Delivering customer outcomes within different contract models

A look at how Australia’s road asset management industry has been supported through various contract models, and which we should focus on for future success

Australia | Tuesday, 9 May 2023

Authors:
Simon Barlow, National Executive – Strategic Asset Management, WSP in Australia
Bruce Clayton, Technical Executive, WSP in Australia
Paul Robinson, Senior Principal, WSP in Australia
David Paine, National Asset Manager, Fulton Hogan, Australia

Over the past 25 years, the delivery of road asset management has evolved from maintenance management through to a more mature whole-of-organisation endeavour. As a way of driving increased efficiency and cost effectiveness, this has led in many regions to outsourcing of part of road asset management process.

This paper explores how road asset management practises are affected by the type of contract model being used. WSP and Fulton Hogan are leading providers of road asset management and having been involved in these contracts since 1999 throughout Australia.

Taking this experience, this paper presents what have been key success factors, inhibiters and focuses to implementing asset management practises. It also points at how the underlying changing nature of road owners’ capability leads to the erosion of trust in one contract model and its subsequent replacement by another contract model in a cyclical manner.

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