Department For International Development TITLE: by: Improving local resources utilisation in roadworks in developing and emerging countries C S Gourley, R Petts and T Toole TRL Limited Crowthorne Berkshire RG45 6AU United Kingdom PA3674101I PA3674/01 GOURLEY, C S, R PETTS and T TOOLE (2001). Improving local resources utilisation in roadworks in developing and emerging countries. XlVth IRF World Meeting -Palais de Congress, Paris, France, 1 1 June 2001. IMPROVING LOCAL RESOURCE UTILISATION IN ROADWORKS IN DEVELOPING AND EMERGING COUNTRIES C Gourley, R Petts and T Toole ABSTRACT Developing and emerging economies are characterised by a resource base that is fundamentally different from that found in deveboped countries. For example, unskilled and semni-skilled labour is abundant and relatively cheap (wages less than US$5/day) in many African, Asian and Central/South American economies. This contrasts starkly with the costs and resources associated with supporting import-dependent heavy civil engineering plant which now make the equipment intensive approach unsustainable for many road construction and maintenance operations in developing countries. Furthermore, experience over the past twenty to thirty years in developing countries has shown that conditions, standards and work practices in the road sector differ considerably from those in developed countries. Use of local resources can be far more cost effective and appropriate. From a broader economic, political and social perspective it makes more sense to seek optimal use of locally available resources before importing expensive equipment, materials and expertise on a large scale. Maximising local capacity, particularly if adopted as part of a broader strategy aimed at reducing the costs of providing and maintaining infrastructure, can lead to significant increases in the mobility and access to services of rural and urban communities. Coupled with more flexible approaches to the provision of road maintenance and construction services,~ susta inable employment opportunities become a distinct possibility beyond the initial resource-intensive building period. Arguably, improving local resource utilisation requires greater understanding and deployment of effective technical and organisational skills than when modem, so-called "state of the art" approaches are employed. It is also now widely recognised that in most cases the technologies and approaches taught in standard, developed country educational curricula do not meet the requirements of developing countries. Engineers and managers, need to make the most-rationalochoices of technology and implementation. and this requires an awareness of needs and real costs, as well as an appreciation of. the economic and social dimensions. There is, therefore, a need to "mainstream" approaches that will encourage better utilisation of local resources and develop the necessary capacity and user confidence in their application. This paper presents the rationale for, and reviews progress towards better local resource utilisation in roadworks. It describes current and recent initiatives in the field and provides specific examples of the potential benefits of adopting appropriate standards and priorities, the impact of quality standards on subsequent performance and cost-effectiveness, and the relative productivity of altemnative equipment and labour technologies. The paper discusses the following issues:- * Labour based roadworks and Intermediate equipment * Effective use of resources * Priorities for rural roads * Current developments and future requirements The examples are primarily viewed from an engineering and economic perspective and focus on the provision and management of unpaved roads, although the general principles and issues also have wider application. IMPROVING LOCAL RESOURCE UTILISATION IN ROADWORKS IN Use of local, resources Page 1 of 13 IRF.Congress 2001 DEVELOPING AND EMERGING COUNTRIES C Gourley', R PettS 2and T Toole' (1: TRL Ltd, 2: Intech Associates) 1. INTRODUCTION Developing and emerging economies are characterised by a resource base that is fundamentally different from that found in developed countries. For example, unskilled and semi-skilled labour is abundant and relatively cheap (wages less than US$5/day) in many African, Asian and Central/South American economies. This contrasts starkly with the costs and resources associated with supporting import-dependent heavy civil engineering plant which now make the equipment intensive approach unsustainable for many road construction and maintenance operations in developing countries. Furthermore, experience over the past twenty to thirty years in developing countries has shown that conditions, standards and work practices in the road. sector differ considerably from those in developed countries. Use of local resources can be far more cost effective and appropriate. From a broader economic, political and social perspective it makes more sense to seek optimal use of locally available, resources before importing expensive equipment, materials and expertise on a large scale. Maximising local capacity, particularly if adopted as part of a broader strategy aimed at reducing the costs of providing and maintaining infrastructure, can lead to significant increases in the mobility and access to services of rural and urban