice at once. It is better to introduce new
methods and procedures gradually, starting with
straightforward measures that will produce early and
positive results. Proceed step by step, and wait until one
stage is working reasonably well before moving to the
next. Concentrate first on the sections of road that carry
the largest volumes of traffic and ensure these are
adequately maintained before dealing with less busy
roads.

Training

2.8 Delegation will only succeed if staff have the

knowledge and competence to fulfil the duties they are
given. The maintenance engineer has to make sure that
supervisors, foremen and other personnel receive the
necessary training, and that there are enough trained staff
to carry out his instructions. This means that training is
an important part of his responsibilities.

2.9 Though training methods are outside the scope of

this document, there are some basic points to remember.
First, every member of staff should have appropriate
training. Secondly, this training should be built into the
work programme and include practical on-the-job
experience as well as more formal courses. Thirdly,
training should be an on-going feature of employment in
the maintenance organization, so that competent staff are
available to take over when more experienced personnel
are promoted or transferred to other duties.

2
3. MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES
3.1 For the purposes of management, the most useful way
to classify maintenance activities is in terms of their
frequency. There are four categories:
• routine maintenance, required continually on every
road whatever its engineering characteristics or traffic
volume
• recurrent maintenance, required at intervals during
the year with a frequency that depends on the volume of
traffic using the road
4. MANAGEMENT TASKS
4.1 As noted in para 2.3, the maintenance engineer has the
responsibility of structuring these activities into a
programme of maintenance work throughout his area, with
an appropriate allocation of resources. This responsibility
involves a sequence of tasks, which are discussed in turn in
Sections 5 to 11, and can be summarised as follows:
(i) inventory: recording the basic characteristics of
each section of the road network
(ii) inspection: examining the road and measuring its
condition

• periodic maintenance, required only at intervals of

(iii) determination of maintenance requirements:
several years
analyzing why defects are occurring; and specifying
what maintenance activities are needed to put them
• urgent maintenance, needed to deal with emergencies
right and delay further deterioration
and problems calling for immediate action when a road
is blocked.
(iv) resource estimation: costing the maintenance
programme in order to define an overall budget
3.2 Examples of activities within these categories are as
follows:
(v) identification of priorities: deciding the work that
has to take precedence if resources are limited
routine:
grass cutting; drain clearing; recutting ditches; culvert
(vi) work scheduling and performance:
maintenance; road signs maintenance
controlling the work as it is carried out

recurrent on unpaved roads:

(vii) monitoring: checking the quality and effectiveness
repairing pot-holes and ruts; dragging; grading
of the work.

recurrent on paved roads: 4.2 Because unpaved roads deteriorate more rapidly than
repairing pot-holes; patching; repairing edges; sealing cracks paved roads, they require more frequent attention. The
recurrent maintenance listed for unpaved roads in para 3.2
periodic on unpaved roads: should be applied at regular and predetermined intervals
throughout the year. These activities must not be deferred
regravelling until defects show up in the course of an annual or seasonal
inspection. Methods of calculating how frequently they need
periodic on paved roads: to be undertaken during the year are discussed in Section 7.
resealing (surface dressing, slurry sealing, fog spray, etc.);
regravelling shoulders; road surface marking

urgent:
removal of debris and other obstacles; placement of warning
signs and diversion works.

3.3 Routine maintenance, by definition, has to be undertaken

on a regular basis: its frequency does not depend on the
character of the road or the amount of traffic. For this reason
it is treated as a fixed-cost item in the maintenance budget.
Recurrent and periodic maintenance, however; are treated as
variable-cost activities, because the frequency with which
they are required is dependent on the engineering and traffic
characteristics of the particular road.

3
5. INVENTORY Presentation

Content and preparation
5.1 The inventory is a set of information about the basic
engineering and traffic characteristics of the road network. It
defines the key features of each section of road and indicates
the level of traffic use. This information is an essential
reference source for the subsequent stages of inspection and
analysis.
5.2 The content of the inventory should be directly
relevant to maintenance management. When it is first drawn
up, it should be as simple as possible and need contain
information only on the following items:
• type of surface and construction
carriageway and shoulders
5.6 There are three useful ways of presenting the
information recorded in the inventory:
• diagrammatic maps
• strip maps
• card index systems.
5.7 Fig. 5.1 shows a typical diagrammatic map. It is
basically a road plan of the area marked to indicate traffic
levels, categories of road surface and road widths. This kind
of map is particularly helpful in giving an overview of the
whole network, enabling the maintenance engineer to see at
a glance how roads with differing features relate to each
other.

• cross-section width 5.8 Fig. 5.2 is an example of a strip map. This is a simple
carriageway and shoulders annotated drawing which records significant information
about a section of road and its surroundings. Its principal use
is in the field, where it provides a quick means of reference
• traffic volume during inspections and surveys - especially for the location
annual average daily traffic (numbers of vehicles per of chainage. It is often convenient to staple strip maps
day). together so as to form a pocket-sized notebook for each road.

5.9 Card index systems are useful for registering details of

5.3 As the inventory is built up, information on the
items such as road structures and road signs. They can easily
following items can be added:
be updated when these items are repaired or replaced, so as
to provide a continuous record of their condition and
• structures maintenance history.
pipe culverts; box culverts: bridges
5.10 Where the means are available, it may be practical to
use computer-based inventory systems; but the database of a
• junctions maintenance inventory - particularly in its initial stages of
location development - will rarely be complex enough to require the
application of computer technology.
• road furniture
road signs; road markings; guard rails.

5.4 It will also be helpful to include data on other factors

influencing maintenance needs, such as rainfall and runoff,
topography and soil conditions. These factors can influence
the degree of priority given to various operations when the
work programme is prepared (para 9.9-9.10). In addition,
data about the distribution and engineering properties of soils
will be useful in identifying possible sources of maintenance
materials.

5.5 Appendix A of this Note describes the field procedures

used in setting up an inventory, including the organization of
teams and transport. The maintenance engineer can delegate
the preparation and day-to-day supervision of the work to a
senior technician who fully understands the procedures, if
one is available. If not, he should undertake this task himself.

4
Fig.5.1 Diagrammatic map of maintenance district

5
 6. INSPECTION
6.1 Recommended procedures for field inspections are
described in Appendix A: they are similar to inventory
procedures, but their emphasis is on the condition of the
road rather than its basic characteristics. They identify
locations where deterioration is occurring, measure the
extent of the problem and define the action needed to put
matters right. It is likely that, while the management
system is being developed, the early inspections will have
to rely largely on a visual assessment of defects: but
measurement techniques should be introduced as soon as
it is practicable to do so, following the guidance in
Appendix A.

Frequency of inspection

6.2 The maintenance engineer should have the entire

length of the road network inspected at least once a year
- and he should aim to improve on this frequency if it is at
all practicable. In regions where there are distinct wet and
dry seasons, a total inspection ought to be made in each
part of the year. The wet season inspection will be
particularly useful in detecting cracking in bituminous
surfaces (since this defect is more easily visible when the
road surface is drying after rain) and in assessing the
efficiency of drainage.

6.3 The day-to-day supervision of inspection work can

be delegated to trained technicians. But the maintenance
engineer should visit the inspection teams, especially at
locations where detailed assessments are required (para
6.5).

6.4 The network inspection will need to be completed in

time for its results to be fed into the preparation of the
following year's budget estimates. Since most
organizations prepare their estimates in the second half of
the financial year, the maintenance engineer has to make
sure that the inspection programme is undertaken early
enough to produce the necessary input.

