Prior to developing RITS, each council had its own Infrastructure Technical Specifications, which resulted in different standards having to be met across the Waikato region. The purpose of RITS is to provide a single regional guide and specifications for building public infrastructure. The RITS is currently used by all councils shown in the graphic above.
Developers are required to provide infrastructure in subdivisions and once approved can use the RITS as a means of complying with the conditions set by councils as part of the resource consenting process. If contractors, and their consultants and contractors, use the RITS, the process to meet resource consent conditions will usually be quicker and therefore less costly.
When councils set up contracts for building roads, pipes and landscaping, they refer to specifications and standards that contractors are required to meet. These are found in the RITS and so contractors have certainty about what materials (e.g types of pipe), that they can use, and what standards must be met.
While alternative solutions can also be presented to a council, they will probably require more supporting information and take longer to be reviewed, or could be rejected.
The RITS has an “Opportunity for Improvement’ process which users can use if they see a way to improve the document. A regular review process is in place to keep the document up-to-date.