Guidelines for developing performance measures in highway maintenance operations

Recently, many public transportation agencies have begun to consider changi ng the way that they manage highway maintenance operations. One system unde r consideration, already well developed for private businesses, is performa nce measurement. While there are references for developing performance meas ures for other public services, there is nothing relevant that applies spec ifically to highway maintenance. This paper examines the general theories o f performance measurement systems, based on current conditions and practice s in the province of Alberta, Canada, and applies them to develop examples for highway maintenance. This paper concludes with a brief analysis regardi ng the extra considerations on a performance measurement system when privat e companies under contract to a public agency perform the work.