Waikato Expressway Testing Application: Data visualisation for decision making

Background

In 2018, engineers working on Waikato, New Zealand’s largest ever roading project needed to ensure that the new Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway met the highest standards.  CityEdge Alliance required a data system that synthesised key data points to improve their decision making.

Challenge

The CityEdge Alliance, responsible for constructing the 22km four-lane Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway, faced a challenge with managing its extensive test data. Thousands of reports were stored in the project’s information management system, yet there was no quick and easy way to locate specific data or visually represent the distribution of testing along the project stretch.

Solution

CityEdge Alliance enlisted the expertise of Company-X’s solutions architect to design and develop a tailored software solution. The team quickly produced rapid prototypes, exploring various data visualisation options. Within less than a week, Company-X delivered the initial designs to CityEdge Alliance, and from there, the solution was iterated and refined. The final software solution was ready for use within three months and is now used daily by approximately 50 CityEdge Alliance users.

Result

Company-X built the Waikato Expressway Testing Application (WETA) in 2018 for the use of engineers from civil engineering consultancy Beca and civil engineering contractors Coffey Group, Fletcher Construction, Hick Bros, Higgins Construction and the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

Construction of the 22km Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway was divided into work packages, or chunks of work, and assigned to a specific roading engineer. Work packages were regularly tested to ensure they meet stringent safety and quality requirements.

The test results were imported into WETA where engineers run reports to check that the road is up to standard.

WETA used a graphic user interface featuring a traffic light system to communicate whether a work package passes a test. A pass is given a green light, a fail received a red light. The data was also displayed in a graph.