Proactive Management Review - Contract Year 12 April 2020 to March 2021 - Connect Plus
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Proactive Management Review Contract Year 12 April 2020 to March 2021
Contents
3 Executive Summary
Updates From Last Year
4 Using data analytics to inform seasonal resurfacing
5 Social Value Baseline
6 Nurturing nature – includes:
• Surrey Iron Railway Earthwork
• Greater Thames Marshes (Dartford Depot
Ecological Improvement Scheme)
• Oak Processonary Moth (OPM) – Innovation Vacuum
• Biodiversity Net gain
7 Lean working
7 State-of-the-art thin surface course trials on the strategic
road network, containing 50% reclaimed asphalt
This Year’s Case Studies
10 Working through a pandemic
16 Healthier Highways
20 Road space improvements
22 Network intelligence – Binder and surfacing dashboards
24 Network intelligence – Deterioration of asphaltic plug joints
26 Retrofitting emergency areas
30 Sustainability roadmap
34 Carbon strategy and designer carbon tool
38 Biodiversity net gain
42 Mutual aid for area 4
44 Developing our digital twin
Looking Ahead
46 Trialling new materials on the M25 network
47 Safe to dig
47 Using augmented reality on the M25
47 Climate vulnerability assessment
48 Next generation concrete surfacing
48 Road space – future direction
49 Self-healing asphalt
49 MLS machine
49 E-learning
2
Connect Plus PMR 2021
Executive Summary
For the second consecutive year we have decided to produce
this supplementary PMR brochure, in order to highlight the
case studies that we are submitting to the PMR panel for
this qualifying year (CY12 April 2020 – March 2021).
As it did last year, the brochure also the transportation of vital goods
includes a progress update on some and services across the SRN.
of the case study submissions from
CY11, and a snapshot of some of Collectively we have achieved so
the work and innovations that we’re much of which we are incredibly proud.
currently undertaking, and may
consider for submission in the future. We’ve successfully delivered a wide
range of projects and work activities,
Each year we are required under from improvement schemes and
the Contract to submit Proactive inspections to incident support and
Management Review evidence for attendance, network maintenance,
the PMR Panel to review and score. environmental improvements and
It is one element of the Payment innovations. The amazing work to
Mechanism that aims to encourage complete ten emergency area bays
and reward our commitment to within the year was an outstanding
managing and improving the achievement and rightly recognised
M25 network, through the adoption as such by Highways England, and
of best practice, innovation and the launch of the M25 digital map
new technologies. really does move us onto the next
level of innovation.
The past year has been incredibly
challenging for everyone, however, We believe that this brochure
throughout this unprecedented showcases some of the outstanding
time, we have ensured that the M25 work our teams have produced
network remains open to enable over the past year.
3
Updates from last year
Using data analytics to inform
In this section of the seasonal resurfacing
brochure, we take a look Last year, our research statistically demonstrated that
back at some of the case materials laid in adverse conditions, such as low air
temperature and wind chill, are unlikely to provide the
studies we submitted same serviceability and durability as those laid in ideal
in CY11 and provide conditions. As such, the delivery programme of pavement
schemes was slightly adjusted this year to embrace those
an update on how they climate-aware findings and minimise winter thin surfacing
are progressing. works (see graph below).
Last year, only 8.80% of thin surfacing works were conducted
during the cool season (November to March), against an historic
contract average of 24% per year (third-party schemes excluded).
1 Using data analytics to Surfaces laid in mild to warm periods are believed to have longer
inform seasonal resurfacing serviceable lives, up to 2 years longer. Thus, at this stage, we
estimated that our streamlined programme last year is likely
2 Social value baseline to save us ~£200k in long-term lifecycle investments.
3 Nurturing nature Thanks to these findings, any change to our network can be better
4 Lean working assessed in terms of expected durability and performance of the
pavement asset on the long term.
5 State-of-the-art thin surface
course trials on the strategic
road network, containing
50% reclaimed asphalt
4
Connect Plus PMR 2021
Social Value Baseline
We have continued to measure our
social value and have collected data
up to the end of 2020, to ensure we
have a full understanding of our baseline.