Condition surveys

6.5 In assessing the condition of the road, it is advisable

to adopt a two – stage process of inspection:

(i) In the first stage a trained but relatively unskilled

team uses standard procedures and simple
equipment to measure and record defects in the
road. It is led by a technician who determines
routine and recurrent maintenance needs and
identifies locations where further examination is
necessary. Occasional monitoring of these surveys
by the maintenance engineer is recommended.

(ii) The second stage involves a more experienced team,

led by an engineer, whose task is to

Fig.5.2 Strip-map of road inventory

6
 determine the requirements for periodic work
by making such additional investigations,
measurements and analyses as are required.

6.6 The advantages of this approach are that it provides

a double check on the state of the road and the scale of
maintenance requirements, and it uses professional
resources in a cost-effective way by directing them
specifically to locations that call for skilled inspections and
treatment.

Recording results

6.7 Figs 6.1-6.3 show how standard pre-printed forms

can be used to record the results of inspection surveys. Each
road should be divided into sub-sections and a separate
form used for each sub-section. Different forms are needed
for paved roads (Fig. 6.1), unpaved roads (Fig. 6.2) and for
structures and road furniture (Fig. 6.3). Note that the form
for unpaved roads includes space for the results of
monitoring surveys that should be carried out at a later date
to gauge the effectiveness of the maintenance programme
(para 7.5). Blank versions of the forms are supplied in
Appendix D.

6.8 Pre-printed forms are especially useful in providing

a check-list that tells the technician what items are to be
examined during an inspection, and so reduces the
possibility that significant information may be omitted. The
examples of forms shown here are intended only as a guide.
In some cases the maintenance engineer may receive an
issue of standard forms from his organization. In other
cases, he may find it more useful to draw up his own form,
designed to suit the particular road conditions in his area.

6.9 Whatever form is used, it should be easy to

understand and to complete. The technician responsible for
the inspection should fill in the results on site, recording
them accurately and legibly. The forms should then be
retained in the office so as to provide a permanent record of
inspection results. There is no need to make fair copies of
forms completed on site: this wastes time and involves the
risk of errors when information is transcribed.

6.10 It may, however, be useful to summarise key results

in the form of statistical tables or diagrams - for example,
graphs that show rates of deterioration over time.

7
8
Fig.6.1 Example of inspection form for paved road
9
Fig.6.2 Example of inspection form for unpaved roads
10
Fig.6.3 Example of inspection form for structures and road furniture

7. DETERMINATION
OF MAINTENANCE
REQUIREMENTS
Recurrent and periodic maintenance of unpaved
roads
7.1 As noted in para 4.2, unpaved roads need a
programme of regular and systematic attention. The
requirements for recurrent maintenance on these roads have
to be determined independently of the results of network
inspections.
7.2 Grading. The maintenance engineer must decide
how many times during the year each unpaved road will
need grading so as to provide the best level of traffic
service possible in the local conditions. In assessing this, he
will have to take account of a range of factors including the
type and size of the road material, the amount of traffic
using the road, the local topography, climatic regime and
other physical features.
7.3 If he has access to a computing facility such as a
micro or a programmable calculator, and has roughness
measuring equipment available, he should use the method
outlined in Appendix B to determine the optimum grading
frequency for the road. If not, he should use Fig. 7.1 to
gauge the frequency appropriate to the annual average daily
traffic on the road. Fig. 7.1 is derived from studies
undertaken by TRRL. The solid line indicates the mean
Fig.7.1 Grading frequency chart
recommended frequency. which
is the one that should normally be adopted. Grading the
road more frequently than the mean will give road users a
higher level of traffic service: correspondingly, a grading
frequency less than the mean will result in a lower level of
service.
7.4 Dragging. This needs to be done regularly where
loose material lies on the road or where corrugations are
liable to form. In the latter case the operation may have to
be repeated every few days. The maintenance engineer
should determine the necessary frequency from a series of
practical tests, by seeing how long it takes the corrugations
to return after dragging is carried out. The frequency will
vary for different materials, design of drag, traffic volumes
and physical conditions.
7.5 Monitoring recurrent maintenance. Appendix B
describes procedures for monitoring the effectiveness of
recurrent maintenance activities on unpaved roads. The
maintenance engineer should identify several roads that are
representative of the network and arrange for a series of
inspection surveys to be performed immediately before the
dates on which recurrent maintenance is scheduled. The
inspection results will enable him to check whether he has
gauged accurately the appropriate frequency of grading and
dragging operations. If, for example, a high degree of
deterioration is still evident, he should adjust the existing
schedule so as to perform these operations more frequently.
As noted in para 6.7, the inspection form should include
space to record the results of these monitoring surveys.
11
7.6 Regravelling. This is a periodic activity that will
need to be performed whenever the existing layer of gravel
becomes unacceptably thin. If this layer is found to be less
than 50mm thick for more than 20 per cent of the length of
the sub-section of road being inspected (Table 7.1),
regravelling should take place. Appendix A includes advice
on the inspection procedure.
Intervention levels on paved roads
7.7 In dealing with paved roads, the maintenance
engineer must interpret the inspection results (Section 6) so
as to decide when and where repairs are needed and what
form of maintenance activity is required. Like a doctor
treating an illness, he has to recognize the symptoms that
indicate it is time to take remedial action. These indications
are termed 'intervention levels': i.e. they identify the stage
or circumstance in which the maintenance engineer should
intervene and the action he should take to stop farther
deterioration. Intervention levels can be defined for
unpaved roads too, as shown in Table 7.1, though the
frequency of recurrent operations is determined in advance
(paras 7.1-7.5).
7.8 It is advisable always to adopt intervention levels
suited to the particular local conditions. As a guide, Tables
7.1-7.3 set out recommended intervention levels for
unpaved roads, paved roads, and road structures and
furniture, respectively. The recommended levels are based
on the assumption that the road network is already being
maintained to an adequate standard and that sufficient
resources are available to keep up this standard. In other
words, they represent a target that the maintenance engineer
should aim eventually to achieve. If, as will often be the
case, he has too few resources at his disposal to apply the
recommended levels, he can adopt alternative levels that are
more appropriate to the workload and capabilities of his
organization.
7.9 Some of the intervention levels in Tables 7.1-7.3 are
expressed in quantitative terms and require
TABLE 7.1
MAINTENANCE INTERVENTION LEVELS: UNPAVED ROADS
Extent (% of
Defect Level Sub-section length)
Gravel <50mm >20
thickness
Camber
Roughness (See paras − Grade/drag
Rutting 7.1-7.5)
Corrugations
Pot-holes
12
measurements to be made, as explained in Appendix A.
Others involve simply a visual assessment. While the
management system is being introduced, it is likely that the
maintenance engineer will have to rely entirely on the
visual assessment of defects, but he should try to introduce
the use of measurement techniques as skills and resources
permit.
Diagnozing the cause of deterioration
7.10 It is important to identify the cause of deterioration
and to put this right if possible, rather than just treating the
symptom. For example, there is little point in continually
filling in pot-holes in a road if they keep occurring only
because of poor drainage. Finding the real problem and
focusing attention on its solution will produce a more cost-
effective use of maintenance resources.
7.11 Some problems, of course, may be outside the scope
of maintenance. For example, a road across flat country
with inadequate drainage outfalls may experience base
failure as a result of the capillary rise of water in the wet
season. The only solution to the problem is to raise the level
of the road. This would be a road improvement, not a
maintenance operation: as such, it may warrant a special
allocation of resources in accordance with the
organization's procedures for road improvement work.
Specifying the work required
7.12 The maintenance engineer should examine the
completed inspection forms (para 6.7) and compare the
inspection results with intervention levels of the type
recommended in Tables 7.1-7.3. He can then determine the
maintenance needs of each sub-section of the road network
and specify the work required. The necessary action should
be marked on the inspection forms, preferably in a different
colour from that used for the survey results. The forms will
provide a permanent record of maintenance requirements.
Action Programme Notes
Regravel Periodic
Recurrent Planned on a
programmed basis
 TABLE 7.2

