Have you ever wondered how the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) manages to keep the roads in the city in such mint condition despite the harsh weather?
They have now revealed the artificial intelligence technology that is helping them assess the condition of roads and manage their maintenance, as well as how the budget for this is rationally deployed.
With an upgraded automated system, RTA has been able to achieve savings in its operating expenses equivalent to 78 percent of the annual maintenance works, and yet have better results.
The system automatically manages the condition of the road network through software applications such as the pavement management system.
The system has been developed in a manner where the safety and satisfaction of the road user is the top priority.
Hamad Al Shehi, Director of Roads and Facilities Maintenance, RTA, explains: “This system uses a digital version of roads developed through artificial intelligence technology and helps in implementing the strategies and policies of RTA. It helps the maintenance department to assess the road network and carry out appropriate maintenance within the allocated budgets.
“The software mechanism has been developed to identify and schedule the implementation of the annual maintenance needs to maximise the satisfaction of road users first. Rationalising operating expenses comes second. The system distributes the budget to the network maintenance activities to ensure that it maintains quality through optimal utilisation of the allocated budget.”
As part of the automated smart system, laser scanning technolody is used to configure the digital copy of roads and verify the life cycle of paving assets and their maintenance. This then helps assess the condition of roads and manage their maintenance. All parts of the road network have a fixed digital label in the system database, which represents the smallest part that can be used in planning maintenance works.
Al Shehi added: “The road network has been divided into parts not exceeding 100m/lane to raise data accuracy to 99 percent. It requires raising the reliability index of data accuracy to accurately locate damages on the network. The damages are automatically detected. The system then determines the optimal type of maintenance on the network and rationalising the operational expense. It will perform maintenance on priority sites, while making the most of the allocated budget.”
Thanks to the use of software to ensure the optimal planning of maintenance works and its superiority over the traditional methods in terms of time and accuracy, the smart system has achieved savings in operating expenses equivalent to 78 percent of the annual maintenance works.
“The economic feasibility of developing the digital version of the roads and smart maintenance management systems to maintain the network has multiple benefits that include keeping pace with the industrial revolution in generating the digital version of the roads and optimising our spendings. Maintenance of the road network means fundamental investment in the value of road assets,” Al Shehi concluded.
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