Performance Measures

Introduction

Reliable and accessible transport infrastructure is a cornerstone for socioeconomic progress. It enables productivity, growth, shortens travel times and costs, creates jobs, and connects different parts of society. One way to determine if the services delivered by transport agencies contribute towards this outcome is through timely accurate and meaningful performance information.

Done well, this information assists in improving accountability and transparency and aids in our decision- making. We use performance measurements to gain insight into, and make judgements about, the effectiveness and efficiency of the services we provide to society.

We measure our progress in meeting strategic goals and outcomes and use that to drive improvements and determine the success, or failure, derived from the delivery of our services into positive societal outcomes. Our measures support decision making by:

providing guidance and direction on how efficient and effective we are
indicating where improvements might be necessary
identifying potential areas of risk
determining if our customers are satisfied
measuring our success in delivering agreed Government goals and outcomes.

Our performance measures are integrated within a monthly evaluation and reporting process that is reviewed by our Corporate Executive Leadership team.

Alignment with Government Goals

Main Roads contributes towards the achievement of three broad goals identified by the Western Australian Government. We achieve the delivery of these goals through a service based outcome approach. We have six services that drive our outcome in order to achieve the delivery of transport and road related services to our customers on behalf of the Government.

In this report are agreed key effectiveness indicators that measure the extent of impact and success in the delivery of our services against the achievement of desired outcomes. The key efficiency indicators monitor the relationship between the services delivered and the resources used to produce our services.

Main Roads		Government Goals
Service	Outcome
Road Safety Infrastructure for community access	A safe road environment Improved community access and roadside amenity	Strong Communities Safe communities and supported families
Infrastructure for State Development	Facilitate economic and regional development	Future Jobs and Skills Grow and diversify the economy, create jobs and support skills development
Road System Management Road Efficiency Improvements Road Network Maintenance	Reliable and efficient movement of people and goods A well maintained road network	Better Places A quality environment with liveable and affordable communities and vibrant regions

Understanding Our Measures

The following information gives an overview as to the approach taken with two of the more prominent measures featured in this report.

Community Perception

Four of the measures are derived from an annual Community Perceptions Survey that reflects the satisfaction levels of our customers in metropolitan and rural areas. These measures are Community Satisfaction with Main Roads, Road Safety, Provision of Cycleway and Pedestrian Facilities and Road Maintenance. An external research company collected the data by way of an online survey.

The results are based upon a random and representative sample (age, gender and region) of 1,306 people (594 in the metropolitan area and 712 in regional areas). When extending these results to estimate the percentage of satisfied Western Australians, the overall sampling error is +/ – 2.71% at the 95% confidence interval. The data
is also weighted to reflect the actual population distribution based on ABS statistics. In each case, respondents had the opportunity to rate Main Roads performance as terrible, poor, okay, good or excellent in terms of road safety, providing cycleway and pedestrian facilities, road maintenance and overall performance. The reported results represent only the total of okay, good and excellent ratings.

On Time and On Cost

The delivery of infrastructure in a State that is as climatically and geologically diverse as Western Australia provides many challenges. Eight of our efficiency measures are based on reporting against the delivery of our contracts in terms of time and cost. To recognise the complexity in achieving this, and consistent with approaches taken in other road agencies, all reporting against these measures includes a 10% margin when calculating the final outcome.

A target of 90% has been established for each of the On Time and On Cost measures based on what is considered to be an acceptable outcome taking into account risk and the variable nature of delivering road contracts. A result within the target range indicates that internal processes and procedures are appropriate, working well and deployed. A result below the targets warrants further investigation to determine if there are any underlying systemic issues. There has been no changes to the approaches or methodology underpinning our measures this year.

Structure

The structure of this section of the report begins with a table that summarises our service outcomes and measures for each indicator showing the trend over time in addition to providing a comparison as to how the results for the current year compare against the targets established in the State Budget Papers.
The remainder of this section provides a narrative on each of the efficiency and effectiveness indicators for the six outcome based services.