MAINTENANCE INTERVENTION LEVELS: PAVED ROADS

13
 TABLE 7.2 (Continued)

14
 TABLE 7.3

MAINTENANCE INTERVENTION LEVELS: STRUCTURES AND ROAD

FURNITURE

15
8. RESOURCE ESTIMATION
Choice of work method
8.1 Maintenance operations involve three types of
resources materials, labour and equipment. It is easy to
estimate directly the quantities of materials needed for an
operation (para 8.15), but the amounts of labour and
equipment required will depend on the method used in
carrying out the work. There are some activities that can
only be done by manual labour; there are others where
plant and machinery are essential; but many activities
offer the option of either method. Trying to combine
manual labour and machinery on the same task will
normally lead to inefficiency. The maintenance engineer
will therefore have to choose between a method that
largely makes use of manual labour and a method based
on the use of machinery.
8.2 In making this choice he has to take account of
several factors:
• the probable costs of each method in relation to the
available budget
• the standard of work resulting from each method.
Machinery normally produces a truer surface and a
more consistent finish than manual labour. but this
may not always be required. For example, it would
be difficult to find any economic justification for
giving low-volume roads the close tolerances of
level and smoothness that machinery can achieve
• the implications for the way the work is organized.
If large-scale works are involved, labour-based
methods will require precise organization and
management. Labour has to be available in
sufficient numbers in the right place and at the right
time. Transporting the labour force to and from
worksites can cause problems; standardised, good-
quality tools and equipment will be needed to
achieve high levels of output; the health and
nutrition of the men must be thought about, since
improved standards help to increase productivity.
8.3 Table 8.1 gives an assessment of the potential
offered by various maintenance activities for the use of
labour-based and machinery-based methods.
Use of contractors
8.4 Though maintenance organizations normally
employ their own labour force, there is a range of
activities that can be undertaken for them by local
contractors. If the policies of his organization allow the
use of contractors, the maintenance engineer should
examine this possibility.
16
8.5 Contracting work out can have the advantage of
relieving pressure on the organization's labour resources
and it can offer a high level of efficiency at a competitive
cost. On the other hand, the organization will have to
prepare detailed contract documents, set up a tendering
procedure and provide contract supervision - all of which
may require a substantial amount of time and effort on
the part of its staff. There is also a risk that contractors
bidding for maintenance work on a regular basis may
introduce 'price fixing' to increase their profitability, and
so involve the organization in higher costs. The
maintenance engineer will have to weigh up these factors
in relation to the capacities of his organization and the
performance of local contractors.
8.6 The following activities should present no
significant problems of administration or quality control
if contracted out on the basis of competitive tenders:
• Supply of materials
Steel reinforcement
Bitumen products
Cement and lime
Natural gravel
Screened gravel
Rock aggregate (for subsequent crushing by the
highways department)
Crushed aggregate (for surface dressing and
concrete)
Washed sand (for concrete or slurry sealing)
Precast concrete blocks
Precast concrete box culverts or pipes
Gabion baskets.
• Maintenance operations
Recutting of side drains and turnouts
Reconstruction of culverts
Regravelling
Resealing: surface dressing, slurry sealing, fog
spray, etc.
Grass cutting and bush clearing.
8.7 Specialist contractors can also be brought in to
undertake the supply and maintenance of machinery and
vehicles.
8.8 The maintenance engineer should satisfy himself
that any contractor invited to tender for a job is capable
of completing it satisfactorily, has the necessary
personnel and equipment available, and is sufficiently
knowledgeable about estimating procedures and current
market rates to submit realistic prices.
8.9 It is vital that the maintenance engineer ensures that
all contracts are properly supervised and that all
specifications are met before he authorises payment.
Labour
8.9 Table 8.2 indicates the outputs of work that can be
expected from teams engaged on normal maintenance
activities, using manual labour or machinery as
appropriate. Each output is expressed as a range: the
amount of work that a team in fact achieves should lie
within this range, depending on local conditions. For
example, a labour-based approach to clearing side drains
is likely to involve between 4 and 10 men using simple
hand equipment, and the team can be expected to clear
between 30 and 60 metres of drain per man-day. A
machinery-based approach to the same task will reduce
the labour requirement to 2 or 3 men using a grader and
shovels, and they will be able to clear as a team between
4 and 7 km per day.
8.10 The maintenance engineer should use Table 8.2 as a
guide in assessing the levels of productivity associated
with various operations, and estimating the amount of
labour required for each activity.
8.11 The values given in the table refer only to
working time. They make no allowance for time that is
non-productive, i.e. not spent actually working. Non--
productive time can build up significantly during
maintenance operations, and it should be an aim of
management to reduce it to a minimum.
Equipment
8.12 Many activities need only simple equipment such
as picks and shovels. It is important to have enough of
these available to meet day-to-day requirements.

TABLE 8.1

POTENTIAL FOR USE OF LABOUR-BASED & MACHINERY-BASED METHODS

ACTIVITY POTENTIAL FOR

LABOUR MACHINERY
Ditch cleaning and cutting Good (*) Good (*)
Cleaning and minor repairs to culverts and bridges Good Poor
Building scour controls Good Poor
Repair of structures Good Poor
Grading unpaved surfaces Impracticable Good
(Skilled)$
Dragging and brushing of unpaved surfaces Poor Good
Patching sanding or local sealing of bituminous surfaces Good Poor
Filling on unpaved surfaces and slopes Good Poor
Grass cutting Good Good(**)
Manufacturing signs Good◆ Fair◆
(Skilled) $
Repairing and replacing traffic signs Good Poor
Road line markings Fair Good
Stockpiling gravel Fair Good
Regravelling gravel surfaces Fair Good
Stockpiling chippings Poor Good
Surface dressing Fair Good
(Skilled) $ (Skilled) $

NOTES:
(*) The potential in these activities is dependent upon suitable design of the ditch cross-section. 'V'-shaped
ditches are suitable for maintenance by grader, whereas flat bottomed ditches are suitable for maintenance by
hand or mechanical shovel.
(**) The potential in this activity is dependent on the width of the shoulder and presence of obstructions such as
road furniture and culvert headwalls.
◆ Some methods of manufacture may require the use of specialised plant (eg. vacuum application of reflective
sheeting to sign plates).
$ The expression 'skilled' implies that specific training of operatives is essential.

