Description

The Area Based Maintenance System (ABMS) for routine road maintenance was originally developed in Zimbabwe to look after the roads which were constructed under the KfW funded Rural Road Programme. Under this programme some 21 500 km of selected rural roads serving rural communities were constructed or improved. Part of this programme was to establish an organisation to look after the rural road network and a maintenance system to maintain the roads. The Area Based Maintenance System was developed to carry out the maintenance. The system uses the concept of having fixed Maintenance Areas which each contain between 150 and 200 km of road to be maintained under the system. This is the length of road which can be effectively maintained by a single maintenance unit using 1 tractor and the requisite tractor towed equipment. Working with these fixed Maintenance Areas makes it easier to define the Routine Maintenance Tasks for the Maintenance Units. A set number of work cycles for each maintenance activity is planned for each of the Maintenance Areas. This defines the type and quantity of work cycles which should be done and when they should be done (the number of work cycles will vary according to traffic, terrain and climate) and gives each Maintenance Unit a fixed programme to implement over the year. The monitoring of this is then a matter of checking that the programmed activities are carried out according to the time schedule and to correct standards.