Media Release
Infrastructure Decision Support (IDS) has won the coveted Excellence In Maximising Asset Performance Award at the annual IPWEA NZ Excellence Awards, which were held in Dunedin, NZ, at the Dunedin Centre.
IDS is a non-profit organization set up by the local industry to support infrastructure decision-makers.
Dr. Theuns Henning, CEO of IDS and lecturer at the University of Auckland, was thrilled with the win but quick to point out that it was very much a team effort; “We simply could not have developed the unsealed roads modelling tool (the focus of our award entry) without the support of Central Otago District Council (CODC) with whom we jointly submitted our entry. A number of research students from the University of Auckland also made valuable contributions."
“Our industry partners such as CODC were able to bring their ‘real-life’ experience to the project specifications brief, but were also there as a sense check throughout the development process to ensure that the tool we were developing would offer meaningful benefits to our end users. We are proud that this tool has been developed by Kiwis, for Kiwi conditions, with the help of our Canadian software partner, Deighton."
“Unsealed roads play an important role in the New Zealand economy. More than 40% of the local roading networks in New Zealand are unsealed, and yet 80% of our primary industry economic trips start on these roads. Previously there were no modelling tools available designed specifically with unsealed roads at their core but merely sealed road tools that had been modified and really didn’t fit with New Zealand’s needs."
“One of the key issues for council decision-makers is weighing up community needs versus available budget and balancing this alongside other factors such as material sourcing, customer feedback, and cultural considerations. Our new tool uses data to optimize asset performance and deliver positive community outcomes, which is the end goal. To gain this sort of recognition from our IPWEA peers validates IDS’ purpose for being. Personally, having devoted much of my professional life to unsealed roads modelling, I feel incredibly humbled.”
For more information about the IDS Unsealed Roads Modelling Tool, visit www.ids.org.nz.
Media Contact:
Heidi Wood
Account Director/Purple Sherbet PR
Award Criteria:
Optimising and Maximising Asset Performance through the application of fundamental asset management principals is a cornerstone of IPWEA NZ’s mission. Candidates for this award should demonstrate how they have applied asset management principles to maximise benefit and outcomes to their community’s investment.