17
 TABLE 8.2

OUTPUTS OF WORK

* The unit of ‘pass-km’ is the actual distance the grader travels while working. To determine the length of road graded, this
figure must be divided by the number of ‘passes’ necessary to cover the whole width of the road.
18
 TABLE 8.2 (Continued)
8.13 The maintenance engineer will probably not be
responsible for the supply of plant and vehicles, since
this is usually handled separately within the organization.
But he should keep aware of the supply situation and
must do his best to make sure that equipment is
systematically maintained in good working order.
Shortage of working equipment or vehicles is almost
always a major symptom of inefficiency in maintenance
organizations.
8.14 The essential point is to establish a daily routine
of equipment maintenance. This can be done through the
following measures carried out by the maintenance
engineer:
• ensuring that operators appreciate the purpose and
benefits of preventative maintenance, understand the
maintenance needs of the equipment they use, and
are trained to look after this equipment on a daily
basis
• arranging for a regular supply of oil and grease, etc,
to be made available; this supply will need secure
storage facilities under the supervision of a storeman
• checking for himself that the daily maintenance
routine is being carried out, and demonstrating his
personal concern for maintenance standards
• using his site visits to observe how operators treat
their equipment and discouraging its mishandling or
misuse.
Materials
8.15 The procedures for estimating quantities of
materials needed in maintenance operations are relatively
straightforward. Where the extent of the work can be
defined precisely - for example, in the case of surface
dressing or regravelling - quantities are taken off in
accordance with standard engineering practice. For other
activities where requirements are less easy to define
such as edge repairs to bituminous surfaces, patching
pot-holes and repairing defects in culverts -quantities are
gauged on the basis of inspection results, again following
standard practice; but these estimates will of necessity be
less precise. The quantities ordered should include an
allowance for any emergency work that may be needed,
for example in repairing storm damage to culverts or
vehicle damage to bridge parapets.
19
8.16 In planning his programme of work, the
maintenance engineer should take account of the delivery
periods for materials. If deliveries are likely to be
uncertain, it will be advisable to stockpile basic materials
such as aggregates cement and bitumen. These will need
to be stored securely and kept in good condition.

Resource allocation

8.17 Fig 8.1 shows how a standard form can be used to

record the resources required for each activity and their
estimated costs. A blank copy of the form is included in
Appendix D.

8.18 The extent to which the maintenance engineer can

influence how the available budget is spent will depend
on the resource allocation procedures in his organization.
Some authorities may allocate specific amounts of
labour, equipment and materials whose costs are charged
for the whole year regardless of use. Others may only
define a total budget and leave the maintenance engineer
free to purchase materials and hire whatever labour and
equipment are needed. In most cases, the procedures will
fall somewhere between these extremes.

8.19 The maintenance budget may include sums

allocated by the organization to various activities other
than actual maintenance operations. The maintenance
engineer must take these sums into account when
calculating the resources available for road works. The
following items may be involved:

• establishment: staff and buildings for materials

testing, surveys, training, records, accounts and
other administration

• equipment: operation and maintenance of

transport and equipment, including workshop
facilities

• emergencies: some funds may be set aside to

cover the costs of reopening roads after
emergencies or accidents

• contracts: supply of materials or equipment. or

contractors services as part of the maintenance
programme

• technical assistance: e.g. advice to other

organizations or local communities.

20
Fig.8.1 Example of resource requirements form
21
9. IDENTIFICATION OF
PRIORITIES
9.1 If he is fortunate, the maintenance engineer may
find that he has all the resources he needs to carry out the
full programme of work. But it is more likely that resources
will be limited and he will have to decide the most effective
way of applying them. This means working out an order or
priority, with the operations that have the strongest claim
on resources placed at the head of the list and those that
have least claim placed at the end. This section of the Note
explains a method that will enable the maintenance
engineer to identify priorities objectively and consistently.
9.2 The method is straightforward: it simply relates the
importance of the maintenance activity to the importance of
the road. It asks two basic questions: (i) how critical is a
particular maintenance activity to the traffic performance of
the road? (ii) how significant is the particular road as a
transport link?
Maintenance activities by order of importance
9.3 Maintenance activities may be ranked in the
following order of importance:
Urgent
• Emergency repairs to blocked or impassable roads
• Removal of debris and stabilisation of side slopes
By definition, urgent works of this type demand top
priority: past experience will indicate the scale of
the resources that need to be set aside for
emergencies.
Routine drainage work
• Cleaning out and recutting ditches and turnouts
• Cleaning out bridges and culverts
• Filling scoured areas
• Building check-dams and scour controls
• Repair of drainage structures
This work always deserves high priority because
neglected drainage can rapidly lead to deterioration
of the whole road. It should not be assumed that all
drainage work must take precedence over all
recurrent work. The key point is that repairing
surface defects caused by poor drainage will be a
waste of time and effort unless the drainage is put
right first.
Recurrent work
• Dragging, brushing, grading or filling of unpaved
roads
• Patching or local sealing of paved roads
22
Periodic work
• Regravelling of unpaved roads
• Surface dressing of paved roads
Periodic work can be treated as a series of distinct
projects that have to compete for the resources
available and can be undertaken separately,
deferred or brought forward as required.
Other routine work
• Filling on shoulders and slopes
• Grass cutting
• Cleaning, repainting, repairing and replacing road
furniture
Special
• Overlaying
• Reconstruction
These activities should be treated as capital
projects whose funding does not come out of the
maintenance budget. If this principle is not
established, there is a danger that a major overlay
or reconstruction scheme will swallow up
virtually the whole of the maintenance budget,
leaving nothing for routine and recurrent work.
Roads by order of importance
9.4 The roads that carry the heaviest loads of traffic
are normally the most important parts of the network
from an economic standpoint, and they are the roads
liable to deteriorate most rapidly from wear and tear.
There may also be roads with relatively low levels of
traffic which nevertheless have key strategic importance
because of the places they link. Generally there will be
only one or two such roads in any region. Since it is vital
to keep these strategically important roads in good
condition, it makes sense to give them top priority for
maintenance work.
9.5 The remainder of the network should be classified
by the level of traffic on each road. This level is usually
expressed in terms of the estimated annual average daily
traffic (ADT); i.e. the total traffic in both directions
during the year. divided by 365. The estimate can only
be reliable if it is derived from actual traffic counts. This
means that traffic information is needed about every part
of the network, including minor and unpaved roads. For
the purposes of maintenance planning, a simple traffic
count procedure as outlined in Appendix C will be
adequate; but the maintenance engineer should note that
counts lasting for less than 7 consecutive days are liable
to very large errors, particularly where traffic levels are
low.
 TABLE 9.1
ROADS CLASSIFIED BY
CATEGORY OF IMPORTANCE
Category ADT
1 (Strategic roads)
2 Greater than 1000
3 500 – 1000
4 200 – 500
5 Greater than 200
6 Less than 200
7 50 – 200
8 Less than 50
Priority matrix
9.8 Fig 9.1 is a matrix which shows how the
classification of maintenance activities should be related
Surface Type to the classification of roads. Maintenance activities are
numbered from 1 (highest priority - urgent maintenance
Paved on strategic roads) to 48 (lowest priority -special works
Paved on unpaved roads with very low levels of traffic). The
Paved matrix is designed to ensure that every road in the
network receives at least the minimum maintenance
Paved needed to keep it operational, while at the same time
Unpaved focusing recurrent and periodic maintenance on the
Paved economically important roads with high traffic levels. As
noted in para 9.4, strategically important roads have
Unpaved absolute priority for resources, even where special works
Unpaved are concerned.

Adapting priorities to local conditions

9.6 Table 9.1 sets out a simple classification of roads
by category of importance based on traffic level. It is
meant as an example which the maintenance engineer
can adapt to reflect the character of his road network and
the general levels of traffic.
9.7 An axle load survey, in addition to traffic counts,
may be justified if the traffic composition on a particular
road is believed to be significantly different from that on
the network as a whole - for example, on a road that
carries large numbers of heavy freight vehicles. The
survey, which can be completed in a few days using a
portable weighbridge, involves the preparation of a
suitable site and usually will require the assistance of the
police in enforcing the operation. The Transport and
Road Research Laboratory (1978) has published a
booklet (Road Note 40) which offers guidance on
procedures for axle load surveys.
9.9 The maintenance engineer should use the matrix
to produce a master list identifying in order of priority all
the works that need to be done on his network. While the
numbering scheme in Fig 9.1 is a rational and consistent
order of priority, it is not meant to be inflexible. There
may well be local conditions of soil type, topography and
climate which influence maintenance requirements on
different parts of the road network, and these may
warrant an amended order of priority. The maintenance
engineer should feel free to reorder the list of priorities to
suit local conditions, where necessary.
9.10 The type of local factors involved may include,
for example, the presence of expansive clay subgrades
which are likely to cause maintenance problems, or the
combination of steep slopes and high rainfall where run-
off may accelerate the process of erosion.