The first Social Value Forum was held in
March 2021. With each discipline sharing
the measures they will prioritise for 2021,
and how this will be done. Below are some
examples of what will be prioritised:
Human Resources:
• Training opportunities created or sustained
(NVQs, BTEC, City & Guilds, HNC)
• Diversity training
• People with disabilities
• Increase in female employees
with site operational roles
Communications:
• Number of hours volunteering time
undertaken, provided to support local
community projects
• Local school and college visits
• Number of hours dedicated
to support young people into work
Environment:
• Car miles saved on the project
• Number of low or no emission
vehicle miles on the project
These forums are due to continue into
2021 and there are three more scheduled
for the calendar year. At each one the
intention is for each department to
update on their progress for improving
the measures are prioritising.
5
Updates from last year
Nurturing nature
1 Using data analytics to
inform season resurfacing Greater Thames Marshes
This year we have undertaken some additional
2 Social value baseline ditch maintenance. On the below image, the top
3 Nurturing nature photo shows the area immediately after the work,
with the one underneath showing how the land
4 Lean working has now developed and has become
a home for local flora and fauna.
5 State-of-the-art thin surface
course trials on the strategic Surrey Iron Railway Earthwork
This site has been added to our 5 yearly AMFP
road network, containing inspection regime. Any need for vegetation
clearance will be identified and programmed
50% reclaimed asphalt
in, at that time. The interpretation sign will
also be inspected as part of this.
Oak Processonary Moth (OPM)
– Innovation Vacuum
We are hoping to carry on using this technique
this year, however, as we are still in the process of
procuring new soft estate contractors, we’re not
yet in a position to know if they will be able to offer
the same capability. If they don’t, we will definitely
seek to develop it in collaboration with them.
6
Connect Plus PMR 2021
Lean working State-of-the-art thin surface
course trials on the strategic
As an organisation, we are fully road network, containing 50%
committed to Lean. This is something reclaimed asphalt
which is demonstrated in the integration
of Lean into the Business Strategy, The 50% reclaimed asphalt trial is
where we are committed to maximising ongoing and continues to show
efficiency by driving down waste through encouraging results.
increased productivity and reducing on
site activity. We aim to generate a culture
The Griptester skid resistance measurements
of innovation making it “safe to fail”,
aiming for the submission of over 300 throughout the first year indicated that the
business improvement ideas by 2025, inclusion of reclaimed asphalt has had no
each with a conversion rate of 40%. detrimental impact upon on the early life
skid resistance. The average Griptester
To improve the quality and quantity of the results over three runs for the 14mm
submissions, we are working collaboratively SurePhalt, incorporating 50% reclaimed
with our innovation and digital teams to trial asphalt, are directly comparable and
a new reporting tool. We’re encouraging the significantly higher than the investigatory
business to report their ideas through the level of 0.35.
tool together with email and Yammer.
‘Cradle to Gate’ carbon footprint analysis
The conversion rate of ideas submitted to has been conducted utilising asPECT and
ideas approved, has increased from 20% the associated protocol. The analysis has
last period to 27% in this period. This equates
demonstrated a 7.69kg CO2e/T saving for
to 50 ideas approved for implementation.
the 50% reclaimed asphalt mixture, compared
As the business matures, we are starting
to see a number of projects that are being to the control. This represents a 16% saving.
self-delivered. Fifteen of the ideas that
have been approved, were delivered by In addition to these fantastic results, the
the teams as ‘Just Do It” ideas. project was the winner of the CIHT Climate
Change Award in 2020 and was highly
commended in the ‘Environmental Sustainability
In October 2021 we were awarded
in the Highways Sector’ category, of the
an industry leading HELMA score
Highways Awards during the same period.
of 3.4, scoring the maximin of 4
in two areas – Lean in business
strategy and Lean leadership.
This achievement is something of
which we are immensely proud.
7
The following case studies highlight some of the
many innovations, industry best practices and new
products that we are implementing and trialling
across the network.
From dealing with the challenges we have faced
over the past year, to pushing the boundaries in
protecting the health of our workforce, these
case studies provide an example of the range
of work we’re undertaking.
