Establishment of the Road Pavements Forum (RPF):
As the BMLC and the CPF were both addressing issues of common interest to the roads industry and both promoting excellence in road pavements technology, the need arose to combine the BMLC and the CPF, forming the Road Pavements Forum (RPF). Such a combination would serve the additional purpose of providing a single forum for interested parties in the interests of improved efficiency. The objectives of the RPF are similar to those of the BMLC and the CPF in that the RPF would essentially serve as a forum to share and exchange information and technologies and to discuss issues of strategic importance to the roads construction industry.
Since its establishment, the RPF has been sponsored by the Cement and Concrete Institute (C&CI), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Southern African Bitumen Association (Sabita). The Aggregate and Sand Producers’ Association of South Africa (ASPASA) and the South African Ready Mix Association (SARMA) became sponsors of the RPF in November 2002, followed by the South African Roads Federation (SARF) in November 2008, the Society of Asphalt Technology (SAT) in November 2009 and the Concrete Institute (TCI) in September 2013.
Specific goals to be achieved by the RPF include:
- Providing a perspective of overarching strategic issues as it affects pavement engineering.
- Promoting best practice;
- Co-ordination and linkage with other groupings;
- Establishment of task groups with specific national objectives;
- Provision of sufficient time for participation/discussion/advice and for social interactions;
- Dissemination of new technologies;
- Provision of a forum for acceptance of technological changes;
- Provision of a forum for interaction between theory and practice and for identification of technology development needs.
The RPF also makes provision for wider representation and participation from the broader roads industry, particularly urban and provincial authorities, tertiary institutions and contractors. It also allows for broader regional representation. South Africa can play an important facilitating role as a catalyst for technology transfer in the southern African region, and the RPF could become a vital part in this process.