Development of a nationally harmonised Data Standard to enable local councils and road agencies to collect and share asset management data across Australia has involved pilot projects with local councils in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Participating councils can now share data and knowledge and collaborate in voluntary benchmarking projects.
The Data Standard is a database that harmonises the data used in planning, asset management and reporting, and provides a common set of definitions and formats. Data covers roads (pavement and surfacing), structures (bridges, major culverts), and tunnels.
Austroads Data Harmonisation Project Manager, Angus Draheim, said, “The minor but important differences in road asset data limit the sharing of information across jurisdictions and increase the costs of working across different road networks.
“The Data Standard lets stakeholders learn from each other, providing better asset management across the board.
“Councils that have participated in pilots in 2018 and 2019 have helped Austroads to refine datasets so they’re aligned with council priorities and meet local government needs.
“In turn, we’ve helped councils transform their data into a format consistent with the Data Standard.
“Regional groups of councils can now locate, transform and generate analytics from harmonised datasets.”
The project consists of several stages, with lessons learned from each incorporated into improvements to the Data Standard and data collaboration projects.
To download the third and latest version of the Data Standard and find out more about the project,
visit austroads.com.au/publications/asset-management/ap-r597-19
*Copy supplied by Austroads
