10 Steps to Select and Specify Surfaces

Selecting and specifying surfaces for a road, path or building is an important decision that is often overlooked. A traffic engineer or road safety engineer may want a coloured bike lane, bus lane or pedestrian crossing, but leaves it to others to prepare the documentation.

Choosing and specifying a surface determines:

• how safe it is (slip or skid-resistance)
• what it looks like (functional or decorative colour)
• how long the colour and texture last for (how long the safety benefit lasts)
• what it costs to maintain and replace (lifecycle costs)
• whether it uses Australian recycled-glass (meeting local recycled content policies like Victoria’s RecycledFirst policy).

The project plans or specifications may only show a coloured lane, or refer to a road authority standard. But as many Councils and road agencies are finding out, that doesn’t maximise safety and minimise life-cycle costs.

They’re all issues that the traffic engineer or road safety engineer should be concerned about – and shouldn’t leave to others. There can be a disconnect between the intent of the traffic engineer or road safety professional, the road designer or project manager, and what is eventually constructed. Each can have very different objectives and without careful specification and on-site supervision there’s cost-driven substitution in the construction stage.

The end result can mean a short-lived surface that doesn’t maintain its colour and slip or skid-resistance. And the asset owner, typically a road manager like a Council, ends up paying much more when a product with a short life is chosen. The community pays for the consequences of crashes and falls.

Webinar Recording – Selecting & Specifying Surfaces

Learn more about selected coloured and high-friction surface treatments in this recording of OmniGrip Direct’s webinar on 25 September 2020.

You’ll learn:

• how to select the correct surface
• how to specify the chosen surface
• examples of the right and wrong surface
• 10 key steps for success when selecting and specifying surfaces for safety, functional and decorative purposes.

For more webinars check out the SmarterLite YouTube Webinar Playlist. Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications to ensure you are alerted when a new recording is released.