communities. Coupled with more flexible approaches to the provision of road maintenance and construction services, sustainable employment opportunities become a distinct possibility beyond the initial resource-intensive building period. Arguably, improving local resource utilisation requires greater understanding and deployment of effective technical and organisational skills than when modern, so-called "state of the art" approaches are employed. It is also now widely recognised that in most cases the technologies and approaches taught in standard, developed country educational curricula do not meet the requirements of developing countries. Engineers arnd managers, need to make the most rational choices of technology and implementation and this requires an awareness of needs and real costs, as well as an appreciation of the economic and social dimensions. There is, therefore, a need to "mainstream` approaches that will encourage better utilisation of local resources and develop the necessary capacity and user confidence in their application. This paper presents the rationale for, and reviews progress towards better local resource utilisation in roadworks. It describes current and recent initiatives in the field and provides specific examples of the potential benefits of adopting appropriate standards and priorities, the impact of quality standards on subsequent performance and cost-effectiveness, and the relative productivity of altemnative equipment and labour technologies. 'The paper discusses the following issues:- * Labour based roadworks and Intermediate equipment * Effective use of resources * Priorities for rural roads * Current developments and future requirements The examples are primarily viewed from an engineering and economic perspective and focus on the provision and management of unpaved roads, although the general principles and Use of local resources Pg f1 R oges20 Page 2 of 13 IRF Congress 2001 issues also have wider application. 2. TERMINOLOGY Before, progressing further, it is useful. to define some of the terminology used in this paper. The various definitions and interpretations of terminology used in the appropriate technology roadworks sector are given in Box 1. Box 1: DEFINITIONS The following definitions are used based on Petts (1997): LOCAL RESOURCES: These can include human resources, local government, private, NGO and community institutions, local entrepreneurs such afs contractors, consultants, industrialists and artisans, local skills, locally made or intermediate equipment, local materials such as timber, stone, bricks, and marginal materials, locally raised finance or provision of materials or services in kind. LABOUR BASED ROADWORKS*: Operations carried, out principally by. manual methods. They may be suppor ted by intermediate equipment foir'activities not ideally suited to labour methods, e.g. medium-long distance haulage and heavy compaction'. Labourers usually walk or cycle to work each day from their homes. By contrast, a truck transporting labour from a camp or depot to the work site on a daily basis to carry out manual activities is an EQUIPMENT BASED system; the truck is the major cost component and if it is not available every working day, then the system is compromised. LABOUR BASED CONTRACTOR: An individual labour contractor, a labour-only contractor or a contractor principally using labour but who owns or hires-in intermediate equipment for certain activities. LABOUR EXTENSIVE ROADWORKS: Large numbers of labour used for various roadworks activities with the prime objective of creating temporary or permanent employment rather than achieving sustainable efficient systems. INTERMEDIATE EQUIPMENT: Simple or intermediate equipment designed for low initial and operating costs, durability and ease of maintenance and repair in the conditions typical of a limited-resource environment, rather than for high theoretical efficiency.' It is preferable if the equipment can also be manufactured or fabricated locally. Examples of Intermediate Equipment are agricultural tractors, trailers, towed graders and other tractor towed items, pedestrian rollers. HEA VY EQUIPMENT: Sophisticated civil engineering equipment designed for, and manufactured in, high-wage, low- investment-charge, economies. Expected to operate with close support and high annual utilisation. Usually designed for a single function with high efficiency operation. Examples of Heavy Plant are motorgraders, dozers, front end loaders, traxcavators, specialist dump trucks, self propelled rollers. * This term is adopted for this paper as most closely representing the efficient labour roadworks romorammes in the eXpedence of the authors. 