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2. Roads Benchmarking Program for 2016/17 Kicks Off

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June 2016

The Yardstick Roads Benchmarking Program for 2016/17 is now open for new and existing members, with the 2015/16 results showing a significant variation in costs between metropolitan and rural councils.

 

Astoundingly, last year’s program showed that, on a per capita basis, the total roading cost to councils is twelve times as much in rural areas as the cities

• Metro Councils      $68 per capita
• Regional Councils  $220 per capita
• Rural Councils        $835 per capita

Initial results for the new LED benchmark seem to clearly demonstrate that councils with a large inventory of LED lights have significantly lower operational and maintenance costs.

 

The results from last year’s program are already providing valuable insights for council General Managers, asset managers and policy makers in planning, identifying opportunities and measuring performance.

 

The program is comprised of

• Benchmark categories i.e. provision, investment, operations, infrastructure management and environmental sustainability
• All assets in the road corridor i.e. roads, kerb and gutter, drainage, street lights, bridge and footpaths
• Summary reports which group like-councils together and are categorised into metro, rural, regional and international. With councils participating from across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific there are opportunities for comparison beyond the neighbouring councils
• Online reporting with over 250 charts available. Reporting is by council so performance can be measured directly against other identified councils

This is the sort of detailed, objective information that is invaluable to decision makers and policy makers. The benefits derived from the program are

• Assists in prioritising allocation of financial resources
• Provides factual information to drive asset management
• Sets, monitors, and manages performance measures based on best practice
• Provides objective data to support robust decision making and superior grant applications
• Flexible reporting when, who, what you want
• Objective data to guide plant investment decisions

 

If it’s important for you to identify opportunity gaps and measure performance using independently audited and credible information then participation in this program is worth considering.

 

For more details on the program and how your council can be involved, contact s.bunting@morrisonlow.com or  t.mccarthy@morrisonlow.com  or visit www.yardstickglobal.org