One of the largest risks to the continued operation of any Intelligent transport Systems is failures of the supporting hardware, as it can have significant operational and reputational impacts for the project and the road authority. As a part of the delivery of Main Roads WA’s flagship ITS project, the Kwinana Smart Freeway the risk of device failure was identified as a serious concern that could prevent the success of the entire project. 

 

To mitigate this risk Main Roads undertook a process of developing a robust, highly systematics testing and commissioning strategy. The testing and commissioning strategy was developed with the involvement of all key stakeholders from the entire life cycle of the ITS devices, from manufacturers, to the project team, Asset Managers, maintenance teams, real time operation, and the ITS control system. The Strategy identified and controlled risks through a variety of stage gates. Each stage of the testing controls changes from the prior stage, minimising the number of new elements or variables to be tested. The staging builds upon the prior stages, with the intent that significant issues will be identified, and rectified prior to moving to the next stage. This in turn limits the risk of difficult and costly defects occurring after installation, where the rectification is both costly and highly visible to the public.

 The Main Roads WA testing and Commissioning strategy was used to drive the quality of the Kwinana Smart Freeways, ensuring significant outcomes and minimising the impact to operations, and Main Roads WA’s reputation, following the opening of the smart freeways. It has since been adopted as standard practice for all ITS projects delivered by Main Roads, including the current stages of Smart Freeway delivery.