3. LABOUR BASED ROADWORKS Under the active encouragement of the International Labour Office (ILO) and 'other agencies, labour based -(LB) roadworks (as opposed to labour extensive .roadworks) 'have been introduced to about: 35 countries in Africa and Asia over then last'three decades;~ This, is not to say that these methods are something new or relatively limited in extent. So'me 'ountr-ies, notably around'the Indian sub-continent and Asia, have always applied LB roadworks where, Use of local resources Pg f1 R oges20 Page 3 of 13 IRF Congress 2001 due to the prevailing economic and social conditions, the approach is the most appropriate for the majority of roads. The reintroduction of LB methods in other countries has been caused partly by the Precognition of the potential social, financial and economic advantages d' these methods. However, in many cases it has been the increased recognition through experience, that in many countries or regions, it can be difficult or impossible to support and maintain imported sophisticated heavy equipment. There is also now a general willingness amongst certain - development agencies to support appropriate technology roadworks programmes and this has also helped to bring about an increasing opportunity for change. Labour based roadworks have had their greatest successes with construction and rehabilitation projects. The inherent policy, institutional, management and funding problems of road maintenance have, in part, constrained the success rate of LB maintenance works to a more modest scale. The efficiency and sustainability of road maintenance systems in the developing world is expected to improve as more countries decentralise activities and support these through dedicated funds allocated through the Road Boards. An example of success with a LB approach has been the construction/rehabilitation of some 1 1,000km~n of gravel standard roads under the Rural Access and Minor Roads Programmes (RARP & MVRP) in Kenya since 1974. This represents almost 20% of the national classified road network. The roads were brought under a routine maintenance lengthman system using labour living alongside the roads. Kenya is now preparing for a national programme to extend labour based methods (supported with agricultural tractors) -to the majority of its approximately 55,000 km unpaved classified road network. This programme will involve a radical shift from using the traditional 1 00% construction/rehabilitation approach to implementation of a partial rehabilitation/spot improvement strategy supported by the establishment of an effective system of routine maintenance. The programme will also attempt to move from a largely direct labour management system to the development and establishment of an effective small scale local contracting capacity. The approach recognises the need for a change in focus from building new roads and carrying out full rehabilitation works, to maintenance and ensuring basic access and passability on the existing network. It also recognises the limitations of available financial* and physical resources and at the same time fits well with local and international poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihood strategies. This change in direction will necessarily be forced on many other emerging and developing countries. There is now an increasing cadre of engineers and managers in many developing countries with direct experience of labour based roadworks methods. This, and increased confidence of the approach within the, development community, has helped 'to overcome earlier prejudices within the engineering fraternity. 4. INTERMEDIATE EQUIPMENT Intermediate equipment often is, or can be, manufactured locally to meet some of the needs of the roadworks sector. It ican be tractor-based, self propelled, apnimal..,drawn or hand operated., .Capital costs of local manufacture can be significantly lower than importing more sophisticated .equipm~ent -and; plant. Other potential benefits i nclude-easier maintenance, lower operating costs,.and the. added advantage of increasing the liocal manufacturing capability (which creates local skilled employmnent)., This in itself should encou~rage greater Use of local resources Pg f1 R oges20 Page 4 of 13 1, IRF Congress 2001 sustainability, lower financing costs and increased capacity than would come with sole reliance on sophisticated imported equipment and technology. Box 2 outlines some of the operational, support and technical problems met when using inappropriate technologies and plant. 5. EXAMPLES OF'THE EFFECTIVE USE OF RESOURCES The challenge for today's planners and engineers is to maximise the efficiency of both minor and main roads within available budget constraints, and thereby contribute to increased economic activity and productivity. Considerable evidence exists in the form of case study examples and sound principles to guide recommendations in this area. These are considered under the headings of maintenance approach, construction operations and equipment selection. Most importantly, the examples quoted are to a large extent practical, and in many cases fully within the remit of the planner and contractor. In each case they significantly affect the cost and durability, of the'end product. Maintenance Approach: Hine (1993), using evidence collected fr-om a study in Ghana, suggests that The benefits of adding a new vehicle access using simple methods is over one hundred times greater, from the viewpoint of farmers,' than upgrading a similar length of earth track to gravel standard. This study looked at the effect of access standards on farm gate prices, and produced the results summarised ~inTable~ 1 below and graphically represented in Figure 1. -Headfloading Box 2 PROBLEMS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH SOPHISTICATED IMPORTED EQUIPMENT Operational: * Dedicated function (can only be used for one operation) * Inter-dependence (e.g. dozer, loader, trucks, motorgrader, bowser, roller all