Determining the work programme

9.11 The next step is to compare the resource costs of

the proposed maintenance works with the resource funds
available. The type of form shown in Fig 8.1 provides a
useful means of doing this, since it summarises the
resource requirements and estimated costs of each
maintenance task (para 8.17). The forms should all be
placed in a ring binder, initially following the order of
priority defined in the master list, with the top priority
tasks at the front and the lowest priority tasks at the end.
The order of the forms in the file can be changed where
necessary to take account of local conditions as described
in para 9.9. By working through the file, the maintenance
engineer can calculate how far the available resources
will extend, and so he is able to identify which tasks he
can include in his programme for the year and which
tasks he will have to defer until the next financial year.

9.12 Budgeting procedures within his organization

may mean that the funds available for routine, recurrent
Fig.9.1 Matrix of maintenance priorities and

23

periodic maintenance are not interchangeable. Some
flexibility and adjustment of priorities may be necessary
to make sure that all the funds available for a particular
category of work are used.
9.13 It is often useful to have routine and recurrent
maintenance work organized at a sub-district level. In
this case each sub-district should be given a programme
of work based on the priorities defined in the master list.
Periodic maintenance work organized directly at district
level should have its priorities assessed in the same way.
In this situation, the maintenance engineer should give
careful thought to the location and organization of his
maintenance crews so as to check whether existing
arrangements meet the requirements of the district as
efficiently as possible. He should recommend to
headquarters any necessary changes.
24
1O. WORK SCHEDULING AND
EXECUTION
Schedules
10.1 The maintenance engineer's next task is to
prepare detailed work schedules for the teams under his
direction. The schedules are essentially sets of
instructions which tell the foremen or technicians
supervising an activity how much work is to be done
each day, the time it should take and the labour,
equipment and materials to be used. Schedules should
cover periods of not less than 2 weeks and not more than
4 weeks: shorter periods would probably not warrant the
effort of preparing a schedule, while longer periods
would risk losing a sense of urgency.
10.2 In drawing up schedules, the maintenance
engineer should first discuss the work with the foremen
and supervisors who will have to put the schedules into
practice. It is essential for these personnel to feel
confident that the 'production target' the output of work
required each day is pitched at a realistic level. One
useful idea is to ask the foremen to draft their own
schedules: the maintenance engineer can use these as a
basis for discussion and the results can be helpful in
developing the work schedules that are issued to teams.
Worksheets
10.3 Fig 10.1 shows an example of a completed
worksheet. This provides a daily record of the progress
made on a job and the resources used, allowing the actual
output of work to be measured against the target output.
The target is the first item to be recorded on the
worksheet; the amounts of each resource to be used are
entered next, in the top half of each line. The worksheet
is then issued to the supervisor who enters in the bottom
half of each line the progress actually made and the
resources used day by day. At the end of the schedule
period, the supervisor returns the completed forms to the
maintenance engineer who calculates in percentage terms
how much of the production target has been achieved and
so is able to assess the productivity of the work. Any
significant shortfalls that may occur, or instances of over-
achievement, can be discussed with the supervisory
personnel when the next schedule is being prepared.
10.4 The execution of maintenance tasks at district
level is the subject of Overseas Road Note 2 (TRRL
Overseas Unit 1985).
25
Fig.10.1 Example of worksheet
11. MONITORING REFERENCES

11.1 Monitoring serves two main purposes: it enables
the maintenance engineer to check the quality and
effectiveness of the work being done, as noted in para
4.1; and it provides data that can be used to improve the
management and performance of future maintenance
operations. There are two aspects to the task:
• site inspections
• desk review.
Site inspections
TRANSPORT AND ROAD RESEARCH
LABORATORY, 1978. A guide to the measurement of
axle loads in developing countries using a portable
weighbridge. Road Note 40. London: HMSO, available
from TRRL Overseas Unit.
TRRL OVERSEAS UNIT, 1985. Maintenance
techniques for District Engineers. Overseas Road Note
2. Crowthorne: Transport and Road Research
Laboratory, 2nd edition, available from TRRL
Overseas Unit.

11.2 Section 2 of this Note emphasized the importance

of site inspections in the work of the maintenance
engineer and the advantages to be gained from taking a
personal involvement in the inspection process (para
2.6). Because of the length of road to be covered,
inspection visits will require the use of a motor vehicle,
which should be driven slowly along the section being
examined. Enough time should be allowed for the
maintenance engineer to make a series of detailed
inspections on foot. He should examine closely the road
surface, side drains, culverts and soils. It is best if he
travels as a passenger: he can then concentrate on his
inspection, and when he goes off to look at the road his
driver can follow with the vehicle.

Desk review

11.3 This is an office task which involves reviewing

all the maintenance documentation - inspection reports,
resource requirement forms, work schedules and
completed worksheets - so as to assess the performance
of the programme and the effectiveness of the
management system. It provides an opportunity to check
that adequate resources were allocated to each task and
that maintenance problems were treated efficiently; cost
estimates can be compared with expenditure and
production targets with output; and the reasons for
inconsistencies or shortfalls can be identified. In some
cases, resources may have been insufficient; in others,
targets may have been pitched too high.

11.4 The maintenance engineer should discuss the

results of the desk review with this supervisors and try to
find ways of remedying any deficiencies. It is likely that
some of these may result from factors beyond the control
of the maintenance staff, but it should be possible to
identify those points that can be put right and to plan
appropriately for the following year.

