Abstract
This thesis discusses Information Technology Needs to Effectively Manage a
Pavement Management System.
The main drive of the study was to identify the problematic areas in the information
technology and the software used in pavement management systems to provide indepth
knowledge for an effective pavement management system.
The applied methodology was qualitative. This study involved five Gauteng province
institutions responsible for the road networks with participation from heads of
departments. Permission was requested and granted to conduct the research, and the
questionnaires were sent to the participants. The institutions selected have the most
reputable record of pavement management. The questionnaire collected data
concerning the software that was used by the relevant participants.
The study has revealed that numerous software products are available on the global
market for both public and private businesses. A few programs were being developed
by the South African software industry. Several road institutions had begun
implementing PMSs even though they weren't in widespread use.
Questionnaires were received with a list of available PMS software types, however, It
seems that "in-house pavement management system" was primarily utilized in the
Gauteng province by the majority of road institutions, while others utilize consultants.
The research finding indicated that there is a need for more awareness in South Africa
of existing information technology and software used in pavement management
internationally.
With the study carried out only in the Gauteng province; the findings are not
generalizable, and improvements may result from a larger sample size. This will teach
users how to use software to better manage pavement while meeting the needs of the
South African road networks.