Bridge Replacement for Improved Rural Access Sector Project (RRP PNG 43200) CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF WORK S BRIDGE ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM A. Introduction 1. The Department of Works (DOW) has implemented several versions of bridge and road management databases and management decision support tools over the past 20 years, including the current Bridge Asset Management System (BAMS) which was installed in 2005. The DOW s database on bridges is BAMS, located in the Asset Management Branch, 1 and is the main existing source of information on bridges in the country. 2. The Asset Management Branch is part of the Operations Division and manages the civil assets of the Government including roads and bridges and prepares annual maintenance strategies. The Asset Management Branch is required to produce reports including the following: (v) (vi) Thematic road maps; Annual and five-year strategic maintenance budget for the national road network; Annual prioritized tactical maintenance program under constrained budget for the national road network; Annual and five-year strategic maintenance budget for each province for their national road network; Annual prioritized tactical maintenance program under constrained budget for each province for their national road network; and Summary of major reconstruction work by road for each province. 3. The Road Asset Management System (RAMS) and BAMS databases are the foundations for systematic and sustainable management of the road network of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and contain basic data on the physical characteristics of the assets, traffic data and cost data. This data has to be updated and verified annually through regular condition and traffic surveys. 4. The Asset Management Branch is required to deliver to stakeholders a road network that is managed using best-practice Asset Management principles. 2 5. The Structure of the Asset Management Branch is at Figure 1. Of the 15 positions in the Branch, 9 are currently unfilled and 3 officers are undertaking long-term training. Effectively the Branch is staffed with 3 officers. Job descriptions have been developed for all positions. AusAID through TSSP has placed an in the Branch for a period of 2 years to provide support, including in RAMS and BAMS. 3 1 The specific function of the Roads and Bridges Design Branch is to provide Design and Documentation and Technical Services to the Department of Works. 2 DOW. 2010. AMB Business Plan 2011. Port Moresby. 3 Road Asset Management System Adviser provides assistance to the Assistant Secretary - Asset Management and staff of the Asset Management and Operations to further strengthen their skills in the maintenance of an appropriate roads and bridges management systems.
2 Figure: Structure of DOW Asset Management Branch FAS Operations 1 Manager Planning Programming (RAMS and BAMS) Assistant Secretary Asset Management Manager Roads and Bridges Maintenance Coordinator 2 Supervising RAMS Supervising BAMS Project Bridge Management System Senior RAMS Survey and Data Encoding Senior BAMS Survey and Data Encoding Senior Technical Officer Roads and Bridges Maintenance RAMS GIS Mapping BAMS GIS Mapping Trainee Graduate Executive Officer Asset Management Personal Assistant 1 2 Support for data collection Data processing Reporting/Analysis Preparation of data for analysis Road Asset Management System (RAMS) and Bridge Asset Management System (BAMS) Operations of the system and support staff Officers are required responsibility for data integrity, reporting and training of field staff Coordination with Field Coordinator for the Emergency Maintenance request and the workplan/status of projects created by RAMS and BAMS Senior Driver 6. Data for collection may be considered as belonging to one of the following levels: Network-level data should answer the general planning, programming, and policy decisions supported by the network-level RAMS and BAMS. Project-level data should support decisions about the best treatment to apply to a selected section of road and/or bridge. As these data are collected, they can be stored to create a more complete database over time. However, a method must be established to keep the data current. Research-level data should be established to collect detailed data on specific attributes to answer selected questions. 7. These differences are addressed by information quality levels and are detailed in the DOW Asset Management Branch Business Plan (2011).