26
APPENDIX A
FIELD PROCEDURES FOR
INVENTORY AND CONDITION
MEASUREMENT SURVEYS
A.1 GENERAL PROCEDURE
Recording
A.1.1 Inventories and inspections use largely the same
field procedures. Standard forms for recording the results
of surveys are included in Appendix D.
A.l.2 The road should first be divided into sections of 5
to 20 kilometres. These sections should be reasonably
uniform in terms of their geometric characteristics,
construction, terrain and traffic, but they need not all
have the same length. Each section should then be
divided into sub-sections of 100 to 200 metres in length.
A.1.3 The aim is to measure and record all defects
appearing in each sub-section. Because this is a time-
consuming process, it may only be possible initially to
take representative measurements over perhaps one 25
metre length in each sub-section. As inspection teams
become more skilled and as more teams are introduced, it
should become practicable to increase the coverage of
the surveys until measurements are taken over the entire
sub-section.
A.l.4 The extent of characteristics or defects should be
recorded on the forms by simply marking the locations
where defects occur. Defects whose extent is assessed in
terms of length (eg cracking) are indicated by recording
the assessment of extent (Fig 6.1). Table Al sets out a
check list of the equipment required for the field work of
inspections. At first, only items 1-8 will be needed since
the inspection will be carried out largely by visual
assessment, but as the maintenance system develops and
as measurement methods are introduced, the remaining
items can be added to the list.
Organisation of teams
A.1.5 The basic duties of the team are the observation,
measurement and recording of information. Composition
of teams will depend upon local circumstances and the
type and category of road, but normally the team will
consist of a team leader and an assistant. In some cases,
where traffic densities are high, an additional assistant
will be needed for safety purposes and to help direct
traffic. If a detailed structural survey of the road is to be
carried out at the same time as the inspection, additional
team members may also be needed.
TABLE A1
EQUIPMENT FOR INSPECTIONS
Item
Description
No.
1 Transport
2 Warning signs and reflective jackets
3 Maps of the area
4 Field inspection instructions and codes
where applicable
5 Printed inspection forms
6 Report sheets for 'urgent' defects
7 Clip-boards
8 Ballpoint pens or pencils
9 Road marking crayons or chalk, road
marking paint and brush
10 30m fibre measuring tape
11 3m steel measuring tape
12 Measuring wheel with stand or, if the
road is adequately provided with km
posts a bicycle fitted with a distance-
measuring cyclometer
13 2m straight-edge and calibrated wedge
14 Spirit level for measuring camber with
a 2m straight edge
Safety
A.1.6 This is a most important aspect of the work. The
road being inspected may have vehicles travelling at high
speed. Any person working on the road should therefore
take simple and sensible precautions. Even where traffic
is not heavy, safety procedures should not be relaxed,
since there may then be a danger from unexpected
vehicles.
A.1.7 All members of the field survey team should wear
high visibility fluorescent and reflective safety jackets at
all times during the survey. In rural areas, warning signs
should be placed at each end of the work area. If a
vehicle is provided it should be fitted with warning signs
or warning lights, and should be parked between the
team and the oncoming traffic.
Transport
A.1.8 Transport is needed to carry teams to and from
their place of work, to carry equipment, to give
temporary shelter during bad weather and to provide
protection on heavily-trafficked roads. Either land rovers
or vans can be used, but the land rover has a particular
advantage as a protective vehicle in that warning signs
can be easily attached to it. Where possible, vehicles
should display hazard warning lights. If the vehicle is
used simply to transport the survey team at the start and
the end of the day's work, the team leader and the driver
must be in no doubt as to the time and place of
collection.
27
Notes for inspectors
A.1.9 The maintenance engineer should prepare notes
for inspectors which include further guidance on the
recommendations given in this Note and rules and
interpretations suited to local conditions. The notes
should include any additional detail necessary for
assessing and recording individual items, together with a
list of standard criteria.
A.1.10 Clerical work should be done by the inspectors.
This will give them closer involvement in the
management process, and is likely to result in higher
standards of inspection and recording.
Duties of team members
A.1.Il
• Team leader
He has the overall responsibility for the work of the
team. He should carry out a visual inspection of the
carriageway, shoulders and drainage, assess
structural condition and record all information on
the relevant forms. With a team of two, the leader
usually pushes a measuring wheel
• Assistant
When inspecting procedures are first introduced, the
team leader will make his assessment on the basis of
a visual inspection. As the maintenance system is
developed, assessments will be based on the
detailed measurement of defects. An assistant will
be needed to carry out these measurements.
On roads where traffic is heavy, additional
assistants may be needed, in particular to make
rutting measurements on the far side of the
carriageway, to control traffic and generally to assist
in measurement procedures
• Driver
When a vehicle is provided, a driver is necessary to
enable the inspector to concentrate on the job in
hand. The driver should be responsible for erecting
and moving advance warning signs where no other
person is provided for this task. He can also assist in
traffic control or in making measurements. Where
possible he should, as a safety measure, park his
vehicle on the road between the on-coming traffic
and the inspection team and switch on his hazard
warning lights.
Order of work
A.1.12 Before leaving the depot, the inspector should
personally check that all of the equipment needed has
been collected together and loaded in the vehicle. He
should ensure that the vehicle has sufficient fuel or that
arrangements have been made to refuel on the way.
28
A.1.13 Once on site. the inspector must establish the
start of the length to be inspected. From this point, he
and his team should methodically record defects or
features. The start point should be a kilometre post or a
structure, if possible.
Accuracy
A.1.14 Correct, accurate and legible recording in the
field is essential to avoid unnecessary effort in checking
errors later. It is important to record the correct chainages
for the start and end of defective areas, in the case of
condition measurement surveys, or changes in
characteristics in the case of an inventory. Chainages
should be recorded to the nearest metre, and widths to the
nearest 0.1 metre. For condition measurement surveys, it
is also useful at this time to paint the outline of areas of
paved roads that need patching, since this will make
them easier to find when the work is carried out later.
A.2 CONDITION MEASUREMENT
General considerations
A.2.1 In order to establish maintenance needs, it is
necessary to compare the measured condition of the road
with maintenance intervention levels such as those set
out in Tables 7.1-7.3. These levels may need to be
modified by the maintenance engineer to suit local
conditions as noted in para 7.8.
A.2.2 When the maintenance system is introduced, it
will probably only be possible for the inspector to assess
the severity of defects by observation. As the system is
developed, physical measurement of defects should be
gradually introduced into the inspection procedure; but
the quality of visual assessment can be improved by
having first-hand knowledge of the physical
measurement techniques.
A.2.3 Most defects require either the area or the
length of deterioration to be measured. The area or length
of deterioration must first be identified and classified
using the method outlined in the following paragraphs.
As each sub-section is approximately 100-200 metres
long, it is probable that several occurrences of the same
type of deterioration will be found within the sub-
section. These should be added together to give the total
extent for each sub-section.
Side drains and turnouts (all roads)
A.2.4 The level of the water table beneath the road
has a major influence on the strength of the subgrade. To
keep water out of the pavement structure, side drains
should
be maintained at least one metre below the road surface.
The depth of side drains should be measured at
approximately 25 metre intervals using a straightedge
and measuring tape as indicated in Fig. Al.
Loss of material (gravel roads)
A.2.5 An estimate can be made of the thickness of
gravel on the road by examining pot-holes or by digging
a small hole in the road surface until subgrade is reached
and probing the depth with a measuring tape. Material
should then be replaced and compacted with a hand
tamper or punner.
A.2.6 Ideally, thicknesses should be measured
immediately after grading. But in view of the difficulty
of timing such measurements and the need to carry out
surveys on a routine basis, the following approach may
be more appropriate. The survey team should take
measurements on each sub-section or at 200 metre
intervals along the road. At each survey point, the team
should identify any obvious ruts and should dig two
holes: one in the rut and the other at the peak between
ruts. The gravel thickness should be recorded as the
average of the two measurements, as shown in Fig. A2.
Deformation (all roads)
A.2.7 Ruts are measured using the deformation gauge
shown in Fig. A3. Initially, measurements will be made
at only one point on each sub-section or at 200 metre
intervals along the road, but as the survey procedure is
improved and extended, more frequent measurements
should be taken until recordings are made every 25
metres.
A.2.8 Rut depths are measured by placing a two
metre straightedge transversely to the road edge over the
wheelpath. The deepest part of the depression beneath
the straight edge is measured and recorded as the rut
depth using a calibrated wedge as shown in Fig A3. The
depth of rut indicated is the value recorded. In some
cases, a bump may have formed at the edge of a
wheelpath owing to shoving of material in the pavement.
The condition should then be reported as a comment on
the form and an indication of the seriousness of the
condition obtained by placing one end of the straightedge
on the bump and the measuring the maximum rut depth
in the wheelpath. Measurements of rutting are made in
the two wheeltracks nearest the edge on both sides of the
road, and the higher of the two rutting values is recorded.
A.2.9 Corrugations on unpaved roads are measured
by placing the straightedge longitudinally in the
wheelpaths spanning the corrugation crests. Corrugation
depths are measured at the deepest point of the troughs
using the calibrated wedge. The highest value of depth
from any trough in any wheelpath is the value that should
be recorded.
Cracking (paved roads)
A.2.10 A crack can have the appearance of a line in
the surfacing (particularly for asphalt) without two
clearly defined edges. This condition indicates an early
stage in the deterioration process, when the surfacing still
remains waterproof. For the purpose of condition
measurement surveys, it is more practical to define a
crack as being visible from standing height. Such a crack
would, on close inspection, have two clearly defined
edges at the surface. It should be remembered that this
condition is much further along the deterioration path
than that described above. Water may be penetrating into
the pavement through cracks of this severity whether the
road is surfaced in asphalt or surface dressing.
A.2.ll In bright sunlight, it is often very difficult to
see even quite wide cracks. A method of shading the area
under observation should be used. The width of cracks in
asphalt can change markedly between early morning and
mid-day owing to thermal expansion. In some cases,
cracks can close completely and not be seen at all.
Surveys are best carried out in the morning or during
cloudy weather conditions, particularly when the road is
drying out after rain.
A.2.12 During surveys, cracking should be recorded in
two classes: wheeltrack cracking and non-wheeltrack
cracking. In each case, the total length of road affected
by cracking should be recorded regardless of the area or
severity of cracking across the road.
Pot-holes (all roads)
A.2.13 The number of pot-holes in the sub-section
should be counted and recorded.
Edge damage (paved roads)
A.2.14 This is measured at the edge of the paved area
of the road at the same chainage where rutting is
measured. Excessive edge damage is recorded if the edge
is eroded by more than l50mm from the original position.
The measuring wedge, which is I50mm long, provides a
simple means of measuring this defect.
Edge step (paved roads)
A.2.15 This is measured at the same chainages as the
rutting. Measurements are taken on both sides of the road
at the point where the carriageway meets the shoulder.
The measuring wedge should be placed on the shoulder
with its 'toe' against the edge of the carriageway. If the
step is greater than the 50mm marker, an excessive edge
step should be recorded.
A.2.16 On certain roads, particularly where an overlay
has been applied, there may be an edge step which is a
construction feature. In this case, measurement of the
step should still be made in the same way. If the
measurement exceeds 50mm, a defect should be
recorded.
29
 Fig.A1 Measuring depth of side drains with straight edge and measuring tape

