This paper discusses the pavement management systems (PMS) developed and used in the Finnish National Road Administration, and also makes comparisons to the practical decision making. The paper reveals the actual differences between the systems and practices. No matter how sophisticated management systems are, still the political decisions and engineers' feelings override when deciding maintenance strategy or money allocation. The management style of the entire administration and institutional, educational and organizational aspects are far more important than perhaps seen in countries in advance when they are eagerly trying to develop their own pavement management system. As conclusion the paper gives recommendations for road administrations about the pros and cons of having pavement management systems in operation compared to the difficulties met within the political and organizational aspects. (A) The German title of this article is: Optimierung der Erhaltungsstrategien in FinnRA Systeme und Praxis.
Abstract