Abstract:
In any drive towards achieving greater efficiency, the first step is to establish a performance measurement process to baseline current performance. An effective performance measurement framework helps in understanding the gap between an organisation's level of performance and best practice, as established from benchmarking against other organisations. Performance measurement, therefore, lies at the heart of any benchmarking project. Numerous benchmarking initiatives in the roading sector have been suggested, tested and implemented during the last two decades in many countries around the world, in order to address issues of accountability and to help achieve improvements in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Using the key variables in the areas of road maintenance and operations, this study applies the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique to measure and analyse the relative efficiencies of the Road Controlling Authorities (RCAs) in New Zealand.This benchmarking framework was also capable of incorporating contextual and environmental factors which are outside the control of the service providers, such as geology, climate, and vehicle kilometres travelled, in order to undertake a fair and meaningful comparison. The outcomes of this study make several significant research contributions to the existing literature with regard to road maintenance efficiency, its critical performance indicators and the performance measurement process. It will also assist the decision makers in benchmarking the efficient RCAs and the best practices displayed by these units.