8
– Working through a pandemic
– Healthier Highways
– Road space improvements
– Network intelligence – Binder and surfacing dashboards
– Network intelligence – Deterioration of asphaltic plug joints
– Retrofitting emergency areas
– Sustainability roadmap
– Carbon strategy and designer carbon tool
– Biodiversity net gain
– Mutual aid for area 4
– Developing our digital twin
9
Working through a pandemic
As custodians of Europe’s busiest motorway, it was
essential that we overcame the COVID-19 challenge
to keep the M25 open and safe for the transportation
of essential medical supplies, key workers and groceries.
This put additional pressure on all our in a complex and uncertain (VUCA) relationships we have with our frame-
teams to maintain a business-as-usual environment were crucial to keep a work community, we were able to issue
working environment. It was crucial that steady hand on the tiller. our annual call off contracts, worth
we put safe operating procedures in £36.6m, one week after we went into
place to allow our teams to work safely Every business, regardless of their a national lockdown. This was followed
and effectively to continue providing the size, needs a workable Business up with a further £10.1m of work
best possible service for our customers. Continuity Plan (BCP), and the arrival resulting in £46.7m of work delivered
of the pandemic illustrated that more through our Framework.
The completion of our Business than ever. We realised that we needed
Continuity Plan (BCP) was timed a plan that was adaptable in order to We were able to do this, confident that
perfectly to provide the business with manage this huge impact, as well we could manage the risks associated
the response needed to do this. The as managing more ‘normal’ trigger with COVID, including additional costs,
plan itself incorporated new methods incidents such as fire, flooding etc. by giving our Framework full flexibility in
of working and communicating, as well how they dealt with the pandemic. This
as demonstrating how office-based staff The health and wellbeing of our staff allowed us to offer security to our supply
and those working on the network could became crucial throughout this time, chain with a pipeline of work for the year.
continue to do so in a safe environment. and we needed to ensure support was The special relationship we have built,
available to help everyone deal with this has enabled us to work through, and
The need new and unknown working environment. adapt to, what was a constantly
From the teams working on the network changing situation.
Long before lockdown, our COVID-19 who continued to support the delivery
resilience teams were planning for a of schemes and maintenance works During 2020/21 we recorded a 6%
range of scenarios to ensure we would under very trying conditions, to those increase in initial Call-Off Contracts,
be in the best possible position for what working from home and dealing compared to the previous year, this was
was to come. Keeping the network in a with the exponential increase in an 18% increase compared to 2018/19.
safe and serviceable condition had never online meetings while trying to
been more important than during this accommodate home schooling Whilst the planned Pavement
time due to the national need for and other caring responsibilities. program was slightly reduced from
the strategic road network. the previous year, the structures
These were challenging times which program was significantly increased.
When the pandemic hit and our world for some offered a period of reflection We procured and delivered a 14%
changed, we were able to leverage the to reconsider aspects of their life increase in Structures work (by year-end)
skills of our workforce and the innovative including their priorities and work-life compared to the previous year.
contracts we hold with our framework balance, yet for others, they were full
community, to manage the changing of stress, anxiety, sometimes fear and By the 31st of March 2021 we had
situation. feelings of being overwhelmed. delivered our second biggest year of
delivery at £66.6m, and our biggest ever
Never has the environment we have structures program at £25.8m. By the
created and the relationships and Deliverables and benefits end of October 2020, we had delivered
culture we have established been more 90% of our planned pavement surfacing
important than during the pandemic. Working together to keep program, which is our best performance
The leadership skills and training that the network moving ever. During this period value was gener-
members of the community have Whilst other clients were stopping ated and recorded of up to £7.5m, and
acquired, really came to the fore during all work; because of our innovative performance improved by 10%.
these unprecedented times, and the contracts, built on a strong culture In addition to this, we delivered £45m
additional skills they developed to work of collaborative working and the of improvement projects for Highways
10Connect Plus PMR 2021
England, including keeping some large Our frameworks are set up to deliver a skills and awareness required to work in
and complex static sites operational sustainable, supportive and innovative a complex and uncertain environment.
including: Gade Valley viaduct with an community vision, that creates an envi- When the pandemic hit and our world
average workforce of 120 and a large ronment - both contractually and cultur- changed, we were able to leverage
Christmas railway possession, the Emer- ally - for everyone to work in joint interest these skills, our culture and our contracts
gency Areas project and also opening to deliver works on the M25. These to manage this difficult situation.
a key junction improvement project at principals, tools and systems were thor-
junction 13. oughly tested during the pandemic.