required for gravelling - what happens when ONE link in the chain breaks down?) * Lack of continuity of workload for plant items of dedicated function Technical: * High pressure hydraulic systems * Sophisticated mechanics and hydraulics * Disposable components; difficult to repair or refurbish Local Support. * Limited local market for equipment sales of each model * Specialist repair and maintenance skills, tools and facilities required (often only available in the capital city) * Few dealers able to provide the necessary close support cost. * All equipment 8nd spares imported -consuming scarce foreign exchange * High capital and finance costs * High costs of stocking and provision of spares Equipment Maintenance: * Long spares supply lines and delivery times * Frequent model 'improvements' causing spares stocking and procurement problems and 'planned' obsolescence Use of local resources Page 5 of 13 IRF Congress 2001 Length of access to be upgraded 5 km 20 km Upgrade from earth to 0.08 0.29 gravel road Upgrade from path to earth 11.4 70.6 road Table I Percentage increase in farm-gate price of maize with improved access Figure 1 Graph of Cost Effectiveness of Upgrading to a Motorable Track For the most lightly 'trafflicked roads, adoption of a spot improvement approach to facilitate road access for most of the year, rather than adoption of traditional roughness reducing measures have been shown to be a very efficient method to best use scarce financial and engineering resources. Ellis and Hine (1998) have demonstrated how the approach can produce maximum productivity benefits. 95% of year, access established 99% of year access established 0 ~~~~~~~~~Maintenance for roughness reduction Maintenance expenditure $/km Figure 2 Graph of Cost Effectiveness against Standard of Road This is il~lustrated in Figure 2. In this example '!NMrginal Productivity', defined as the 'economic gain per incremental increase in maintenance expenditure', is maximised by the provision of access for 95% of the year. That is, acceptance of accessability except on a few days when through a combination of climatic and soil conditions vehicular access is not permitted or possible. Costs are likely to be of the order of a few hundred dollars per kilometre for interrupted access, whereas near guaranteed access requires higher expenditure, perhaps 2 or 3 times more, which produces significantly lower benefits. Finally, roughness reducing measures produce the lowest benefits per $ of investment. The. careful selection of granular 'surfacing materials combined with the application of sufficiently frequent .routine' giaidind and 'dragging can significantly reduce. periodic maintenance expenditures, and total cos'ts' (Toole 1987). This is shown in Table 2 in terms of the relative wear rates of calcareous materials in Botswana. The effectiveness of routine maintenance to roughness reduction is generally well documented, and virtually no benefits, Use of local resources Pg f1 R oges20 cl Costs C2 C31I Road Ti T2 T3 Traffic Page 6 of 13 IRF Congress 2001 with respect to material loss were estimated. Material Strategy ML Per Year Relative ype Per 100 VPD .waterriates Plastic No Maintenince 20 0 Gravel Wet seacon light grading (1 in 1 1 000 Vehicle passes.) 1307 .(Calcrete)... Shein fight grading (1 in 3.000 Vehiecl-e passes) 6 ~ Clayey sand No Mainteniance 41.... 2..L... (calcified Wet seagon light grading (1 in 1 1 .000 Vehicle passes) 18 Sand)... Sheeting & light grading (1 in 3-000 Vehicle passes) 13 07 Table 2 Rate of material loss related to maintenance strategy and material type Simply increasing the camber of an un paved road to 6 per cent, or so, and restoring this through maintenance operations, can extend the maintenance cycle by a factor of 4 or 5 (Rolt 1979). This finding was determined during the early years of the Kenya Rural Access Programme and has been used to justify cross sectional standards ever since. Construction Operations: If adequate water is not mixed with the materials prior. to compaction, maximum roughness levels may be attained after one fifth the normal time (traffic) (Toole 1987). The effect of compaction moisture, content on the performance of a series of trial sections of unpaved roads constructed in Botswana is represented in Fioure 3. 20 .~~~~~~~~~~--------- j 0 dop cl n a 0.5 Iti es Ma R o ~g ~ e p fogroS ~lo fOI~ w c o m p a a a f ~ Q p t h lc ) l 0 ~~~20 40 80 8~0 -100 Thmd*Tra~i Figure 3 Effect of compaction moisture content on roughness progression The rate of roughness increase is modified by a function of the ratio of the compaction moisture content to the optimum moisture content. At the site of the trials, traffic chose to drive along adjacent sand tracks if the roughness levels approached 15 in/km IRI. Equipment Selection: Locally or regionally manufactured towed graders can provide an effective substitute for light motorised graders in many circumstances at approximately one quarter of the cost of a conventional approach.~ Taking due account of productivity levels, resulting savings can be up to 50% per km of road. In other words, twice the length of road can be maintained for the same mo ney (Jones and Robiniso'n 1986). This finding was derived from TRL- studies in Kenya that examined the- tec hnical performance of alternative equipment, the availability and productivity and costs. The results are il lustrated in Table 3 and Figure 4. Use of local resources Pg f1 R oges20 Tye JAvailability Output cIm 1 ' ~ ~i tkmtnqvi1 (llf~oii~rl Page 7 of 13 IRF Congress 2001 Table 3 Comparison of Tractor-Towed and Motor Graders l0a 1 4 1 2 9E121 0 .rii . 