Validation Protocol for a Pavement Management System

Being able to undertake more efficient maintenance and renewal planning of road networks has seen a number of pavement management systems (PMS) being developed between the 80s to mid-90s. During the initial years, there was a significant focus on substantiating the need and demonstrating the benefits of using these tools to assist in the investment planning for roads. Today, with substantial experience, and legislative support such as MAP-21 and PASS-55, the use of PMS in the asset management cycle of roads is a given. The challenge these days is to effectively use these tools and ensure robust outcomes are achieved from the overall PMS process. The success of any PMS is determined by a number of factors including having skilled resources, institutional support, and legislative and funding drivers demanding evidence-based forecasted investment needs. Asset managers also realize the importance of having technical robustness in the process to ensure likely outcomes. This paper documents the evolutionary development pathway of the New Zealand PMS that has now been in use across the entire country for more than 18 years. It shows how by always challenging the status quo it has resulted in consistently increasing the overall robustness of the system. In particular, it shows how different validation techniques have been used to improve the practicality and appropriateness of long-term forecasting capabilities.