Summary of Key Performance Indicators and Outcomes

		2016	2017	2018	2019 Target	2019 Actual
Road Safety
% Community Satisfaction of road safety		91	90	88	90	91
Black Spot location indicator		9.1	8.43	7.92	7.66	7.46
% of contracts completed on time		91	77	89	90	80
% of contracts completed on budget		87	93	92	90	100
Road Efficiency and Road System Management
% Community Satisfaction		91	87	88	90	90
Road network permitted for use by heavy vehicles	B Double – 27.5m	98	97	97	97	97
	Double RT – 27.5m	97	97	97	97	97
	Double RT – 36.5m	80	80	80	80	80
	Triple RT – 53.5m	45	45	45	45	45
% Network configuration	Roads	91	92	92	90	92
	Bridges - Strength	92	92	94	93	94
	Bridges - Width	96	96	96	96	96
% of contracts completed on time		98	68	83	90	100
% of contracts completed on budget		98	93	100	90	97
Average $ cost of network management per million vehicle km travelled		5,846	5,291	5,887	5,540	6,195
State Development
Average return on construction expenditure		4.2	3.2	3.3	3.8	4.1
% of contracts completed on time		100	40	75	90	75
% of contracts completed on budget		75	100	100	90	92
Road Maintenance
% Smooth Travel Exposure		n/a	96	n/a	97	97
% Community Satisfaction road maintenance		88	84	82	90	87
% Preventative maintenance indicator		86	85	84	85	84
Average $ cost of network maintenance per lane kilometre of road network		9,957	9,372	9,047	6,800	9,428
Community Access
% of the year that 100% of the Main Roads’ State road network is available		89	92	87	95	91
% Community satisfaction with cycleways and pedestrian facilities		83	87	89	90	91
% of contracts completed on time		91	100	64	90	86
% of contracts completed on budget		100	100	100	90	100

Road Safety

Outcome: Providing a safe road environment

This service seeks to reduce the State’s road fatality rate to the lowest in Australia by minimising road factors contributing to road trauma and reducing the serious crash injury rate. We demonstrate this through the following measures:

Community satisfaction with road safety is performing well exceeding our target and improving on last year’s results.

91%

Contracts completed on time is below our target and has decreased from last year’s result

80%

Contracts completed on budget exceeded our target showing continued strong performance

100%

Effectiveness Indicators

Community Satisfaction with Road Safety

This indicator represents how satisfied the community is with Main Roads’ overall performance in area of road safety. The 2019 survey results show that Main Roads exceeded its target this year, with 91% of participants giving an okay or better rating, improving three percent on 2018. After experiencing a significant drop in results in 2018, both the Great Southern and Wheatbelt regions have improved this year achieving 76% and 70% respectively.

Black Spot Location Indicator

This indicator gives a measure of the number of locations on the road network that meet State Black Spot (high risk locations) criteria based on an analysis of crash history. The measure uses a sliding window to determine whether the number of locations eligible for funding is increasing or decreasing, considering the amount of travel in the State. The four-year trend continues to show a gradual decline in the number of eligible black spot locations with the current result once again being the lowest recorded since the implementation of the Black Spot program.

Efficiency Indicators

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Time

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on time in the Road Safety Service. The result achieved was 80% against a target of 90%. There were five contracts that were over time, one was due to wet weather and minor scope changes associated with unsuitable materials, two have variations issued and as at 30 June 2019 had not been approved. The remaining two contracts were delayed due to contractor’s not completing works on time and no extensions of time were granted.

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Budget

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on budget in the Road Safety Service. There are no contracts over budget for this Service therefore the result achieved was 100%, which is above the target of 90%.

Efficiency and Road System Management

Outcome: Reliable and efficient movement of people and goods

The Efficiency Service seeks to improve the efficiency, capacity and utilisation of the existing road network whilst the Road System Management Service seeks to optimise real-time management of the network, provide traveller information, asset management planning and to support service delivery throughout the organisation. Together these services contribute to achieving the outcome. We demonstrate this through the following measures:

Travel on our Network meeting configuration standards for width and curve rating exceeded the target and is consistent with previous year’s results

92%

Contracts completed on time exceeded our target and has improved compared to last year

100%

Contracts completed on budget exceeded our target however was a small decrease on last year’s result

97%

Effectiveness Indicators

Community Satisfaction

This indicator represents how satisfied the community is with Main Roads’ overall performance in the management and operation of the State road network. The upward trend for this target continued in 2019 with 90% of survey participants rating Main Roads performance as okay or better. Three regions exceeded the 90% target with the South West region achieving 96%. Goldfields-Esperance had the lowest overall performance rating of 58%.