3 B. The Current Databases 8. The current BAMS which was installed by Opus International Consultants Limited in 2005 has a sound design, and appropriate application configuration, user interface, integration of BMS with existing RAMS and geographic information system, and system requirements. The database and its operation are well documented. 4 During implementation in 2005, 400 bridges in 6 provinces were inspected and inventory and condition assessment collected. Since 2005, data collection has been limited primarily due to funding restrictions. Some collected data has been loaded into the database while some has not. 9. The RAMS, 5 also located at the DOW, has the overall mandate to collect and update inventory data of the Road Sector in PNG, including, but not limited to, road conditions, cost data, financial data, and project monitoring data. A particular objective of RAMS is to maintain up-to-date input data for HDM-4 to enable on-going economic analysis of road projects. In general, the available economic data at RAMS, for performing HDM-4 type analysis is limited. With respect to traffic counts, it is practically non-existent. Unfortunately, RAMS lost a substantial amount of data due to a server theft in 2008. 6 Thus, the available data are limited, and some of them, particularly traffic counts, are outdated. C. Shortcomings and Issues 1. Institutional Asset Management Branch (AMB) currently uses a combination of Headquarter, Provincial and Casual staff to undertake inspections. There is a reliance on provincial staff to collect data but this is irregular with few funds being provided and frequent staff changes and shortages. There is also an emphasis on the annual training of provincial and casual staff. A plan to collect road and bridge inventory data has been developed by DOW AMB and has been costed at K4.281 million per year (footnote 2). The cost of collection of bridge data is K2.392. This plan may need to be reviewed and re-costed as currently DOW is only receiving K400,000 per year. Inspection procedures including uploading data into the databases are well documented. 7 While there is a procedure to collect and transfer relevant data to DOW, including projects such as the Bridge Replacement for Improved Rural Access Sector Project, data-verification and data-uploading is not occurring due to staffing limitations. There appears to have been much searching for improvements to BAMS inputs without focus on how processes could improve the outputs. In many cases, an intensive data collection effort becomes a tiring exercise 4 (BMS Conceptual Design Report (System Specification) - March 2005; BMS Training Strategy - August 2004; BMS Project Final Report Volume 1: Main Report - March 2005; Discussion Document on Economic Analysis of Bridge Improvements - March 2005; Development of Bridge Management System - BMS Analysis Module - User Manual - March 2005; Development of Bridge Management System - BMS Database Server- User Manual - March 2005; and Development of Bridge Management System - BMS Data Entry View and Query (DEVQ) Module User Manual - March 2005. 5 The Transport Sector Support Program (TSSP), through funding from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is providing long-term assistance to the Road Sector in PNG, including RAMS. 6 With no apparent back-up. 7 Bridge Inspection Manual; RAMS Survey Manual 2006; RAMS01. Data Collection for RAMS Database; and RAMS02. Reporting for Updating RAMS Database.
4 (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) with little results. A cycle emerges of incomplete data, incomplete and inaccurate outputs, lack of interest among stakeholders, and lack of resources for data collection. It should be possible to revive BAMS with a greater sense of purpose to produce analyses and assessments, prioritization of needs, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports of various depths and subjects, reports to DOW, Provincial Works Departments, Provincial Governments, and Donor Agencies. While this may be too much to expect of an underfunded agency, if BAMS could start to produce (at least some) outputs useful to stakeholders, then a cycle of outputs, feedback, and inputs would emerge, and there would be a lot more impetus for improvements and resources to make those improvements a reality. The trained DOW BAMS and RAMS staff are insufficient to operate the system including loading of data. This could be addressed by increased funding and recruitment of additional (and temporary) staff, 8 or contracting out some functions. There is a lack of bridge engineers generally within the DOW. Additional staff could include an experienced bridge engineer who can ensure that uniform bridge condition assessments are made across the national road network or contracting out the function until engineers are recruited. Three engineers in the AMB are currently undergoing long-term training. There is a lack of trained bridge inspectors. Trained bridge inspectors are necessary to undertake the bridge inspection to ensure a uniform approach and adequate usable data is obtained for each bridge. In view of the large number of provinces, it may be preferable for the bridge inspectors to be based in Headquarters and to undertake annual inspections of all bridges with/without the assistance of DOW provincial staff, or contracting out the function until bridge inspectors are recruited/trained. The current Structure of DOW Asset Management Branch does not indicate any Bridge Inspectors. An inadequate number of bridge inspections has been carried out. Most of the data held is up to 7 years old and many bridges in many provinces are not included at all. As a result, the data is incomplete. This issue can only be addressed by undertaking regular inspections across all roads. Perhaps contracting out some or all inspections for a period of time may be a satisfactory alternate to DOW organizing and funding its own, yet to be recruited, staff in undertaking required inspections. 2. Data Quality Current bridge records are poor. The bridge records need to be cross referenced to bridge details held by DOW and these records need to be computerised for security of the information and ease of use. Records are incomplete. The BAMS and RAMS holds data on National, Provincial and other bridges in some provinces but does not have complete data in any area. As other levels of government do not have the resources to undertake bridge management, the BAMS and RAMS 8 DOW has a number of important recruitment tasks including 9 additional staff for the Asset Management Branch and 15 additional staff for the newly established Contract Administration Branch. DOW will need to prioritize where to focus its limited funding. It is unlikely that DOW will be able to fund all required staff to support BAMS.
