PIARC Releases Online Manual on Road Asset Management

The World Road Association (PIARC), which brings together the road administrations of 121 governments and has members in over 140 countries, has released an electronic manual on road asset management available as a free PDF download on its website.

The Management of Road Assets Manual, intended for national and international decision-makers in the roads-related industry, aims to meet the expectations and needs of road administration departments and operators, and PIARC members. It features key information and data for a clear understanding of road asset management issues, and offers a vast array of recommendations, ranging from the techniques available to suitable strategies for organisation.

The manual references manuals, documents, websites and materials from several countries. It also contains case studies of successful practices to document the lessons learned and experience gained in implementing asset management.

Currently available in English, the manual will also be published in French and Spanish. It contains 15 chapters organised in 4 themes containing activities that support asset management:

• Management
• Data and modelling
• Planning
• Application

PIARC reference documents are validated after a meticulous quality control review, and are widely used in the road and transport sector. Other PIARC publications include the Routes/Roads review, proceedings of world congresses, proceedings of international seminars, and online manuals.

The Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) also offers publications on asset management including Guide to Load Management for Weak Pavement Structures (2017) and Synthesis of Transportation Asset Management Best Practices for Canada (2016). To search for these and other TAC publications relating to road asset management, search the online catalogue under the Asset Management category.

Become a PIARC Member

TAC currently serves as secretariat for the Canadian National Committee (CNC) of the World Road Association. Individuals, collective agencies or regional authorities can become members of PIARC via the CNC.

Any transportation professional can also create a free account on the PIARC website, to access many PIARC technical resources, including:

• articles, publications (from sources such as the “Routes/Roads” magazine) and technical reports, organized by knowledge base such as risk management;
• technical reports produced by one of the 20 PIARC technical committees;
• documents and proceedings from past international seminars and workshops;
• past Congress general reports; and
• a PIARC newsletter subscription.