Footway Network Survey (FNS)
Introducing the Footway Network Survey: Enhancing Asset Management for Footway Networks
The Footway and Cycletrack Management Group (FCMG) has developed the Footway Network Survey (FNS) to address the need for a comprehensive survey of footway networks by local authorities. This article provides an overview of the FNS and its role in supporting effective asset management.
Understanding the Condition Levels: The FNS utilizes four condition levels to report the condition of footways accurately. These levels are:
As new (AN) (condition level 1)
Aesthetically impaired (AI) (condition level 2)
Functionally impaired (FI) (condition level 3)
Structurally unsound (SU) (condition level 4)
Consistency with Existing Footway Surveys: The four condition levels used in FNS are defined to ensure consistency with other UKPMS footway surveys such as CVI and DVI. This alignment allows for better comparison and analysis of data collected.
Rapid Assessment and Comprehensive Evaluation: Compared to a detailed DVI survey, the UKPMS FNS enables a comparatively swift assessment of footway conditions. It achieves this by evaluating a limited range of broadly defined defects and recording "lateral" extents instead of defect dimensions. FNS offers a more comprehensive assessment of footway conditions compared to a driven or walked CVI survey by continuously monitoring the footway's condition and introducing an additional category of defect, Aesthetic Impairment.
Network Condition Tool and Cyclical Assessments: The FNS serves as a valuable network condition tool, helping identify areas where more detailed information is required to support treatment decisions and scheme identification. It can also be utilized on a cyclical basis to identify sections of the network that require more comprehensive assessments.
Measured Lengths and Section-Related Data: The FNS records measured lengths to provide precise information about defects along the footway. It employs a variable chainage-related approach, where the actual start and end chainages define the lengths affected by a defect. Additionally, the FNS adopts a section-related methodology, allowing for the recording of the maximum defect length as the length of the section.
Survey Options - The FNS offers various survey options to meet diverse needs:
The Basic Survey: A straightforward linear survey that continuously collects condition levels along the footway, without recording pavement type.
Enhanced Survey Option 1: An extension of the basic survey, including the collection of pavement type data.
Enhanced Survey Option 2: Enhances the basic survey by recording the lateral extent of condition, excluding pavement type.
Enhanced Survey Option 3: Combines the benefits of the basic survey and records both the lateral extent of condition and pavement type.
The Footway Network Survey (FNS) developed by the Footway and Cycletrack Management Group (FCMG) provides local authorities with a comprehensive tool for enhancing asset management of footway networks. Through its condition levels, measured lengths, and survey options, the FNS offers valuable insights into footway conditions, supporting informed decision-making, targeted maintenance schemes, and the identification of areas requiring more detailed assessments.
FNS Procedure: Conducting the Footway Network Survey
Objective: The Footway Network Survey (FNS) developed by the Footways and Cycletrack Management Group (FCMG) aims to serve as a primary condition survey of footways within the UKPMS. The FNS is designed to be cost-effective, enabling authorities to apply it to their entire footway network regularly. Its implementation supports performance and asset management, facilitates maintenance scheme assessment and targeting, and helps identify areas requiring detailed investigations.
Complementing Existing Surveys: The FNS does not replace visual surveys within the UKPMS. However, it is anticipated that over time, the FNS will become a more effective alternative to the CVI survey as the primary network-level footway survey. Users may choose to continue conducting selective DVI surveys to obtain more detailed information, particularly at locations identified by the FNS as potential maintenance schemes or on high-use or high-priority footways.
Treatment Rules: Due to time constraints, extensive testing of treatment rules for the FNS could not be completed for incorporation into the UKPMS by April 2010. Consequently, these rules will be reviewed in 2010 based on maintenance practitioner experience and feedback from their application to local authority footway networks. An updated set of treatment rules is expected to be produced by April 2011.
FNS Procedure:
Step 1: Cost-Effective Network-Level Survey
Apply the FNS to all footways within the designated network.
Ensure that the FNS provides a cost-effective approach to surveying footways.
Step 2: Identification of Maintenance Sections
Utilize the FNS to identify specific sections of the footway network requiring maintenance.
Assess the condition of footways based on serviceability, structure, and quality of appearance.
Step 3: Comprehensive Evaluation
Evaluate the footway network, considering factors such as red/amber/green ratings, similar to carriageway reporting.
Generate headline measures for the entire network or sub-networks.
Use the FNS data for mapping the local condition of footways.
Basic Footway Network Survey (FNS)
In the basic survey of the Footway Network Survey (FNS), the condition level recorded at a specific location represents the entire width of the footway at that location. Considering the broad nature of the survey, the condition level is typically consistent across the footway. Furthermore, treatments are generally applied to the entire width of the footway, unless it is an exceptionally wide footway.
In cases where there is variation in condition levels across the footway, surveyors are instructed to record the condition level that represents the "worst" condition. This is because the treatment required is typically determined by the most severe condition level observed.
By following this approach, the FNS ensures a comprehensive assessment of the footway condition, capturing the overall state and informing appropriate treatment decisions.
Enhanced Basic footway network Survey (FNS)
The Footway Network Survey (FNS) incorporates the surface construction types of footway pavements to provide a comprehensive assessment. The pavement types included in the FNS align with the existing UKPMS model and are categorized as "pavement type."
During the basic survey, the FNS typically records the condition levels independently of the surface construction (using the unknown pavement type). However, users have the option to record the pavement type during the survey by selecting the appropriate defect codes. It's important to note that when the footway's surface type varies along a section, it may impact survey productivity adversely.
To facilitate recording surface construction types, FNS defect codes have been defined for all possible pavement types within UKPMS. These codes enable users to record the condition levels specific to each surface construction.
"FB" refers to Footway Hard Paved, "VB" refers to Verge, and "YB" refers to Cycle Track. The defect types include:
As New
Aesthetically Impaired
Functionally Impaired
Structurally Unsound
Each defect code corresponds to a specific pavement type, enabling accurate recording of condition levels and supporting the comprehensive assessment of footway networks.
By incorporating pavement types and defect codes, the FNS enhances the survey's effectiveness in assessing footway conditions and assists in performance management, asset maintenance, and targeted treatment decisions.
Processing FNS data
The processing of Footway Network Survey (FNS) data within UKPMS can be done using Rules and Parameters version RP9.01. This enables the determination of indicative treatment needs at both the footway and network level, allowing for comprehensive reporting of FNS survey results.
When processing FNS data using the Automatic Pass functionality in UKPMS, it is recommended to follow these guidelines:
Utilize Fixed Length Merging with a length of 100m.
Do not combine the FNS survey with other types of surveys.
To facilitate the processing of FNS data in UKPMS and enable the application of treatment rules to recorded defects, four condition indices have been defined. These indices have a direct mapping to the four levels of footway condition recorded in the FNS survey. Refer to Table 9.6 for the list of UKPMS condition indices for FNS defects (condition levels):
The Overall Condition Index is calculated as the sum of FNS3 and FNS4 over the merged length. These condition indices provide a standardized way to assess and analyze footway condition based on the recorded defects in the FNS survey.
Conclusion
By implementing the Footway Network Survey (FNS), authorities can conduct a comprehensive and cost-effective network-level survey of footways. The FNS supports performance and asset management, enables the identification of maintenance sections, and assesses the quality of appearance, serviceability, and structure of footways. While the FNS does not replace existing surveys, it offers a promising alternative to the CVI survey over time. Users can leverage the FNS to make informed decisions, target maintenance schemes, and map the condition of footways, enhancing overall asset management practices.