Airport pavement management has one of the best-documented condition-assessment methods of any asset class an airport owns — a PCI survey following ASTM D5340 gives every runway, taxiway and apron section a number from 0 to 100, repeated on a set cycle, comparable across the whole airfield. What most airports don't have is a system that turns that number into scheduled work. The PCI trend lives in a pavement management report; the actual crack-sealing, overlay and reconstruction jobs live in a completely separate maintenance log — and the two rarely talk to each other until an FAA grant-assurance audit forces someone to reconcile them. This guide covers how to connect a pavement management system to a CMMS properly: PCI trends, treatment plans, condition surveys and the preventive maintenance jobs they should be generating.
Airfield Pavement · PCI Trending · Treatment Planning · 2026
Your PCI Report Shouldn't Be the Last Anyone Sees of It
A pavement condition survey tells you a taxiway section dropped from Satisfactory to Fair — but if that finding sits in a PDF until the next 3-year cycle, the crack sealing that would have stopped it never gets scheduled. OXMAINT AI connects your pavement condition data straight into the maintenance workflow: each section's PCI trend, its treatment plan, and the preventive maintenance jobs it triggers all live on one asset record, not in two separate systems.
0–100
the PCI scale — 100 is new pavement, 0 is failed, per ASTM D5340
Every 3 yrs
FAA AC 150/5380-7B recommended pavement management plan update cycle
4 levels
network, branch, section, sample unit — the standard pavement hierarchy
Since 1995
FAA grant assurances have required a pavement maintenance program for federally funded work
The PCI Scale, and What Each Band Actually Means
A PCI survey walks each sample unit, records distress type, severity and extent, and rolls that up into a single 0–100 score per pavement section. The number is only useful if it's tied to what happens next — and what happens next changes sharply as a section moves down the scale. Start free and start trending your sections by band, not just by number.
86–100Good
71–85Satisfactory
56–70Fair
41–55Poor
0–40Very Poor / Serious / Failed
Bands follow the general ASTM PCI classification used across FAA-referenced pavement management programs — the treatment that keeps a Good section Good is not the treatment that saves a Poor one.
A Survey Report Isn't a Maintenance Program
Most airports already do the survey. Where the process breaks down is what happens after the contractor delivers the report: the PCI values sit in a spreadsheet or PAVER export, the treatment recommendations sit in a PDF, and neither one is tied to a work order, a budget line, or a person responsible for scheduling it. Book a demo and see the closed-loop version.
PMS, No CMMS Link
A Report on a Shelf
PCI data lives in a separate pavement database or PDF
Treatment recommendations not linked to a work order
Trend only reviewed at the next 3-year survey cycle
Crack sealing scheduled reactively, if at all
Grant-assurance documentation reassembled by hand for audits
PMS + OXMAINT AI
A Section-Level Maintenance Record
Every pavement section is an asset with a PCI history attached
Treatment plan generates the preventive maintenance jobs it calls for
Trend visible continuously, not just at survey time
Crack sealing & sealcoat PMs scheduled before Fair becomes Poor
Survey, treatment and work-order history exportable for any audit
Matching the Pavement Hierarchy to Your Asset Register
Pavement management already uses a clean, standard hierarchy — the same one a CMMS asset register needs. Mapping them one-to-one is what makes a PCI drop on one taxiway section show up as a defect on a specific, findable asset, instead of a vague note about "Taxiway B."
Network
The whole airfield pavement system — runways, taxiways, aprons, taxilanes.
→
Branch
A single runway, taxiway or apron — e.g. Runway 09/27, Taxiway A.
→
Section
A length of that branch with uniform construction, traffic and condition.
→
Sample Unit
The specific area actually walked and rated during a PCI survey.
From Survey to Scheduled Treatment — The 4-Step Loop
This is what should happen every time a new PCI value comes in, whether from a full 3-year survey or an interim spot check. Sign up free and run your next survey results through this loop.
01
Log the Survey
New PCI value recorded against the exact section and sample unit it was measured on.
02
Update the Trend
New value plotted against that section's own history — the deterioration curve, not just the latest score.
03
Match the Treatment Band
Section's current PCI band determines the recommended treatment — crack seal, overlay, or reconstruction.
04
Schedule the PM / Work Order
Treatment converts into a scheduled preventive maintenance job or capital work order, with an owner and a date.
Every Section. Every Survey. One Trend Line.
OXMAINT AI keeps each pavement section's PCI history, treatment plan and resulting work orders together on one asset record — so the next PCI drop shows up as a task for someone, not a line in next year's report.
Treatment by Condition Band — What Typically Applies
Actual treatment selection always depends on distress type, not PCI alone — but the band gives a useful starting filter for what's worth investigating first.
Documentation That Holds Up in a Grant-Assurance Audit
Federally funded pavement is subject to grant-assurance requirements — which means someone eventually asks for the paper trail behind every treatment decision. A CMMS-linked record makes that a query instead of a project. Book a demo to see the audit export.
✓
PCI history per section, not just the most recent survey result.
✓
Survey methodology on record — ASTM D5340 sample units, dates, and who performed it.
✓
Treatment rationale documented — why crack sealing vs. overlay was chosen for that section.
✓
Work order completion linked to the treatment plan it fulfilled, with dates and contractor.
✓
Update cycle tracked against the AC 150/5380-7B recommended interval, section by section.
✓
Budget line traceable from treatment plan through to the completed, costed work order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a PCI, and how is it different from just "pavement condition"?
PCI (Pavement Condition Index) is a standardized 0–100 score from ASTM D5340, based on the type, severity and extent of visible distress in a sample unit. It's a repeatable, comparable number — which is what makes it useful for trending a section over time rather than a one-off visual impression.
How often should airport pavement be surveyed?
FAA AC 150/5380-7B recommends updating the pavement management plan roughly every 3 years, though many programs survey a rotating subset of the airfield annually so every section is covered within that cycle rather than surveyed all at once.
Can OXMAINT AI replace our pavement survey provider or PAVER data?
No — OXMAINT AI doesn't perform PCI surveys. It's the maintenance management layer that takes survey results (from your engineering firm, PAVER export, or internal team) and turns each section's condition and treatment plan into tracked, scheduled work.
Does treatment always depend on PCI score alone?
No. PCI band is a useful starting filter, but the actual treatment decision depends on the specific distress types present — a low score from widespread raveling calls for a different fix than the same score from a handful of deep cracks. Engineering judgment on distress data still drives the final call.
How does this help with FAA grant-assurance compliance?
Grant assurances require a documented pavement maintenance program for federally funded work. Keeping PCI history, treatment rationale and completed work orders linked on one record means that documentation is available on request rather than reassembled from multiple sources during an audit.
Turn Your Next PCI Survey Into Scheduled Work.
Keep every runway, taxiway and apron section's condition history, treatment plan and maintenance record together — so a falling PCI trend becomes a work order, not a line in next year's report.
