Framework for the development of performance measures for sustainable asset management practice in road transportation

Abstract

The road transportation sector in many countries is faced with the need to simultaneously address two overarching challenges; the need to undertake effective asset management, with the broader need to develop business processes, while embracing sustainability principles. This paper presents a systematic approach for integrating sustainability principles into road asset management practice using performance measures. The key feature of this approach is that it moves away from the traditional approach of a road asset management perspective concerned with physical assets, and instead promotes a holistic view of all tangible and intangible assets relevant to road transport. Additionally, the sustainability evaluation has been extended to cover six relevant dimensions including economic, financial, technological, social, corporate and environmental. The paper also presents a framework for a sustainability performance measurement that can be used by road agencies to assess and monitor the performance of their asset management practice in a systematic manner. The proposed framework includes a set of goals, relevant to road transport asset management (RTAM), for each of the six sustainability dimensions. Each goal is further defined by a set of objectives, indicators, and performance measures that are relevant to the different aspects of RTAM.