The Finnish Transport Agency (formerly the Finnish Road Administration) is responsiblefor preparing the maintenance policies for the road network. The transport andinfrastructure units of the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and theEnvironment (formerly Road Regions) carry out the operational activities and managementof regional roads. These units are responsible for the planning of regional roadmaintenance, tendering of maintenance contracts and monitoring implementation.In Finland the annual budget for road management is approximately € 530 million, of which€ 450 million is used for maintenance. The operative units carry the risks connected withthe implementation of maintenance contracts, such as risks in connection to increasedcost level, road user safety and occupational safety during contract implementation.Comprehensive risk management refers to risk assessment and preventive measures atall times during the planning, tendering and implementation phases of the roadmaintenance contracts. The risks of the regional contracts can be divided into operationaland safety risks. Operational risks are connected to the contract contents and presentedwork output. Safety risks are connected to the risks facing employees and other roadusers, which can result from the work itself (for example snow ploughing in the winter), orfrom external factors such as in the maintenance of railroad level crossings (hazard fromthe trains colliding with an employee or equipment).The Centre for Economic Development Transport and the Environment for North Savomade a risk assessment of the regional maintenance contracts and identified fundamentalsafety risks for example in the work carried out near water systems, risks connected withtraffic when working on the road, and risks from machines. The operational risks of amaintenance contract were connected to the accuracy of the baseline information such asthe number of traffic signs needing repair and the true condition of the gravel road networkat the beginning of the contract cycle.The participants evaluating the comprehensive risk assessment process found theassessment of operational risks more challenging than the assessment of safety risks,which was considered easiest.
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