The UK Pavement Management System (UKPMS) is the national standard for management systems for the assessment of local road network condition and for the planning of investment and maintenance on paved areas of roads, kerbs, footways and cycle tracks on local roads within the UK.
As paved assets are the largest part of the highway network, efficient pavement management forms a vital component of any successful Transport Asset Management regime. It is essential for Local Authorities to be able to demonstrate effective pavement management processes within their Highway and Transport Asset Management Plans.
Road Maintenance
The primary use of UKPMS is to assist Local Authorities in the planning of maintenance on the local road network through the systematic collection and analysis of condition data. This is recommended as good practice and is a vital component of an effective Highway Asset Management regime. The key role played by UKPMS in highway maintenance management is recognised in Well-managed Highway Infrastructure - the Code of Practice for highway maintenance management.
In general, all pavement management systems consist of a representation of a road network divided into uniquely referenced road lengths. Against this network, it is possible to locate other data, including condition data (collected by visual or machine surveys) and inventory (such as construction details and width information). By applying rules to the condition data held against each section, potential maintenance treatments can be identified and these treatments can be prioritised.
The national governments of the UK monitor local authority performance in maintaining their road networks through a range of performance indicators. Some of which are required for national statistics, some which Local Authorities collect for asset management and other purposes such as Whole of Government Account requirements.
In England, local authorities Best Value Performance Indicators and National Indicators (NI) have been replaced by the following Single Data List data topics relating to the condition of local roads:
Local authority survey data of unclassified roads is not part of the Single Data list but where it has been provided by a local authority it is published in the Road Conditions in England Report
For the latest published information on road conditions in England click here.
For condition data for the rest of the UK see links below
The UK Roads Liaison Group and its Boards have responsibility for advising government on the scope and definitions of these indicators.
It is important to note that UKPMS is not a pavement management system, but is a specification for those functions where national consistency and comparability are required. Commercial system suppliers are encouraged to incorporate those key aspects of UKPMS within their systems, and a central testing programme ensures comparability with the UKPMS standard.
Following an initial comprehensive accreditation test, ongoing comparability of each UKPMS accredited system is monitored through an Annual Health Check test (introduced in autumn 2005). The Annual Health Check provides regular routine assurance that UKPMS systems continue to meet UKPMS requirements including the current rule set and national reporting.
It is important to be aware that each of these proprietary systems is different and offers different functionality. One of the strengths of the UKPMS approach is that Local Authorities are free to choose a pavement management system that meets their own particular needs, safe in the knowledge that those areas where national consistency is required are covered by the UKPMS process. Work has been carried out to review the core functionality of UKPMS.
Central to configuring UKPMS is the ‘Rule Set’, a self-contained set of rules, parameters and data, which allows users to apply either national standard or locally derived rules in the processing of their data. The concept of a national, standard rule set means that any changes can be introduced and managed in a controlled, predictable way without the need for a repeat of the full accreditation testing.
Rule Sets are released when changes are required - as part of the annual cycle to meet the needs and timescales for both national reporting and the Annual Health Check. The current (most recent) Rule Set is RP10.01, which has been used for reporting since 2011
The RCMG has set up a UKPMS Accreditation Process to enable new entrants to become UKPMS accredited.
The 2021 requirements for pavement management systems to become UKPMS accredited apply from Jul-21 and are given in the following document:
UKPMS 2021_AccreditationRequirements
The 2020 requirements apply until Jun-21 and are given in the following document:
UKPMS 2020_AccreditationRequirements
The 2019 requirements apply until Jun-20 and are given in the following document:
UKPMS 2019_AccreditationRequirements
Certificates for all systems that are currently accredited for UKPMS are given below under UKPMS Certificates.
The purpose of the UKPMS Annual Health Check (AHC) is to provide assurance that UKPMS systems continue to meet UKPMS requirements. This includes national reporting and the use of the current Rules and Parameters. The Annual Health Check is only carried out on fully accredited UKPMS systems.
If you require any further information about the UKPMS Annual Health Check, or about the current accreditation status of any system, then please contact the UKPMS Accreditors: ukpms@hyperion-uk.com
The RCMG has also set up a UKPMS Accreditation Process to enable new entrants to become UKPMS accredited.
The requirements for the most recent Annual Health Checks are:
Annual Health Check 2022 Requirements
Annual Health Check 2021 Requirements
Annual Health Check 2020 Requirements
The 2021 UKPMS Annual Health Check provides a test of compliance with the 2021/22 requirements as used by local highway authorities for reporting in 2022. The certificates for the systems that have successfully completed this test can be downloaded here.
The certificates for previous tests can be downloaded here.
UKPMS accreditation is the responsibility of the Road Condition Management Group (RCMG) under the auspices of the UK Roads Board (UKRB). The following document describes the appeal process available to developers if they are not satisfied with the outcome of the UKPMS tests or the way the tests have been conducted.
Technical Note 3 – Part 1 HMDIF File Structure and Content
Technical Note 3 – Part 2 SCANNER HMDIF Specification
Technical Note 41 SRMCS PI guidance notes for UKPMS Developers
Technical Note 42 – Part 1 Northern Ireland visual survey PI guidance notes for UKPMS Developers
Technical Note 42 – Part 2 Northern Ireland SCANNER survey PI guidance notes for UKPMS Developers
Technical Note 43 Welsh PI guidance notes for UKPMS Developers
Technical Note 44 Data Topic 130-01 guidance notes for UKPMS Developers
Technical Note 45 Data Topic 130-02 guidance notes for UKPMS Developers
Technical Note 47 Footway Network Survey: Network Performance Reports
Technical Note 49 Weighting Set Processing: Implementation Guidelines for UKPMS Developers
Rule Sets are released when changes are required - as part of the annual cycle to meet the needs and timescales for both national reporting and the Annual Health Check. The current (most recent) Rule Set is RP10.01, which has been used for reporting since 2011.
The revised weighting sets used for national reporting are:
Other weighting sets are:
The weighting set and rule set link file is:
The original weighting sets used for national reporting are available here.