When properly implemented, the PAVER pavement management system has been found to be an extremely valuable management tool. The most important requirement the system imposes on users is the periodic update of the inspection data. Without up-to-date condition information, meaningful analyses cannot be performed. If accurate condition information is available, an effective maintenance and rehabilitation plan that will lead to significant avoided cost can be developed using PAVER. Although the cost of inspection is small compared with the avoided cost, it is a legitimate concern for many users. Some of the more practical and readily available devices that can be used for field data collection are identified and evaluated. A device from each of the following categories was selected: (a) paper and pencil, (b) portable computer, (c) bar code reader, (d) hand-held computer, and (e) voice recognition system. Each discussion describes the device, explains how it is used, and provides its advantages, disadvantages, and costs.
Abstract