Road Network Permitted for use by Heavy Freight Vehicles

This indicator relates to the efficient movement of goods within Western Australia and the percentage of available State roads accessed by the following types of vehicles B-Doubles, Double road trains and Triple road trains. The use of larger vehicles with heavy loads can increase the overall efficiency of freight transport operations, resulting in lower transport costs. However, to maintain road safety and guard against infrastructure damage, restrictions are placed on some trucks. Because of the relatively high efficiency of these vehicles, the proportion of roads accessible to them is an important factor in the overall efficiency of freight transport in this state. Over the past four years, the trend has remained relatively consistent with minor fluctuations attributed to changes in ownership of roads between state and local government.

Network Configuration – Roads

This indicator shows the percentage of travel undertaken on roads meeting specific criteria for seal width, carriageway width and curve rating. The indicator gives a measure of the ability of Main Roads to plan for and maintain roads to desirable standards. In 2019, 92% of travel was undertaken on roads meeting the seal width, carriageway width and curve rating criteria, which is above the target of 90% for that period. The results over the four-year period are relatively consistent and demonstrate that Main Roads continues to plan and program works to address roads that are below the criteria.

Network Configuration – Bridges

Like the roads measure, bridges are assessed for strength and width using agreed investigatory criteria. The monitoring of bridge strength and width needs to ensure a safe and efficient road network relating to improved access and transport efficiencies. These measures are indicators for the number of bridges that meet, or are above, the investigatory criteria, recorded as a percentage of the total number of bridges on main roads and highways. Bridges that do not meet the investigatory criteria for strength or width are considered in assessing, scoping and prioritising works, as part of the ten-year bridge strategy.

Strength – The results of this indicator show that 94% of the bridges meet the agreed criteria for strength against a target of 93%.

Width – In relation to width, 96% of bridges meet the criteria against a target of 96%.

Efficiency Indicators

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Time

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on time in the Road Efficiency Service. There are no contracts over budget for this Service, therefore the result achieved was 100% which is above the target of 90%.

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Budget

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts that were delivered on budget in the Road Efficiency Service. The result achieved was 97%, which is above the target of 90%. There was one contract that was over budget for this Service and a claim for variation is being reviewed but at the time of reporting was outstanding.

Average Cost of Network Management

This indicator measures the financial efficiency of the Road System Management program in terms of cost per million vehicle kilometres travelled to manage the road system. In order to compare current figures with previous years all figures have been adjusted and reported in terms of current year’s dollars. In respect of the current year, the result of $6,195 per million vehicle kilometres travelled is higher than the target of $5,540. This variation reflects a combination of a reduction in the total vehicle kilometres travelled that was not factored in when setting the target and an increased focus on addressing congestion with non built solutions.

State Development

Outcome: Facilitating economic and regional development

This service expands the road network in accordance with State and Commonwealth transport and land use strategies that will facilitate the economic and regional development of the State. We demonstrate this through the following measures:

Our target for the average return on which road and bridge construction expenditure will deliver future economic benefits to the community was exceeded and continues to improve

4.1

Contracts completed on time came in below target but remained stable compared to last year

75%

Contracts completed on budget exceeded our target but was lower than last year

92%

Effectiveness Indicators

Return on Construction Expenditure

New roads and bridge construction adds to the capacity of the road network. Return on Construction Expenditure is based on Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) estimates of a set of projects undertaken each year. It indicates the extent to which road and bridge construction expenditure will deliver future economic benefits to the community. This indicator represents the expenditure weighted BCR for the State Development Service and Road Efficiency Service for which a BCR has been calculated. The BCR came ahead of target with an expenditure weighted average result of 4.1 against the target of 3.8.

Efficiency Indicators

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Time

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on time in the State Development Service. The result achieved was 75%, which is below the target of 90%. There were three contracts late of which one was due to issues associated with delivery of infrastructure to the site, one is subject to a variation that has not been approved as at 30 June and the final contract remains a work in progress.

