THE LOUISIANA MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

AFTER FOUR YEARS OF RESEARCH AND TESTING, IMPLEMENTATION IS UNDER WAY OF A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE MAINTENANCE SECTION OF THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS. NOT ONLY IS THE NEW SYSTEM EXPECTED TO PROVIDE A UNIFORMLY HIGH LEVEL OF MAINTENANCE THROUGH THE STATE, BUT CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES PROJECT AN ANNUAL MAINTENANCE COST SAVINGS OF BETWEEN $6 TO 8 MILLION. IN ORDER TO PLAN WORK, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT STANDARDS WOULD HAVE TO BE FORMULATED. A YEAR-LONG PERFORMANCE LABORATORY WAS SET UP AND THE DATA FROM BOTH LABORATORY AND FIELD OBSERVATIONS POINTED OUT THE CAUSES OF THE VARIATIONS IN PERFORMANCE AND PROVIDED THE NECESSARY INFORMATION TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS. DATA COLLECTED DURING THE PERIOD OF THE PERFORMANCE LABORATORY ALSO REVEALED FACTS AND FIGURES TO ENABLE THE MAINTENANCE SUPERVISORS TO PLAN AND SCHEDULE MORE EFFICIENTLY. IN ORDER TO PUT THE MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INTO STATEWIDE OPERATION, IT WAS NECESSARY TO FIRST DEVELOP TRAINING MATERIALS FOR THE SUPERINTENDENTS IN THE NINE HIGHWAY DISTRICTS. AN AUDIO-VISUAL TRAINING PROGRAM TEACHING THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING, SCHEDULING, ORGANIZING AND CONTROLLING WORK WAS DEVELOPED BY THE DEPARTMENT'S RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SECTION. SLIDES, TAPES, WORKBOOKS, AND TESTS WERE USED TO PRESENT THE MATERIAL. THE AUDIO-VISUAL PROGRAM INTRODUCES THE SUPERINTENDENT TO THE BASIC THEORIES OF GOOD MANAGEMENT. THE SECOND PHASE OF THE TRAINING INVOLVES DISCUSSIONS OF PARTICULAR PROBLEMS AND OF SOME OF THE PHYSICAL AIDS, SUCH AS A SCHEDULING BOARD, USED BY THE MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 37, pp 47-50, 1 FIG
• Publication Date: 1969

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Highway Research News

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economics; Highway maintenance; Maintenance; Maintenance management; Maintenance personnel; Management; Planning; Scheduling; Standards; Training
• Uncontrolled Terms: Maintenance costs
• Old TRIS Terms: Maintenance administration; Maintenance standards
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Education and Training; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00218535
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 29 1994 12:00AM