CHECKING OF COSTS

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3210, 30 July 1932, Page 5

CHECKING OF COSTS

EXPENDITURE ON ROADING.

UNIFORMITY THE NEED.

VALUE MUST BE THE TEST.

To endeavour to establish a uniform system of costing in connection with roadirig expenditure is one of the main objects of a conference of engineering experts, county clerks, and representatives of State Departments which met in Wellington on Wednesday. Another object of the conference is the collection of suitable traffic statistics to form a basis for the proper study of roading problems, so that the maximum benefit will result from the expenditure of the funds made available. The conference was convened by Mr H. P. -Toogood on behalf of the committee of the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers. The delegates present included representatives of the Public Works Department, the Main Highways Board, the Transport Department, the Audit Department, the •nstitute of County Clerks and County Engineers, and the Society of Civil -Engineers. Mr Toogood, who was appointed -chairman of the conference, said the Zealand Society of Civil Engineers had lately considered a prelimbinary report prepared by a committee set up by the Society to investigate the question of economics of rural roads. In the report of this committee it was stated that under the pres'ent system of keeping costs and statistics it was difficult to ascertain-the true comparative values of various types of road surfaces. ADEQUATE MAINTENANCE.

The committee had arrived at the conclusion that so far as it could ascertain the traffic conditions now obtaining and likely to obtain in the next decade on rural.roads warranted nothing more than.adequate maintenance of gravel roads, which should be sealed or similarly treated as soon as the traffic conditions warranted., It was shown with the information available that more costly types of surfacing were not warranted, except in isolated cases, and even then should not be adopted without a very close examination of all the factors.

" It must be obvious," Mr Toogood continued, " that in order to determine accurately the proper expenditure, and the types of surfaces warranted for the known traffic conditions, the system of costing of maintenance and construction must be such that comparisons are easily made and that costs should be kept in as uniform a manner as possible. Similarly, traffic statistics should be kept in a uniform and systematic manner. " It must be quite obvious that uneconomical expenditure can be made without easy detection unless some proper method of costing is adopted and as the money spent on main highways is somewhat in the nature of trust funds it is due to everyone concerned that the facts regarding costs should be brought to light. The basis of every consideration is whether or not value is being received, and this can be ascertained only if uniformity in costing is adopted.

COLLECTION OF STATISTICS

" If this collection of statistics and uniformity of costing in a manner best suited for comparisons and the determination of value received is not carried out willingly by those now in charge of local government," said Mr Toogood, " it might possibly be made compulsory, or our present system of local government might be considerably amended in order that better co-ordination is attained. " New conditions demand a new outlook, and county administration must move with the times. With the""lack of knowledge now exists regarding value received for road expenditure, county administration is open to a severe attack, and those interested in seeing this useful form of government attain its fullest development should bestir themselves and show that they are prepared to move with the fimesi" ' SAVING THE TAXPAYER.

Whether, times .he ;good orjbad there was no excuse for uneconomical expenditure. True economy did not lie necessarily in stopping or curtailing all work. It .could be shown that within certain; fairly definite limits road improvements of a reasonable nature would so reduce vehicular operating costs as to repay the exepnditure on improvements many times over. If the operating costs of motor vehicles were considered, it would be found that by changing the surface , of the road from gravel in its ordinary , condition to what was termed tar- . sealed or dustless surface, a saving in , operating costs of about £l2O per • mile per year per 100 motor vehicles ■ per day would follow. To many this might appear, a remarkable statement, but. the facts were fairly clear, and had been-v checked by both New Zealand and foreign experience. , Another rather arresting fact arisingtfrom a consideration of the shortening of route lengths was the fact that -the average cost of operating vehicles of all sizes amounted to about 4d per mile, and for each 100 motor vehicles per day this amounted to £6OB per mile or £76 per chain per year. %&. other words, the .decreasing of route lengths by one chain meant ja. saving of £76 per year for each 100 vehicles per day. Taking :*he Wellington-Palmerston ;North {-Tain highway, with 400 motor •vehicles per day, a decrease of one chain in route length saved the sum of £3OO per year in motor operating costs. "Whatever may be the truth concerning the past, we have had sufficient warnings that such methods, if they did exist, cannot continue unless of course the nation is prepared to let things slide to a final smash," Mr Toogood concluded. .The conference passed a resolution in which it expressed the view that in the interests of taxpayers a uniform system of keeping roading costs was desiraple.