Inputting data is said to be straightforward as the system reduces the risk of errors
Innovative road maintenance solutions in Austria. Mikael Gilliar Reports.
A sophisticated system for managing maintenance tasks has been developed in Austria to meet the specific needs of a highway concession package. Bonaventura Straßenerhaltungs-GmbH is a 100%-owned business of the French company
The concession agreement for the project included planning, managing and documenting all operational maintenance activities. The road maintenance tasks include routine duties and connected operations to allow safe traffic flows and efficient road management, with optimal availability of road facilities.
The deal called for the maintenance tasks to be defined using an electronic tool and highlighting availability of the ASFINAG toll sections. But this requirement presented a challenge as there was no suitable tool available on the market at the time.
As it was necessary to meet the contractual obligations professionally, a solution had to be found. This also offered the opportunity to set new standards in terms of traffic and safety at work, and efficiency of traffic management. It was also necessary to deal with the monthly requirements of a comprehensive quality-assured and audit-ready report to the concessionaire and the authorities. As a result, Egis Road Operation compiled contractual requirements and operational characteristics respectively regarding specifications for a tool to be developed. Egis Road Operation searched for a development partner and realised Novasib, a specialist German software company with expertise in client-server solutions and web-based applications fitted the bill.
The system for planning, analysis, evaluation and management of the operational services is designed as a web application. This means that the operating company only requires a PC with an internet connection and a web browser to use the package. Complicated software installations and software updates are carried out by Novasib, allowing the user to concentrate on its core activities.
The package allows users personalised access to the system, each guided by preset limits. The system can also be adjusted for certain features and modules through an in-house administrator.
Egis Road Operation defined the working group and the service vehicle as the operational base unit. Based upon this, Novasib developed a specific vehicle and equipment techniques for equipping all major operating vehicles. The main components of the vehicle and device technologies are on-board units with expansion modules such as GPS, GMS and CAN which offer interfaces to the equipment of the road maintenance services. The vehicle also has a GPS and GSM antenna for location, tracking and data dispatching, as well as a control panel for information requests and data entries while work is being carried out on-site.
The user collects and confirms messages, events and performances on a keypad. Secure transmission of data such as vehicle ID, date, time, coordinates, and performances is ensured in real time via GPRS. The MBDE server, managed by Novasib, processes the data and assigns it to the road network based on GIS database information of the road operator. Novasib runs this as a certified operation with its own high-performance data centre and offers the package as a fully integrated, web-based and hosted solution. The server provides a platform for information access as well as professional backup and archiving of operational data over the entire period of the concession. The data exchange between Bonaventura Straßenerhaltungs and the Novasib data processing service centre features modern encryption technology comparable to the transmission standard between banks.
The issues of labour law admissibility by using an end-to-end process management tool also need to be discussed and legally examined. Collection, processing and the use of personal data has been determined in principle as legal in Austria, as the information data is necessary for business purposes. However, employee concerns have been taken into account and the use of the data has been precisely defined.
The use of personal data is free of any interpretation in terms of the level of transparency in the context of operating agreements.
The quality of the output of an end-to-end process management tool, however, directly correlates with the quality and completeness of the master data provided by an operating company. To manage all necessary process resources and planning tools required for the controlling of the operating service, these data require a certain degree of maturity which often is not given, especially with new businesses.
It requires a colossal effort by management and operating staff in order to complete the quality-, operation- and contract-related requirements and to implement the release and sharing of the processes.
Key tasks include: the process mapping of all operational tasks; the assignment of the employee; the definition of consumables; spare parts by activity; the allocation of available equipment and vehicles to operating activities and the assignment of sub-contractors to services. It also includes: the writing of work instructions; the assignment of manufacturer documentation on activities and locations; the definition of provisions for road safety minimum requirements and vehicle and material resources.
A vehicle tracking system allows the location and movement of the operating fleet to be followed online, where active work orders are also displayed in addition to the position data of the vehicles. An interactive map allows viewing of the relevant data of the operating service activities at any time. Through this system listings are generated, which show events along the route that have occurred and have been forwarded.
The documentation of these events generally takes place using control panels carried by the employees. Alternatively, additional events can be documented by transfer of data from monitoring systems. These events are associated with response and recovery times which enable management to prioritise follow-up actions.
Traffic accidents are considered as a separate category of events. Documents, such as accident reports, photos, etc. can be explicitly assigned to these events and stored on the server so that these processes are documented chronologically and completely.
Based on these principles, various applications of reporting, service tracking and monitoring are possible.
The system can be customised or expanded through its modular design with simple extensions to the different needs of any operating company, with its own set of specific work processes as well as technical and contractual developments.
With the end-to-end process management tool, Bonaventura Straßenerhaltungs-GmbH has a tool that maps all relevant operational tasks and supports the management in the planning and optimisation of costs, material, personnel and equipment resources.
