How road maintenance systems can reduce repair costs for councils
Potholes cause lots of problems for both councils and the public with an estimated one billion pounds spent on pothole repairs annually in the UK. Some of the issues faced by councils when it comes to potholes and road surface repairs include time consuming manual assessments, inability to accurately order materials and issues verifying repair costs.
This is where GPC’s road maintenance software Highway Measure can help. The following blog details just some of the ways in which our road maintenance software can reduce repair costs for councils.
Councils can order materials more accurately
As with many construction and maintenance jobs, accurately ordering materials can be a challenge. Over-ordering can lead to high costs and material wastage, something that with tight budgets, councils across the UK can’t afford. In contrast, not ordering enough materials to complete repairs can result in increased costs and delays on the road. Our road maintenance software accurately measures the dimensions of potholes including the depth allowing for precise material ordering. The adaptability of the software allows Highway Measure to be used fixed on a vehicle where data is gathered autonomously or with a handheld device using a point and click approach.
Increased efficiency for maintenance teams
Currently, assessing and identifying road damage is a very manual task. It can take maintenance teams hours and sometimes days to identify all the potholes and areas of the road that require repair. GPC’s road maintenance software automates this process and can analyse, identify, and measure large stretches of road in minutes. This data is then collated in our portal and can be analysed by the relevant teams efficiently. The automation and streamlining of identifying road repairs can help reduce councils’ expenditure on labour costs or allow councils to reallocate maintenance resource.
Councils can verify contractor repair costs
Many councils will rely on external contractors to complete pothole and road maintenance repairs. Due to a lack of technology, it can be difficult to verify contractor repair costs, this sometimes leaves councils out of pocket. Our road maintenance solution gives councils back control thanks to our intelligent technology. Highway Measure can be used to verify the cost of repairs as the software can provide detailed information on dimensions, materials required and more. In the long-term this can help reduce councils’ external overheads allowing budgets to be reallocated to other areas that are important to members of the public.
There are lots of benefits for councils who choose to use GPC’s road maintenance software, many of which will help reduce costs. If you would like to find out more about our road maintenance solutions, please contact our team.