The Integrated Performance Indicator For Airport Pavement Evaluation

Modern lifestyle, high competitive business and globalization considered the speed of transmission to convey cargo and passengers. Aviation becomes one of alternatives to sustain that purpose. Many Airports have been constructed with its modules such as a ground access facility connecting the airport to the nearest city, parking structures, an air-traffic control tower, a terminal building, jet ways, apron(s), taxiway(s), and runway(s).

In Airfield facilities, the major problem occurred after the construction finished, is the deterioration of pavement that caused from:

1)Traffic load exceeding the forecast during pavement design stage
2)Fatigue effect from repetitive loads
3)Surface weathering
4)Faulty construction technique

The above four problems will shorten the airfield service life; nevertheless, Airport Pavement Management System (APMS) has been implemented to solve these issues so that safe operation will be taken place to the pavement in time. Airport infrastructures require the comprehensive maintenance program like other infrastructure for preserving its runways, taxiways, apron, and pavement area in order to keep the airfield performance above acceptable level.

Airport pavement condition assessment usually focuses on the runway by measuring some of its features such as load-carrying capacity. Human factor (Pilot and User) always overlook during condition assessments, although they are not the part of the airport pavement but their feeling from airport utilization can notify the condition such as pavement roughness, pavement friction, riding quality or services quality. Human factor that always change sensitively can fulfill the equipment capability. The concept that considered only solitary indicator becomes obsolete.

The equipments and software for APMS especially NDT for condition assessment are quite high cost, also the indicator gained from those equipments are still one aspect consideration. The difficulty burden on administrator who wants to complete all condition assessment but the budget allocation might not be affordable. The attractive choice is using available equipment and free software with integrating indicators concept that will spend less money and achieves identical purpose.

User’s requirements regarding to airport management always increase until they can make sure that the airport pavement condition is safe enough and ready to support aviation. Any airport agencies that can make more user confidence will get more advantages in high competitive aviation business.

New concept developed from infrastructure’s performance indicators (Hudson et al., 1997) will be conducted to solve these problems to reach the objectives below.

Mr. Yongyot Rotchaya made a study which main objective is to develop an integrated performance indicator for airport pavement; it is derived from different aspects of airport performance, which are Maintenance Unit Perception, Safety Perception, Physical Condition, and Structural Integrity.

The secondary objectives of his study were specified as follows:

1)To identify each different aspects of performance measurement for airport pavement.

2)To apply AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) to infrastructure management system as a weighting factor during the airport pavement evaluation.

3)Find the most influential factor to the Integrated Performance Indicator (IPI).

Conclusions

Different aspects of the airport pavement condition used to have its own condition indicator and some aspects has never considered before, such as safety issues. In this study, many aspects are combined into one indicator. People who are working close to the pavement are specified to be rater for particular indicators. These groups are supposed to give exact score to represent actual pavement condition through questionnaires, which had been prepared and adjusted in order to be suitable with each group. After the questionnaires had been distributed to two airports, the respondents gave a good cooperation in answering the questionnaires. As mentioned to the excellent competency of respondents, the achieved indicator can give high confidence to represent airport pavement condition. As well as the well-known indicator like PCI; high-technology tool like UPV are used to obtain the pavement condition.

Previously, the Analytical Hierarchy Process has been used as an important tool in supporting decision-making in complex issue that can be structured it as hierarchy such as marketing strategic planning, and finance. AHP applications in the non-profit organization are very few. The reason may be the problem in non-profit organization is not complex. Now, the situation is changed, non-profit organization like Royal Thai Air Force needs the effective tool to make decision under limited budget and other factors such as time constraint or effective utilization for all assets. One set of questionnaire had been distributed to engineers in Directorate of Civil Engineering, who has high experience in airport pavement design and management. Those engineers are also willing to give a precise answer and waiting attentively for new concept which will be useful for airport pavement management system.

Other conclusions:
a)The Integrated Performance Indicator, which is derived from integration of Maintenance Unit Perception, Safety Perception, Physical Condition, and Structural Integrity, can represent the actual condition of airport pavement.

b)The different aspects of infrastructure which are condition-related components are adapted from Hudson et al (1997) concept. In practical, the concept has been adjusted to be suitable with Air Force infrastructure and be appropriate with available tool or personnel, so the Service and User Perception is substituted by Maintenance Unit Perception. This study can find the indicators to represent each condition aspect.

c)Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been applied to give appropriate weight factors for isolate indicator in this study. This study is one of the attempts that try to apply AHP to current infrastructure management system, which is more complex and change sensitively now.

In the past, the Analytical Hierarchy Process has been used as an important tool in supporting decision-making in complex issue that can be structured it as hierarchy such as marketing strategic planning, and finance. The problem in non-profit organization is not complex so the AHP is not used widespread. Now, the situation is changed, non-profit organization like Royal Thai Air Force needs the effective tool to make decision under limited budget and other factors such as time constraint or effective utilization for all assets. The AHP illustrated its powerful capability for decision-making in non-profit organization like Royal Thai Air Force.

d)From the AHP, the most influential factor to the Integrated Performance Indicator (IPI) should be the one that has the highest weight factor. Physical condition is supposed to be the most influential factor but short study period can not give significant change in PCI value. Conversely, Maintenance Unit Perception, which has the second rank weight factor changes significantly and affects the overall indicator (IPI) obviously.

His thesis abstract is copied and posted.

Abstract

In the past, most agencies considered only one aspect of infrastructure condition to be a tool in decision-making then performed maintenance activities. This practice has some shortcomings, which lead to wrong interpretation and misunderstood about actual condition. It is the fact that one indicator can not represent overall performance of infrastructure. In order to overcome those shortcomings, the Integrated Performance Indicator has been developed by adaptation from Hudson et al (1997) concept; it clarifies four approaches to find infrastructure performance. Nevertheless, the original concept was adapted to fit with available tool and personnel, and then the approaches are changed to be Maintenance Unit Perception, Safety Perception, Physical Condition, and Structural Integrity. Each aspect of infrastructure performance is represented by isolate indicator, and then multipliers are calculated by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to find the appropriate weight factors before the combination into the Integrated Performance Indicator. This study is one of the attempts to apply AHP technique with non-profit organization and government infrastructure, which are encountering the difficult decision-making in fast-pace and more complex environment. Two airports pavement, which are Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) runway under the responsibility of Royal Thai Air Force are selected to be sample areas.