Performance and Financials

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 people and places. We use performance measurement to gain insight into, and make judgements about, the effectiveness and efficiency of the services we provide. Our performance measures are integrated within an evaluation and reporting process that is reviewed monthly by our Leadership team.

Alignment with Government Goals

We contribute towards three goals identified by the Western Australian Government achieved through a service based outcome approach. The following table identifies the six services that drive our outcomes to deliver road related services to our customers.

Following are key effectiveness and efficiency indicators that measure the extent of impact and success in the delivery and use of resources to provide our services.

Understanding our measures

The report begins with a summary of our service outcomes and measures for each indicator showing the trend over time and the current year results against the State Budget Papers. Following this is a narrative on each of the efficiency and effectiveness indicators for the six outcome based services. There have been no changes to the approaches or methodology underpinning our measures this year. The following information gives an overview of the approach taken for 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 across the State. An external research company collected the data by way of online survey and a small number of telephone interviews using a developed structured questionnaire. The population for the purpose of the research is all Western Australian residents 17 years of age and over. A sample of 702 residents from rural areas (100+ respondents from each region) and 655 residents from the Perth metropolitan area were surveyed. A stratified random sample is taken from the population ensuring that each person is given equal opportunity of being selected. The total sample of 1,357 produced a sampling precision of +/ – 2.66% at the 95% confidence interval. That is to say that we would be 95% confident that the results would be within +/-2.66% should a census of the population be undertaken.

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

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 whilst a result below warrants further investigation to determine if there are any underlying systemic issues.

Summary of Key Performance Measures and Outcomes

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:

Effectiveness Indicators

Community Satisfaction with Road Safety

This indicator represents how satisfied the community is with Main Roads’ overall performance in the area of road safety. Main Roads exceeded the target for the third year in a row, with 93% of participants giving an okay or better rating. After improving significantly in 2020, Great Southern dropped this year to 78%, which aligns more with previous year’s results. Goldfields-Esperance has improved by seven percent this year, while the other regions remain steady.

Black Spot Location Indicator

The 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 64% against a target of 90% with 15 of the 42 eligible contracts not delivered within the expected time frame. Of these eight are still in progress and have requests for extension of time pending but not approved as at 30 June, whilst five were delayed due to inclement weather including works being suspended due to the onset of winter conditions. Of the remaining two contracts one contract is in dispute and negotiations are underway and the remaining contract has not had practical completion issued whilst outstanding defects are rectified.

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Budget

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on budget in the Road Safety Service. Of the 42 eligible contracts there were two that were not on budget, in both cases variations for the additional costs are pending but not approved as at 30 June however, the result 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:

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 rating increased in 2021, with 92% of survey participants rating Main Roads’ performance as okay or better. Two regions exceeded the 90% target with overall performance continuing to trend upwards, on 2020 results.

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 or 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 2020-21, 93% of travel was undertaken on roads meeting the seal width, carriageway width and curve rating criteria, which is above the target of 92% for that period. The results over the four-year period show a consistent, upward trend 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 94%.

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. The result achieved was 72% against a target of 90% with eight of the 29 eligible contracts not delivered within the expected time frame of which three are still in progress. Of the remaining contracts, three have been delayed because of inclement weather, one is in dispute and negotiations are underway and the last contract is subject to a request for extension of time which had not been approved as at 30 June.

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Budget

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts that were delivered on budget in the Road Efficiency Service. Only one of the 29 eligible contracts was not on budget, however a variation for additional costs associated with drainage and mulching is pending but not approved as at
30 June. The result for this service at 97% is above the target.

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 $6,821 per million vehicle kilometres travelled is higher than the target of $4,539. This target was established prior to the pandemic, and since that time there has been an increased focus on economic recovery resulting in increased project planning and development not originally included in the target. However, the outcome is consistent with previous year’s results when adjusted applying the Gross State Product Price Index.

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:

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 result is behind target with an expenditure weighted average result of 3.17 against the target of 4.18. This difference is due to increased scope of works and unforeseen risks materialising in a small number of projects resulting in a change to the basis on which the target was established.

Efficiency Indicators

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Time

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on time in the State Development Service. Of the six eligible contracts there was one not delivered on time as at 30 June which was still in progress. That contact had been impacted by delays associated with COVID-19, changes to design and the significant number of utilities that had to be relocated. The result achieved for this service is 83% which is below the target of 90%.

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Budget

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

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:

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. 89% of survey participants rate our performance as okay or better, increasing by three percent from 2020. Regionally, Metropolitan continues to improve, up four to 95%. Though not significant, Goldfields-Esperance and Wheatbelt ratings have both improved this year.

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 87% of the network is ‘Good’, which exceeds the target of 85%. This improved value is a 2% improvement in the percentage of surfacing age classified as “Good” compared to the previous year and arrests the “below target” values for the previous years.

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 2020-2021, 98% 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 the State roads. In determining the cost basis expenditure on structures and infrastructure depreciation has been excluded. In order to compare current figures with previous years all figures have been adjusted and reported in terms of current year’s dollars which can influence the trend result. The inclusion of Reseal, Rehabilitation and Natural disasters makes this KPI sensitive to additional budget being made available to address flood damage and maintenance backlog. This year’s result shows a variance against the target with the result being lower than estimated. 

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:

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 in Western Australia is closed. This year the road network was available 84% of the year, which is below the target of 95%. This was due to major bushfires in the Leeman and Red Gully areas, Tropical Cyclone Seroja and flooding events across Pilbara and Kimberley regions during the wet season.

Community Satisfaction with Cycleways and Pedestrian Facilities

This indicator represents how satisfied the community is Main Roads’ performance in the construction, maintenance and management of cycleways and pedestrian facilities. 89% of survey participants rated our performance as okay or better this year, coming just under our target and matching 2018’s result. The Metropolitan region continues to achieve the highest result for this indicator.

Efficiency Indicators

Percentage of Contracts Completed on Time

This indicator represents the percentage of contracts delivered on time in the Community Access Service.
There are no contracts over time 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 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%.