Fig.A2 Measurement of gravel thickness as the average of two measurements

30
Fig.A3 Deformation gauge (straight-edge and calibrated wedge)

31
APPENDIX B
MANAGEMENT OF GRADING FOR
UNPAVED ROADS
B.1 DETERMINING OPTIMUM GRADING
FREQUENCIES

B.1.1 Ideally, an appropriate frequency of grading

should be identified for each individual road. However, it is
more practical to determine optimum grading frequencies
for groups of roads with similar traffic levels, similar
materials types and sizes, and sharing similar topographic
and other physical features. The more often a road is
graded, the smoother its surface will become and the less
deterioration there will be between gradings. The end result
will be lower vehicle operating costs on the road. The aim
is to choose a frequency of grading which minimises the
sum of maintenance costs and vehicle operating costs
during the maintenance year.

B.1.2 The easiest way to determine vehicle operating

costs for particular grading frequencies is to use a road
investment model such as RTIM3 or HDM-III. Details of
how to obtain copies of RTIM3 are available from:

Overseas Centre
Transport Research Laboratory
Crowthorne
Berkshire RG45 6AU
United Kingdom.

B.1.3 Details about obtaining HDM-III are available

from:

Transportation Department Fig.Bl Typical curves showing optimum grading

The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington DC 20433
USA.
B.1.4 If computer facilities are not available, tables of
vehicle operating costs can be obtained free of charge from
TRL Overseas Centre at the above address. However, use
of the tables for this particular application is very laborious
and is recommended only if there is no other option. A
better method is to program the relationships in the tables
on a suitable hand calculator and to use these to determine
vehicle operating costs.
B.1.5 The analysis must be carried out for each selected
road surface material type, climate, road geometry and
traffic level, and vehicle operating costs determined for a
range of grading frequencies. The results should be plotted
in graph form. For each material type, climate and road
geometry, curves such as those shown in Fig. B 1 should be
obtained. The minimum cost plotted at each traffic level
will indicate the optimum grading
frequency for different traffic levels on roads with
similar climate, materials and geometry
frequency. The grading frequency should be applied to
particular roads on the network by selecting the traffic level
on the graph closest to that found in the field. Different
optimum values will be obtained, not only for different
traffic levels, but also for roads with different material
types, with different geometries and in different climatic
areas. It is necessary to undertake separate analyses for
each of these cases.
B.2 MONITORING OF OPTIMUM
FREQUENCIES
B.2.1 By whatever means the optimum grading
frequencies are determined, they should be implemented in
the field and a monitoring system should be established to
check their effectiveness. A representative sample of
unpaved roads in each group should be

32
monitored for a period of at least one year, and
measurements should be taken of roughness and rut depth
immediately before and after each scheduled maintenance
grading. Traffic levels on these roads should also be
monitored.
an estimate of roughness to be obtained without complex
calculation (Cundill 1991). Drawings of the MERLIN are
available from the Overseas Centre, TRL.
REFERENCES

B.2.2 Modifications to the grading frequencies can then
be made to ensure that the mean values of roughness and
rut depth measured in the field agree with those required by
the analysis using the investment model. This ensures that
the sum of road maintenance and vehicle operating cost is
minimised. In this way, by the end of the year, grading
frequencies will have been obtained that are suitable for
local conditions and are close to the optimum. A sample of
the road network should have its performance monitored on
a continuing basis to make sure that the grading frequencies
effectively keep roads in a condition that is close to the
optimum. Adjustments can then be made to the grading
frequencies as necessary.
CUNDILL, M A, (1991). The MERLIN low-cost road
roughness measuring machine. TRRL Research Report RR
301. Crowthorne: Transport Research Laboratory, available
from TRL Overseas Centre.
SAYERS, M W et a l, 1986. Guidelines for conducting and
calibrating road roughness measurements. World Bank
Technical Paper 46. Washington DC: International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development.

B.3 MEASUREMENT METHODS

B.3.1 Rut depths should be measured with a

straightedge and wedge following the method described in
Appendix A.

B.3.2 Roughness will normally be measured with a

'response-type' instrument such as a 'bump integrator',
'NAASRA meter' or ‘Mays ride meter'. It will be necessary
to calibrate this instrument to ensure that the results
obtained are consistent with either the International
Roughness Index (IRI) or the 'towed fifth wheel bump
integrator' values used for vehicle operating cost
calculations in the road investment models. Equations now
exist (Sayers 1986) for relating these standard roughness
values to the absolute longitudinal profile of the road. The
response-type instruments used can be calibrated by
operating them over roads with various levels of roughness.
The longitudinal profile can be determined by measuring
the road with a staff and engineer's level. However, this
method is laborious and the calculations needed to
determine the calibrated values are time-consuming. Two
instruments have been developed by TRL which provide
alternative methods for calibrating response-type measuring
devices more easily, the MERLIN and the Profile beam
('Abay' beam). The TRL Profile beam is a Class 1
instrument (Sayers 1986) which samples the profile of a
road section at l00mm intervals. It has a microprocessor to
calculate the standard roughness values and can provide an
automatic readout of calibrated roughness. The MERLIN is
a Class 2 instrument. It is a simple, robust and inexpensive
device which is easily maintained, easy to use and can be
made by local craftsmen. It measures surface undulations at
intervals along the road section and has a graphical
procedure for data analysis to enable

