Evaluation of PMS in Korea Using PCM Method

As the backbone of national transportation, sharing more than 90% of all domestic transportation, roads in Korea have been extended drastically in their lengths since highway construction was triggered in the early 1970s. Among various road components, pavement has a direct impact on the ride comfort of road users. As the road pavement is damaged by vehicle traffic and environmental impact over time, proper maintenance is being carried out to keep the pavement in good condition by investing regular budget. For national highways in Korea, in order to manage road pavement, Pavement Management System(PMS) has been operated by introducing various inspection equipment and analysis system from foreign countries since 1987.

However, although PMS has been operated for 20 years in Korea, there has been nothing for overall evaluation of its effect. If some project lasted for a long time, it needs to improve the system by evaluating it comprehensively and carrying out amelioration, examining whether or not to provide proper data continuously and to be adapted suitably according to circumstance, etc. Through such evaluation, project is advanced and it can be clear to use budget to various participants.

This paper reviewed projects evaluation methods and foreign instances to evaluate the PMS in Korea. As a result of the review, PCM(Project Cycle Management) method was selected. PCM method is a method to evaluate comprehensively certain project using 5 items(relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability) and applied to PMS evaluation. In PCM method, Project Design Matrix should be constructed using Objectively Verifiable Indicators. A PDM for the PMS evaluation was constructed and OVIs is going to be complemented. We believe that PCM method is a very useful tool to evaluate comprehensively and enhance gradually the PMS in Korea.