SUSTAINABILITY – Sustainability Assessment Tool For Pavements (SAT4P)
NACOE Project Number: P117
Contact email: brook.hall@arrb.com.au
Project Stage of Completion: 75%
In collaboration with the Western Australian Road Research and Innovation Program (WARRIP), the National Asset Centre of Excellence (NACOE) have been working together to develop a new, user-friendly Sustainability Assessment Tool For Pavements (SAT4P) to calculate lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and lifecycle cost benefits of innovative road pavements designs and rehabilitation treatments.
The SAT4P addresses the capability gap of existing tool limitations which do not have the flexibility to quantify innovative pavements materials, (i.e., recycled) designs, (e.g., crumb rubber asphalt), and processes (e.g., warm-mixes and in-situ stabilisation).
The SAT4P will be used by Main Roads Western Australia (MRWA), Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), and industry partners, to evaluate pavement options in Western Australia and Queensland with a focus on pavement designs or projects that incorporate innovative pavement materials/technologies.
The benefits will provide better-informed, long-term investment decision-making regarding alternate pavement design and material selection, and long-term maintenance strategy.
The Tool’s scope, processes and outputs are also aligned with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC’s) IS Rating Process.
Links with Queensland and Western Australian government and departmental policy objectives and targets include:
- Net Zero GHG Emissions Reductions
- Circular Economy, Waste Reduction & Recycling Targets
- Supporting Innovation and Business Growth in Waste Management & Pavement Construction Industries
- Delivering High Performing Road Infrastructure Within Budget Constraints, and
- Achieving Economic Sustainability Goals Through Reduced Lifecycle Costs.
Project Phases: Step-Wise Development
In Years Two and Three (2021/2022), a web tool was produced from the preliminary work in Years One & Two, where our teams worked together to transfer the extended capabilities into a user-friendly and visually appealing web-based tool.
The SAT4P development involved several phases of developer and user testing to ensure a robust, user-friendly tool capable of generating consistent and reliable results.
Both Main Roads Western Australia and TMR undertook rigorous testing and refinements to improve capability and usability.
Who Can Use It & When?
The SAT4P Tool is currently only available for TMR, MRWA and ARRB staff, with our internal users focussing on pilot testing the tool and continue building familiarity.
Sign up to receive our FREE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER to stay tuned for further updates on this innovative new tool, which will be hosting a free public webinar to disseminate learnings to the industry, showcase all the features and benefits, and share our case studies from the pilot testing and a produce a project report.