Abstract
Pavement maintenance is essential to prevent the deterioration of asset value and to satisfy the expectations of all stakeholders (objectives). However, the budgets are often insufficient to keep the road pavement at optimum levels. Therefore, a decision making process ought to be used for prioritizing different maintenance activities in order to achieve pre-defined goals by optimizing the use of the available budget. One of the biggest difficulties in multiobjective optimization method is the large number of the feasible solutions (Pareto optimal set or its approximation), which makes it hard for the Decision Maker to select the best solution.To support interaction with the decision maker for identifying the best combination of maintenance actions, this paper proposes a new methodology named “Interactive Multiobjective Optimization-Dominance Rough Set Approach” (IMO-DRSA), using a decision-rule preference model.The preference information, obtained by the Decision Maker (DM) during the course of the interaction, is processed using the Dominance-based Rough Set Approach in order to achieve a decision model expressed in terms of easily understandable “if ….then …” decision rules. This approach makes possible an interaction between the analyst and the decision maker and helps the decision maker to classify maintenance options and allocate limited funds according to predefined objectives (quantitative or qualitative). An application of the proposed methodology to road pavements of an Italian urban sub-network is presented.
Highlights
Efficient sustainable rural, urban and inter-urban transport infrastructure in combination with affordable transport services drive commerce, mobility and access to social services and underpin development in all countries
Despite the key role that road infrastructure plays in economic and social development, the tendency to give priority to new construction, the lack of understanding of the importance of maintenance, and chronic underfunding risk quickly jeopardising this valuable asset, which has been built in developed countries over the past 70 years
In the context of multiobjective optimization, the difficulty lies in the definition of optimality, since it is only rarely that a situation can be found where a single solution represents the optimum solution with respect to all the objective functions
Summary
Urban and inter-urban transport infrastructure in combination with affordable transport services drive commerce, mobility and access to social services and underpin development in all countries. Despite the key role that road infrastructure plays in economic and social development, the tendency to give priority to new construction, the lack of understanding of the importance of maintenance, and chronic underfunding (imbalance between the rate of deterioration and the level of funding allocated) risk quickly jeopardising this valuable asset, which has been built in developed countries over the past 70 years. Asset management has been widely accepted by central and local governments/administrations as a means to deliver a more efficient and effective long term approach to the management of highway infrastructure. This approach enables a better use of resources, while fulfilling legal obligations, delivering stakeholder, social and environmental needs, and Augeri et al European Transport Research Review (2019) 11:17 safeguarding the value of the network. To achieve strategic asset management objectives, optimal maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) programs must be defined and implemented over a planning horizon for system facilities (road pavements, footways, bridges, tunnels, etc)
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