5 should gradually be extended to cover all bridges in PNG, despite the ownership. Bridge inventory data collected across the bridges is excessive considering the likely use of this information but there is little point in changing the system. It appears that the majority of the data on the bridge inventory form has not been collected for most bridges. While an exhaustive inventory of all bridges in PNG is required, perhaps a progression of gradual improvements might be more realistic, e.g., do a good job on a few highways/provinces before doing all others or collect 5-10 key facts on a set of bridges, then come back a few years later and collect 20-30-40 more facts on each bridge. This might be good in terms of training and capacity building. Bridge condition data collected is crude and this should be developed further to provide data on routine maintenance, periodic maintenance, upgrading, and replacement. 3. Database and Equipment The current BAMS database is sound and has an appropriate application configuration. A new system is not the solution, rather it is critical that the current system be fully operationalized. The equipment used to support BAMS is inadequate, i.e., BAMS Plotter is not properly working and has a high annual repair and maintenance cost, there is no A3 Scanner. As a result, the RAMS/BAMS databases are not able to be effectively used. Asset Management Branch has identified the need for the following equipment Plotter (HP Designjet T1120 SD-MFP or similar), Scanner/Printer/Copier (Canon irc2380i or similar), Server (with minimum 6TB Hard Disk), Desktop Computers (with minimum Intel Core i7-870 processor, 8 GB DDR3 Ram, 80 GB SDD HDD + 1 TB Hard Disk), Laptops, Digital Cameras and Binoculars. 4. Impact on Projects As the accuracy of BAMS data is questionable, few projects are able to utilize the data to inform decisions. Development partners collect data appropriate to their projects rather than utilizing DOW processes and systems. D. Recommendations for Improvement 10. The effective and efficient management of the multi-million kina road asset is critical to the economic well-being of PNG. For roads and bridges maintenance to be delivered in a costeffective manner, it obviously needs to be planned and RAMS and BAMS are integral to this. It is widely recognized that working BAMS and RAMS databases and management decision support tool is an essential element of the Asset Management Branch of DOW. The completeness and accuracy of bridge data will be critical to potential future phases of this and other bridge projects. 11. It is suggested that the following shortcomings and issues require focus:
6 (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) Ensure that all accurate and up-to-date data collected under road and/or bridge projects including BRIRAP are shared with BAMS, are verified and uploaded into the BAMS database (to be developed by the Assistant Secretary, Asset Management). Develop a BAMS Management Plan that prioritizes the development of reports, their dissemination and use (to be developed by Assistant Secretary, Asset Management). Expanding BAMS and RAMS to cover all bridges and roads in PNG (Assistant Secretary, Asset Management). Train stakeholders in the use of BAMS and RAMS data, i.e., improve awareness of the reports to be accessed, what data is available to inform decisions, etc. (Assistant Secretary, Asset Management). Review and re-cost the DOW plan to collect bridge inventory and condition assessment data (Assistant Secretary, Asset Management). Focus funding for bridge inventory and condition assessment of bridges and culverts on 16 priority roads (Assistant Secretary, Asset Management). Recruit temporary staff to operate the RAMS and BAMS database, cross reference bridge details held by the Asset Management Branch and computerize them. An alternative may be contracting out some functions (Assistant Secretary, Asset Management). Fund some necessary IT, communications and/or scanning equipment to ensure that the RAMS and BAMS databases can be effectively used. 12. As BRIRAP will have an on-going need for bridge inventory and condition data, especially with regard to project expansion, it is appropriate that ADB provide support to improving the operation of Asset Management Branch and its RAMS and BAMS databases. It is recommended that ADB consider providing the following support during the period of the project. Indicative costs have been identified: Funding bridge inventory and condition assessments across the network. This is for data collection and verification. Recruit temporary staff to operate the BAMS and RAMS databases, cross reference bridge details held by Asset Management Branch and computerize them. An alternative may be contracting out some functions. Fund the purchase of necessary IT, communication, and/or scanning equipment.