Welcome back to the Newsletter! Today we have a great topic to discuss: Identifying Backlog and Optimizing your Conditions.
Optimizing Your Pavement Maintenance Network
As a pavement maintenance firm, optimizing your roadway network is crucial to ensure you're getting the best performance for your budget. But what does optimization truly mean? In this blog post, we'll break down the key points from a recent video on network optimization, backlog, and performance to help you get the most out of your pavement maintenance strategy.
The Backlog: It's Not Just About Miles
Measuring your backlog isn't as simple as looking at the total square miles of pavement and multiplying it by a cost-per-mile figure. To truly optimize your network, you need to consider each roadway's condition and prioritize preventative maintenance and preservation activities accordingly. This starts with a proper inventory and condition assessment of your pavement network.
Performance: The Key Indicator of Success
Optimizing your pavement network is all about getting the best performance for your budget. But how do you measure performance? Start by identifying condition categories based on a 0-100 scale. Then, network with other pavement maintenance professionals, talk to contractors and seek out case studies to determine the most effective preventative maintenance and preservation activities for each condition category.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Optimizing your pavement network requires a data-driven decision-making process. Ask hard questions, look for real results, and measure the impact of each activity to determine the best strategy for your budget. Don't just focus on the short-term results; consider the long-term impact of each preventative maintenance and preservation activity.
Employ All Strategies for Optimization
To optimize your pavement network, you must employ all strategies, including mill-in overlays, rejuvenation, crack fill programs, micro-surfacing, slurry, chip seals, and cape seals. Each activity has its place in the optimization process, and by identifying the breakpoints and measuring results, you can determine the most effective strategy for your pavement network.
Optimizing your pavement maintenance network requires a proactive, data-driven approach that considers each roadway's condition and prioritizes preventative maintenance and preservation activities accordingly. By identifying the breakpoints and measuring results, you can determine the most effective strategy for your budget and get the best performance out of your pavement network.
Author: James Golden, Founder and CEO of Pavement Management Group