Improving PMS by Simultaneous Integration with MMS

Pavement management systems (PMSs) have been in use since 1975. Most US states and many of the world’s countries including Chile use PMSs. A Maintenance Management System (MMS) is the set of data and computer tools that make it possible for an agency to track its assets and apply its maintenance funds correctly and effectively for all its assets. Since pavements make up 70 – 80% of the value of typical agencies’ assets, the PMS/MMS interface is critical to good decision making and cost savings. Information must flow both ways between the two systems. For example: 1) maintenance decision trees and models should be integrated into the PMS, and 2) pavement maintenance activities should be accessible to the PMS database or from the MMS interface. In the other direction, life-cycle cost calculations, plans, and program predictions should be fed to the MMS to insure that maintenance work is properly budgeted, scheduled, and accomplished to fulfill the performance predictions covering all activities, including construction, maintenance, rehabilitation and preventative maintenance actions. This paper defines these concepts and gives examples of current application of integration methods under actual conditions. The interface is equally applicable to national level, state level, concessions (PPP), and city level pavement management and maintenance activities. This paper attempts to present the benefits and effects of integrating PMS and MMS within the limitations of paper length. As a result, the details given for PMS and MMS individually must be minimized. The goal is to illustrate for the reader the general benefits of simultaneous integration. The reader should concentrate on that goal while reading rather then get sidetracked by the details or lack thereof provided for each individual system. If need be, the reader can obtain those from the references.