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Budget

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on budget in the State Development Service. The result achieved was 92%, which is above the target of 90%. The one contract that was over budget had liquidated damages applied.

Road Maintenance

Outcome: Providing a well maintained road network

This service seeks to maintain the existing road and bridge network by maximising asset life and minimising whole of life costs. We demonstrate this through the following measures:

Community satisfaction with road maintenance came in within our target and has improved since last year

87%

Preventative and proactive maintenance undertaken on the network came within our target and is consistent with previous year’s results

84%

Average cost of network maintenance per lane-kilometre of road network was higher than our target due to the impact of natural disasters

9,428

Effectiveness Indicators

Community Satisfaction of Road Maintenance

This indicator represents how satisfied the community is with Main Roads’ overall performance in the maintenance of the State road network. 87% of survey participants rate our performance as okay or better, an improvement from 2018 and our highest result of the past three years. Regionally, Mid West – Gascoyne had the best improvement, up 15 percent from 2018 whilst Goldfields-Esperance achieved the lowest result of 37%.

Preventative Maintenance Indicator

The Preventative Maintenance Indicator provides a measure of the proportion of sealed state road network that has a surfacing age younger than its optimal target age. The indicator provides a measure of proactive maintenance undertaken on the network on an annual basis, sections of the network with a surfacing age younger than the target age are classified as ‘Good’. This year the analysis shows that 84% of the network is ‘Good’, which is just below the target of 85%. The results over the four-year period remain relatively consistent.

Smooth Travel Exposure

This indicator is based on the percentage of travel undertaken on the State road network meeting specific roughness criteria. It is therefore an important measure of the effectiveness of road maintenance expenditure. In 2019, 97% of the total travel on sealed state roads was undertaken on roads that meet the roughness standard. There has been a steady improvement over the past four years, with the current result an improvement on the previous years results.

Efficiency Indicators

Average Cost of Network Maintenance per Lane Kilometre of Road Network

This indicator identifies the financial efficiency of road and roadside maintenance works by showing the cost per lane kilometre to maintain acceptable travel conditions on State roads. Expenditure on structures and infrastructure depreciation is not included when calculating the cost basis. All figures are in current year’s dollars, which can influence the overall trend. This year’s result shows a variance against the target with the result being higher than the target. Contributing factors towards this outcome include significant additional funding for resealing and rehabilitation works that was not known when the target was being established. As has occurred in previous years there was additional work from natural disasters that also was not considered when setting the target.

Community Access

Outcome: Improving community access and roadside amenity

This service seeks to provide infrastructure that will increase personal mobility and community access. We demonstrate this through the following measures:

Community satisfaction with cycleways and pedestrian facilities was above our target and is continuing on an upward trend

91%

Percentage of the year that 100 per cent of the state Road Network was available came in under our target but has improved from last year’s result

91%

Contracts completed on budget exceeded our target showing continued strong performance

100

Effectiveness Indicators

Unplanned Road Closure on the State Road Network

Generally 100% of Main Roads Road sealed network is available to all road users; however, there are unplanned road closures due to a number of reasons including flooding, cyclones, bushfires and major road crashes, which may vary in duration. The availability of the sealed road network is measured as a percentage of calendar days that the whole network is available to the road user. Closure is determined by measuring the number of whole days (24 hours commencing from the time the road is closed) that any section of the sealed road network is closed. This year the road network was available 91% of the year, which is below the target of 95%.

Community Satisfaction with Cycleways and Pedestrian Facilities

This indicator represents how satisfied the community is with Main Roads’ performance in the construction, maintenance and management of cycleways and pedestrian facilities. 91% of survey participants rated our performance as okay or better this year, surpassing our target and continuing the upward trend for this indicator. The majority of regions maintained or improved their results with minor reductions in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions.

Efficiency Indicators

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Time

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on time in the Community Access Service. The result achieved was 86%, which is below the target of 90%. One contract remains over time and is still a work in progress at the time of preparing this report.

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Budget

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on budget in the Community Access Service. There are no contracts over budget for this Service therefore the result achieved was 100% which is above the target of 90%.