KeNHA North Rift teams adopts a new technology to track road health

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has concluded a technical capacity-building program in the North Rift region focused on modernizing how the agency catalogues and evaluates the state of the national trunk road network. Led by Principal Engineer Annette Ingaiza, the session targeted technical departments responsible for the North Rift circuit, providing instruction on the Annual Road Inventory and Condition Survey (ARICS) and the Dynamic Response Intelligent Monitoring System (DRIMS).

The training represents a shift toward more digitized asset management within the authority. ARICS is the established standard for KeNHA, the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), and other agencies to determine maintenance priorities. By systematically documenting defects, their extent, and required remedies, the survey allows for need-based budget allocation rather than arbitrary scheduling. The data collected during these surveys informs the Annual Road Works Programs, ensuring that limited maintenance funds are directed toward sections with the highest priority ratings.

A significant portion of the training involved the implementation of DRIMS, a technology that utilizes smartphone-based sensors to evaluate road surface quality. The system measures the International Roughness Index (IRI) by capturing the vertical acceleration of a vehicle as it traverses a road. Unlike traditional, labor-intensive manual inspections, DRIMS allows technical teams to gather high-fidelity data using mobile devices mounted on vehicle dashboards. This hardware records quantitative roughness data alongside GPS coordinates and AI-driven imagery to identify specific deformations and defects in real-time.

Under the direction of Engineer Ingaiza, the regional technical teams were briefed on how to integrate these digital tools into their existing workflow. Ingaiza, who serves as a Senior Engineer at KeNHA and an Ordinary Council Member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK), has been a proponent of incorporating innovation and professional development into infrastructure management. Her leadership in this regional exercise emphasizes the authority’s objective of reducing human error in condition reporting and establishing a more transparent data trail for maintenance contracts.

The adoption of DRIMS in the North Rift is particularly relevant given the diverse terrain and heavy transit traffic characteristic of the region. As the authority manages an aging network alongside new capital projects, the ability to monitor pavement degradation through frequent, low-cost smartphone surveys provides a more granular view of the network’s health. This data-centric approach is designed to catch minor defects before they escalate into structural failures, which often require expensive rehabilitation.

This regional training aligns with KeNHA’s broader 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, which prioritizes innovation and the optimal utilization of resources. By equipping North Rift engineers with mobile monitoring capabilities, the authority aims to streamline the transition from field data collection to the final prioritization of maintenance works. The technical departments are now expected to deploy these systems during the upcoming survey cycle to refine the inventory of the region's road assets.