21 A a 81 0 R..gh n.... b 9or ,.ding nIkn (IRIs Figure 4 Effects of grading on roughness (Kenya: Motor and Towed Graders) This is confirmed by a more recent study in Zimbabwe (Intech, 1998) which found that the total cost of the District Development Fund (DDF) routine maintenance system for gravel roads based on tractor and labour methods was US$260/km/year. This includes all overheads, financing costs and depreciation. This is cheaper than the cost of just one motorgrading operation. The system has been established on a network of some 25,000 km. The availability and careful selection of compaction plant and availability of water can improve output by five or six times (Greening and Toole 1998). This finding was derived from the re- analysis of compaction studies carried out by TRIL (Parsons 1992). A series of compaction trials were carried out on a wide variety of compaction plant and soils. These included light and heavy cohesive soils and well graded granular materials, with compaction moistures varying from optimum to dry. Table 4 demonstrates the inefficiency of compacting dry of the optimum moisture both in terms of the passes required and output per hour. The impact of dry compaction on the performance was considered earlier. Roller Type Load Light Cohesive Soil Heavy Cohesive Soil Well Graded (drum) Granular Material opt DE Opt Dy opt 0~ 9 tonne 3.5 T/m 6 NS 36 2 8, Smooth Deadweight (105) (210) (105) (210) (52): Roller _ _ _ _ _ Use of local resources Pg f1 R oges20 Motor Grader 30 2 280 Towed Grader 60 1 75 Page 8 of 13 IRF Congress 2001 Notes: I .Number of passes for 95% Proctor Density for a suitable (>l1 6 passes required or ground too soft). Table 4 Comparison of Typical Compaction Plant 150 mm layer. 2.Output (m3) per hour. 3.NS -not Although few results exist from controlled trials, some evidence does exist to provide confidence in the suitability of intermediate plant. Table 5 Performance of Intermediate Compaction Equipment Drawing on the results of work reported by Greening and Toole (1998) presented in Table 5, the following conclusions can be made. Although the hand drawn and animal drawinrollers were lighter than the equipment used in earlier TRL trials using conventional equipment (Parsons 1992), the number of passes required to achieve the density is still of an acceptable order to make the equipment feasible. The results also indicate the substantially greater productivity of tractor towed equipment, between 3.5 and 9 times more than vibratory equipment for granular soils and 3 times greater for cohesive soils. 6. PRIORITIES FOR RURAL ROADS Encouraging the adoption of appropriate standards for road investment W~hich aim. to meet minimum social, economic and technical objectives and maximise use of local resource's 'is essential if rural roads are to be affordable., The main priorities that should be considered aire set out in Box 3. Use of local resources Pg f1 R oges20 9..3tonne 2.4 T/m 4 8 4 6 . 4 16 Smooth Vibrating Roller (170) (85) (170) (57) (165) (42) 20 tonne Self 2.5 4 NS 4 8 4 16 Propelled T/wheel Roller. (253) _____ (259) (65) (260) (43) ROLLER Load Measured No. of Estimated No. of Passes Passes for 95% for 95% Proctor MDD Proctor MDD at (output (m3) per hour) 0MG Cohesive Granular Hand or Animal Drawn Empty -0.6 T/m 8 -12 Not tested Not tested Roller (Kenya) Loaded -1.4 T/m Tractor Towed Smooth Empty -3.1 T/m 8 -12 6 2 Wheeled Roller (Kenya) Loaded -3.7 T/m (120) (480) Tractor Towed Ribbed Roller Empty -3.2 T/m 8 -12 6 2 (Kenya) 'Loaded -3.8 T/m (120) (480) Twin Drum Pedestrian 0.4 T/m 6 -8 NS ? Operated Vibrating Roller (50) Twin Drum Pedestrian 0.7 T/m 6 -8 ?? NS ? 2 Operated Vibrating Roller (135), Page 9 of 13 IRFCongress 2001 7. LOOKING AHEAD In the late 1970's it was considered that labour based methods could be financially viable for roadworks with a daily labour wage of US$4 or less (World Bank Labor and Capital Substitution Studies). In the intervening years many countries have seen their economies stagnate or even retreat in per capita terms and they still fall within this wage rate criteria. At the same time dollar-based equipment inflation has continued to widen the gap between the actual unit costs of labour and capital equipment in many countries. Worsening terms of trade and the poor mechanical support environment have helped to push up the real cost of owning and operating imported, sophisticated, heavy equipment in these countries. In South Africa LB public works programmes are being established. Even with daily labour tasks of up to about US$ 10 equivalent, they are still considered to be competitive in financial terms with equipment based methods for some operations. The increased overhead management costs of LB methods will not become clear until these systems are fully established, and all start up, overhead and training costs are appreciated. However political, social and other benefits could significantly influence the equation. We should of course be looking very closely at the economic and social ben erits of using local labour