If we don’t use the Quantm system we won’t get the best alignments

Queensland Department of Main Roads, Australia

Problem

• Constructing a new road or rail, or realigning an old is expensive, with costs very sensitive to the alignment.

• The least cost solution of following the natural surface, is often impossible as the alignment must satisfy geometric, environmental and social constraints.

Current Practice

• Largely intuitive, and the weakest link is the planner’s capacity to consider all the data and constraints.

• Contractors can usually reduce costs by 5 – 10% when a project goes out to tender for design and construct by adjusting the alignment.

• Contingency allowances also add substantially to bids.

Agency Attitudes

• Agencies know they are not extracting the greatest value from their data, but do not realize the extent of the shortfall.

• Government agencies have accepted this status quo because of the uncertainties involved.

Status Quo

• Agencies do not locate alignments as precisely as possible because the data quality does not justify the precision; whilst the quality of the alignments does not justify spending more on better data.

• When current practice cannot make the best use of existing data, it is hard to justify paying more for better data.

History

• The Quantm system is the product of CSIRO, the Australian Government Research Agency.

• The system was developed specifically to address the complex issues of route alignment planning.

• Quantm Ltd was established in early 2000 to commercialise the software.

Quantm

• The Quantm system is designed to locate alignments to within centimetres horizontally and vertically.

• It is a planning tool for route selection not a CAD system that is concerned with engineering design.

• The system can optimize horizontally and vertically whilst accommodating both broad based and localised issues.

Data

• Terrain

• Geometry

• Geology

• Unit costs

• Linear features

• Special zones

Construction

• Bridges

• Fill and Shallow Cuts– Culverts– Retaining walls

• Deep Cuts

• Tunnels

Structure of the Software

Modes of Operation

• Optimization - starting with fixed end points, bearings and grades, and searching the entire study area.

• Refinement - starting with an existing alignment and conducting a concentrated search in its vicinity.

Benefits

• Robust and Extensible

• Fast

• Flexible

• Reliable

• Scaleable

Performance

• Cost millions of alignments while searching for low cost solutions.

• 10km of road takes one or two minutes for each solution accepted, compared with a week for a CAD operator.

• Quantm clients have documented alignment construction cost savings of as much as 30%.

Toowoomba - Plan

Toowoomba - Profile

Implications for Data

• The magnitude and consistency of the cost reductions are beginning to change the way the road agencies view the quality, scope and timing of their data collection.

• Quality data can now provide an immediate payback by giving agencies lower cost routes and a better grasp of the contractor’s costs, thereby reducing substantially the allowance for contingencies.