Chris Oldfield, Naracoorte Community News

Council amalgamations, redundancies and retirements have resulted in the loss of experienced staff when it comes to managing road networks.

And often council managers are trained in different fields, not civil engineering.

“They are busy doing everything else they have to do,” national road chief Tyrone Toole said.

So, road networks deteriorate and costs increase.

Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) Chief Technology Leader, Asset Performance Tyron Toole said sometimes councils had to keep going back to repair or regrade roads and “something was missing”.

As part of any road analysis, both human resources and equipment were looked at.

“What we examine is actually the resourcing in the techniques and how do they – staff – operate and how good they could be,” Mr Toole said.

“I’ve only ever seen a few councils asking to really work on their techniques and how they can best apply the human resources.”

He said the skills and experience of crews working on roads were crucial.

“When you’ve got a good operator, they are worth their weight in gold – mixing the water, compaction and other things like that – you can have an unsealed road last a very long time,” Mr Toole said.

“So you’ve got those issues as well – has a council actually got a fundamental problem with the skills and abilities within a team?”

Mr Toole said councils might be spending the right amount of money at the right time, but if staff weren’t equipped with the right skills, that could be a problem.

“It can be a lack of training,” he said.

“And, there’s been a lot of people as we know, lost to retirement and other things, redundancies and amalgamations.

“But the key is passing all the techniques on to the younger generation where they are coming through.

“Have they been coached and mentored in the same way?

“We see a lot of weaknesses in that area.

“So, without throwing more money at the solution, you can simply get more benefits because you’ve got more experienced hands who are better at what they do.”

As well as human resources in a council, things like machinery also needed to be assessed.

“Some organisations – councils and contractors – might have five of one machine, but they don’t have a mixer or a compactor and they can’t get the water there.

“Well, that’s why the roadwork doesn’t last long either.

“Also, if they are going to revert a sealed road to gravel – are they going to maintain it very well, or are they going to have potholes?

“I’d be getting a council to have a thorough look at their practices, their alternatives, and their capacity within their teams rather than going backwards.”

This article appeared in Naracoorte Community News.

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