and other resources as opposed to imported technology. Th e benefits of employment would arise both directly in the road sector and also indirectly in other sectors. For example, improved employment may generate potential socio-economic benefits through lower crime rates and policing/detention costs, and the related encouragement of investment. There are also obvious national benefits from developing the potential for local manufacturing of hand tools and intermediate equipment. In consideration of the foregoing it is suggested that any country with a daily agricultural wage rate of less than US$15 per day should seriously consider the financial, economic, industrial, social and political issues and consequences of a more labour based a~pproach to roadworks. Such criteria would extend the potential for efficient labour based. roadworks far beyond the current areas of practice and potentially into areas such as much, of, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Republics, and much of South America. Intermediate equipment is often manufactured or widely available in emerging countries, particularly in the agricultural sector. Tractors are already established in many countries, however their current restriction of use to the agricultural sector usually suffers from low utilisation. and high unit costs. There. Use of local resourcesPa e 1 of1IR C ng ss 2 0 Box 3 RURAL ROADS Priority should be given to: * providing and maintaining basic access for all road user groups * optimising economic solutions as higher traffic levels demand * consideration of spot improvements where access difficulties are concentrated at specific locations, such as watercourse crossings and steep hill sections. * adoption of affordable and sustainable engineering standards and technologies * appropriate quality control for all operations * identifying and agreeing with all stakeholders the maintenance and rehabilitation tasks which are 'ESSENTIAL' in order to meet policy objectives (i.e. poverty alleviation and sustainable basic rural access) Page 10 of 13 IRF Congress 2001. seems to be a significant potential to expand the availability of tractor attachments and operations into other sectors such as rural roads and water (earth dams and pipelines). This in itself would raise utilisation and lower unit costs. The technology is particularly suitable for use by local contractors in view of its flexibility, lower capital and operating costs when compared to sophisticated equipment. It also provides an affordable and manageable progression for successful labour based enterprises (Petts 1997). Certain trends can be expected to continue or develop in the foreseeable future. These include:- Less money, With the ending of the east-west cold war, many more countries are competing targets for aid funding. Internally, it is also likely to become harder to secure finance for new roadworks programmes a priorities are refocused and economies re-structured. Furthermore, more rigorous systems of appraisal and criteria may necessitate additional efforts to obtain funding. Construction to Maintenance: The trend from construction of new roads, to rehabilitation and maintenance of the existing network will probably continue, in view of the poor state of many existing roads, the high benefit-cost ratio of maintenance works and the high cost of construction. Full to Partial Rehabilitation: As an extension of the above trend it is expected that more emphasis will be placed on partial 'rehabilitation and spot, improvement to spread the benefits of the available limited resources and funds. Direct Labour (Force Account) to Local Private Sector: With the increasing problems of operating efficiently in the civil service organisations, there will probably be continued national and intemnational agency pressure to move to parastatal management/operations and the development of the private sector. However the benefits of a well managed and motivated force account organisation should not be overlooked for some operations. Transfer of Responsibilities to the, Local Communities: Labour based and intermediate equipment methods are. ideally suited to local. or community implementation. There is likely to be a planned or de facto transfer of responsibility for tertiary networks to, local communities, due to the lack of financial and physical resources and management capacity in central government organisations. Urban, Peni-Urban and Unplanned Settlement Growth: With the growth of unemployed and under-employed people in and around the urban centres of developing countries, there will be pressure to provide facilities and infrastructure for them. Appropriate technology road and drainage works will have an important role in satisfying these needs as well as demand. for employment. 