The main focus of the BEST4ROAD project is maintenance procurement that is defined as all activities and decisions necessary for a NRA to acquire maintenance services for road infrastructure from supplying contractors. Maintenance procurement goes beyond the sole purchasing function of an organization and covers the entire process from the identification of maintenance requirements to the management of maintenance contracts.
Maintenance as the procurement object involves all activities during the life cycle of road infrastructure assets intended to retain the assets in, or bring them to, a state in which they can perform the required function considered necessary to deliver a defined service. Since this may include a possible change of the required functional performance or the function itself during the life of an asset, the understanding of maintenance in the BEST4ROAD project is not restricted to activities preserving road performance but also involves performance upgrades of road infrastructure. Moreover, maintenance is understood as a cyclical process where the actual operational work is preceded by supporting management activities such as inspecting, monitoring and predicting of road performance and, based on that, developing maintenance strategies and planning maintenance work.
In order to study and compare maintenance procurement across different countries, a comprehensive framework is used describing how maintenance activities are procured, what the drivers are for procurement practices, and what the consequences are of these practices (Figure 1).
Maintenance as the procurement object involves all activities during the life cycle of road infrastructure assets intended to retain the assets in, or bring them to, a state in which they can perform the required function considered necessary to deliver a defined service. Since this may include a possible change of the required functional performance or the function itself during the life of an asset, the understanding of maintenance in the BEST4ROAD project is not restricted to activities preserving road performance but also involves performance upgrades of road infrastructure. Moreover, maintenance is understood as a cyclical process where the actual operational work is preceded by supporting management activities such as inspecting, monitoring and predicting of road performance and, based on that, developing maintenance strategies and planning maintenance work.
In order to study and compare maintenance procurement across different countries, a comprehensive framework is used describing how maintenance activities are procured, what the drivers are for procurement practices, and what the consequences are of these practices (Figure 1).
The framework consists of the following procurement components and aspects:
Maintenance procurement practice: relates to past, current and future approaches of NRA’s in different countries in terms of procuring road maintenance. Aspects of procurement practices are: the maintenance contract design (e.g. geographical scope, kind and number of assets integrated, contract duration, performance specifications), the maintenance tender procedure (e.g. evaluation criteria, evaluation process), and the maintenance contract management (e.g. quality management, performance measurement).
Maintenance procurement outcomes: relates to the consequences of procurement maintenance practices for the effectiveness and efficiency of road maintenance. Indicators for the maintenance effectiveness are road quality (e.g. condition index) and the maintenance risks (e.g. risk sharing, risk mitigation). Maintenance costs (e.g. cost/km of maintenance, administrative costs as percentage of total budget) give an indication for the maintenance efficiency.
Maintenance procurement competences: relates to the required skills and capabilities at NRA’s to procure road maintenance. Contractual competences include an understanding of the implication of contract design on incentives for and risk attitude of the contractor. Relational competences include the ability to corporately find solutions for unforeseen events and conflictual situations. Technical competences include an understanding of the function and performance-related behaviour of road assets.
Maintenance procurement context: relates to the drivers that explain the development towards certain maintenance procurement practices and the appropriateness of these practices for achieving intended maintenance outcomes. The context of NRA’s includes political, organisational, social and environmental factors. The past and current manifestation of these factors as well as their expected future development are considered.
Maintenance procurement practice: relates to past, current and future approaches of NRA’s in different countries in terms of procuring road maintenance. Aspects of procurement practices are: the maintenance contract design (e.g. geographical scope, kind and number of assets integrated, contract duration, performance specifications), the maintenance tender procedure (e.g. evaluation criteria, evaluation process), and the maintenance contract management (e.g. quality management, performance measurement).
Maintenance procurement outcomes: relates to the consequences of procurement maintenance practices for the effectiveness and efficiency of road maintenance. Indicators for the maintenance effectiveness are road quality (e.g. condition index) and the maintenance risks (e.g. risk sharing, risk mitigation). Maintenance costs (e.g. cost/km of maintenance, administrative costs as percentage of total budget) give an indication for the maintenance efficiency.
Maintenance procurement competences: relates to the required skills and capabilities at NRA’s to procure road maintenance. Contractual competences include an understanding of the implication of contract design on incentives for and risk attitude of the contractor. Relational competences include the ability to corporately find solutions for unforeseen events and conflictual situations. Technical competences include an understanding of the function and performance-related behaviour of road assets.
Maintenance procurement context: relates to the drivers that explain the development towards certain maintenance procurement practices and the appropriateness of these practices for achieving intended maintenance outcomes. The context of NRA’s includes political, organisational, social and environmental factors. The past and current manifestation of these factors as well as their expected future development are considered.