33

APPENDIX C
TRAFFIC COUNTING
C.1 FREQUENCY AND DURATION OF
COUNTS
C.1.1 The purpose of the traffic counts is to classify
roads in broad categories for maintenance planning
purposes. A high level of accuracy is not required. On
roads carrying more than about 1000 vehicles per day, a
one-day manual count will usually be sufficient to
provide an estimate of ADT for the maintenance
classification. On roads with fewer vehicles, account
should be taken of daily and seasonal variations:
• the effects of local market days, which may
account for a high proportion of annual traffic on
low-volume roads, may be allowed for by making
two counts, one on a market day and one on a
non-market day
• a count should be carried out during each main
climatic and/or agricultural season so that the
effect of seasonal rainfall and of variations in
agricultural activity (especially during and just
after harvest-time, when traffic flows usually
show a marked increase) are taken into account.
Counts extending over 16 hours (from 6 am to 10
pm) will usually be adequate, but, in some
countries where traffic is heavy at night counts
should extend over 24 hours.
C.2 ESTIMATION OF ADT FROM
COUNTS
C.2.1 The estimation of ADT must take account of the
factors noted above. The following example indicates the
recommended procedure:
Example
C.2.2 Counts were taken near a village which has a
market every eight days. The wet season lasts for about
four months and the dry season eight months.
1. Two 16-hour counts were taken at the end of the dry
season (low level of agricultural activity)
Count on market day = 73 vehicles
Count on non-market day = 21 vehicles
2. Two 16-hour counts were taken at the end of the wet
season (harvest time)
Count on market day = 94 vehicles
Count on non-market day = 48 vehicles
C.2.3 For this example of an eight day traffic cycle, the
average daily traffic is calculated for each season as
follows:
Average daily traffic (dry season)
Tdry = (1/8 x 73) + (7/8 x 21) = 28 vehicles
Average daily traffic (wet season)
Twet = (1/8 x 94) + (7/8 x 48) = 54 vehicles
34
The ADT is taken as the weighted mean of the seasonal
flows, calculated thus:
ADT = (8/12 x 28) + (4/12 x 54) = 37 vehicles
C.3 MANUAL COUNTS
C.3.1 The equipment required for manual counting
comprises a supply of pre-printed forms, pencils and
clip-boards. A shelter from sun or rain may be required.
At low traffic volumes, the work is not demanding and
the main problem is likely to be ensuring that the
enumerators stay on the job. Unscheduled visits by the
engineer or a senior supervisor may be necessary to
secure discipline and attention to the work. If the
proportion of heavy vehicles in the traffic flows is
expected to be high, classified counts may be necessary.
C.4. AUTOMATIC COUNTERS
C.4.1 It is now possible to obtain cheap and reliable
automatic traffic counters recording total numbers of axle
pairs which can be used to supplement manual counts or
to count for periods of more than one day on low volume
roads. The equipment normally consist of a small rubber
tube fixed across the road and attached to a pneumatic
counter. When vehicles drive over the tube. it is
compressed and a pulse of air triggers the counter. The
instrument records one count for the passage of two
axles. These traffic counters need careful adjustment to
ensure that bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians are not
counted and that heavy or fast vehicles are not 'double
counted'. Provided that they are checked regularly and
the rubber tube replaced when it is damaged, their use is
recommended.
C.4.2 Buried loop detectors can be used instead of
pneumatic tubes and are generally more reliable.
However, their permanent installation will not normally
be justified solely for traffic counts for maintenance
purposes.
C.4.3 The maintenance engineer should select one of
his staff trained in the installation and use of counters to
be responsible for their checking and maintenance. He
should also arrange for the daily inspection of the counter
and recording of the counter reading. In some locations,
automatic counters may be subject to theft or damage.
The counters themselves can be protected by lockable
cabinets attached to solid objects, but the tubes cannot be
effectively protected from deliberate interference. When
this is experienced and regular inspection is not sufficient
to prevent it, automatic counters of this type should not
be used.
C.5 MOVING OBSERVER COUNTS
C.5.1 Moving observer counts can usually be carried
out by the maintenance engineer or supervisor in the
course of personal inspections, using a hand-tally to
record the
number of vehicles. The flow can be estimated from the
expression: -

(x + y)
q =
t

where q = total flow in both directions in time t

x = number of vehicles met (ie. travelling in
the opposite direction)
y = number of vehicles that overtake the
observer minus the number he overtakes
t = journey time

C.5.2 This expression assumes that flows in each

direction are equal. If the observer can drive so that he
passes as many vehicles as pass him in the direction of
travel (this can usually be achieved without risk at low
traffic volumes), the expression becomes:-

x
q = _______

C.5.3 Counts of this type are useful as a cross-check on

static counts and to assess the extent of variations in flow
from day-to-day or between one season and another.

C.6 DEVELOPMENT OF TRAFFIC

COUNTS

C.6.1 When the maintenance system is first applied, it

will probably not be possible to include traffic counts as
part of the maintenance planning process. Initially, traffic
levels on the roads within the maintenance district may
have to be estimated. But there is no substitute for
counting vehicles. As the maintenance system develops,
the traffic counting methods described in this Appendix
should gradually be introduced into the management
process.

35
APPENDIX D

RECOMMENDED STANDARD FORMS

36
37
38
39
40
41
APPENDIX E

ILLUSTRATIONS OF TYPICAL
DEFECTS

Photographs are provided that illustrate the most

common, or important, defects described in Tables 7.1-
7.3 of recommended maintenance intervention levels.
For paved roads, more categories of cracking are shown
than are described in the text to assist engineers in
determining possible causes of failure. To aid clarity, the
photographs, in most cases, show deterioration which is
worse than that at which intervention is recommended.

42
 Debris on road.

Broken down vehicle.

43
 Side drain silted and too shallow.

Blocked side drain.

44
Scoured side drain

Culvert outfall scoured.

45
 Scoured side drain.

Standing water in side drain.

46
Structural damage of bridge superstructure.

Structural damage of bridge abutment.

47
 Dirty road sign.

Damaged road sign.

48
Missing road sign.

Damaged road furniture.

49
 Deformation of shoulder.

Scour of shoulder and sideslope.

50
 High vegetation growth and standing water.

Pot-holes on unpaved road and high roadside vegetation growth.

51
 Roughness and lack of camber on unpaved road.

Rutting and lack of camber on unpaved road.

52
Roughness, rutting, pot-holes and lack of camber on unpaved road.

Corrugations on unpaved road.

53
 Stripping of aggregate from paved road.

Fatting-up and bleeding on paved road.

54
 Pot-hole on paved road.

Edge damage on paved road.

55
 Edge step on paved road.

Edge damage and step on paved road.

56
 Wheeltrack rutting and cracking on paved road.

Wheeltrack rutting, cracking and pot-hole on paved road.

57
 Crocodile cracking on paved road.

Block cracking on paved road.

58
Longitudinal cracking in the wheeltrack on paved road.

Longitudinal cracking on the centre line on paved road.

59
 Transverse cracking on paved road.

Longitudinal and transverse cracking on paved road.

60
 Shrinkage cracking on paved road.

Cracking (and pumping) at local deformation on paved road.

61
 Parabolic cracking and slipping on paved road.

Slipping at edge of paved road.

62
OS-E
ISSN 0951 – 8987

Maintenance management for district engineers ORN 1