8. ESTABLISH1ING THE ENABLING.ENVIRONMENT There are a number of constraints that need to be tackled to enable successful development of labour tased and intermediate equipment roadworks methods. The initiatives required include: Motivation of sector managers and implementers: There has beeni an Unrelenting decline inte real remuneration of this cadre of personnel in. man emrigand developing countries over the last three decades (Robinisoni 1990). Thi's disastrous deterioration must be arrested and reversed if any. system of road technology and Use of local resources Pg ~f1 R oges20 Page 1 1 of 13 IRF Congress 2001 .... .... management is to achieve success and sustainability in the future. Appropriate approaches to human resource development and training need to be established on a sustainably funded basis. Management strubtures need to be adapted to current needs. Evaluation and Planning Tools: Decision makers involved with road network planning and management require improved access to tools for evaluating appropriate technology roadworks options. These should include guidelines at policy .and implementation level concerning economic, social, local industrial and political issues, as well as purely financial comparisons. Appropriate Standards: Road standards should be reviewed in the light of current and expected transport (traffic volumes and types) needs, local resources, technology options, affordability and maintenance capability. Practical Implementation Guidelines: There are a number of documents available providing guidelines on the technical aspects of appropriate technology roadworks. However there have been weaknesses in other specific areas, such as guidelines on the specification and procurement of handtools and appropriate equipment, and the development of small scale contractors. Costing- guidelines for alternative technologies and methods to include 'realistic' components: of overheads and investment are also required. Quality control and testing regimes need to recognise the realities and logistics of rural road works. Furthermore appropriate technology roadworks must be fully assimilated into the academic and professional environment. Access to information and know-how, This aspect of labour based and intermediate equipment roadworks needs to be improved. Establishment of an effective information network is required in this sector, both at national and international level. Organisations such as the IRF, PIARC (World Road Association) through Committee 020 on Appropriate Development, TRL Ltd and other research Organisations, and the ILO through their Advisory Su pport, Information Services, and Training (ASIST) programme could all help fulfilfthis. role. Support for Domestic Contractors: The development of a healthy and effective domestic contracting industry will be an important objective for many emerging and developing countries. This will need to be supported by access to (modest amounts of) affordable capital,'as well as viable, continuously funded, sustainable programmes of work and linked to effective payment systems. and independent audits. Contract packages need to match the capabilities of local contractors with realistic, equitable and transparent terms and conditions. Fiscal regimes 'should encourage local resource and enterprise use rather than imported equipment etc.. Social, Environmental,' Health and Safety Aspects:~ There.is' a growing realisation that careful attention must be paid to these issues to ensure successful establishment of appropriate road sector systems. Policy Framework: Above all, setting of appropriate government policies and strategies are needed to positively promote and encourage appropriate technlg radwork~ and allo their 'development and estalsmh nnlg c~ommurdities and other. stdkeholders:~. coeainwt 9. SELECT ED REFE'REN CES -. Use of local resourcesPae1of3IRCngss20 Page 12 of 13 IRF Cong
ess 2001 Ellis, S and Hine J L (1998). Approach paper: The Provision of Rural Transport Services. SSATP Working Paper No.37. World Bank, Washington, April 1998. Greening P A K and Toole T (1998). Compaction for earth and gravel access roads and tracks. 6e ILO African Regional Seminar for Labour Based Practitioners, Jinja, Uganda, September 1998. Hine, J L (1993). Transport and marketing priorities to improve food security in Ghana and the rest of Africa. In: International Symposium on Food Security and Road Infrastructure. Giessen, May 1993. Intech (1998). Equipment and Rural Road Maintenance Cost Study, for Department of Roads, Association of Rural District Councils, Zimbabwe, ILO & Sida, Final Report, Intech Associates & Sesani Projects (Pvt) Ltd . Jones, T E and R Robinson (1986). A study of the cost effectiveness of upgrading unpaved roads in developing countries. TRRL- Research Report 91. Transport Research Laboratory, Crowthorne, UK. Parsons, A W (1992). Compaction of soils and granular materials: a review of research performed at the Transport Research Laboratory. Transport Research Laboratory. Department of Transport, London: HMSO. Petts, R C (1997). A global view of resource utilisation in roadworks. Paper to TRL Training Courses on the Management of Appropriate Road Technology and Roads and Transport in Developing and Emerging Countries. Intech Associates. Petts, R C (1997). Agricultural Tractors in Roadworks, MART Working Paper No 7. Robinson, D (1990). Civil Service Pay in Africa. International Labour Office, Geneva. Rolt, J (1979). Engineering standards in the Kenya Rural Access Road Programme. PTRC Annual Conference, University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Toole, T (1987). The use d calcretes in unpaved roads. MPhil thesis. University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. ©) Copyright Transport Research Laboratory and Intech Associates Jan 2001. Use of local resourcesPae1of3IFCngss20 Page 13 of 13 IRF Congress 2001