All this was delivered with a decreasing That we were able to do this, was in
AAFR and RIDDOR rate that, for our part due to the leadership training we
framework contractors, reached zero have in place. This training supports
in March 2021. leaders across the community from
board level to project managers. It has
been, and continues to be, delivered to
over 80 people across all organisations,
focussing on the personal attitudes,
11Business as unusual
At the start of the first lockdown we We also found that we were able to
delivered a series of blogs to support engage larger numbers of people more
the lead coach community and act as a easily with online webinars, seminars,
reminder of what they had learned and forums and our lessons learnt dialogue.
to engage with them on their skills and
thinking in this unprecedented time. Delivering a robust and adaptable
business continuity plan
The intention was to remind everyone Our original Business Continuity Plan
that now, more than ever, was the time was further developed in light of the
to activate their lead coach training pandemic. We undertook a number of
and reflect upon their capabilities and business impact assessments to under-
lead coach practices. Each blog in the stand the processes in place if key team
series took on a lead coach theme, and members, or even entire teams, were
explored different areas, linked to the unable to work. We spoke to business
national picture at the time. leaders as it was essential for each team
to take ownership and identify what was
The face-to-face collaboration and required to facilitate an undisrupted ser-
leadership skills training we had planned vice and what the business needed to
for the year was inevitably cancelled do to support them. We looked at how
due to the pandemic and the restrictions they would continue to operate, for ex-
that were put in place. We realised it ample, who was their appointed deputy
was business critical to continue to and were they aware of critical informa-
train new community members and tion such as passwords and document
develop others. As it became evident the storage for example. We then created a
pandemic was here to stay, we took the framework for each team to follow.
decision to redesign our programmes
and move all our cultural training online, The BCP now incorporates new levels of
together with our forums, and balanced process that have enabled us to contin-
scorecard dialogues. ue both office and on-road operational
effectiveness, by having a linked com-
We were found that by re-working the munications plan, IT input and health
plan so that training was delivered in and safety protocols, together with op-
modules over a longer period, it had a erational delivery, whether working from
much bigger impact on those taking home, in the office or on the network.
part, as well as being more effective.
We all faced new and sometimes
difficult challenges during lock-
down, however, it also provided
an opportunity for us to minimise
disruption to our customers.
2Connect Plus PMR 2021
As lessons were learnt, the plan evolved implemented to facilitate the effective
and was updated as required. Early in operation of the business during
2021, each part of the business under- this time.
took a further business impact assess-
ment to assess if any additional changes Resetting the working window
were needed or if they would do things We all faced new and sometimes difficult
differently. challenges during lockdown, however,
it also provided an opportunity for us to
As a result of the BCP, the business was minimise disruption to our customers.
in a position to continue to deliver, oper- Using big data analytics, we produced
ate and, importantly, adapt, during the detailed analysis to visualise the im-
lockdown. Because of the systems that pact that lockdown was having on the
were put in place, our teams were able volume of traffic using the network.
to go above and beyond business as Working with Highways England, we
usual, keeping the network running to: were able to make the most of these
reduced levels to reset and extend the
current working window, allowing us
• Allow for the transportation of
to use this time to offset the impacts of
essential goods such as medical
COVID (additional resources required
supplies
such as vans and people). The earlier
• Enable key workers to travel without start times and lower traffic levels expe-
having to rely on public transport rienced during the Pandemic allowed us
• Help keep the economy moving to offset the initial anxiety experienced
during this difficult time by the workforce in managing Covid as
well as health and safety and improved
In addition to the BCP, there were a the certainty in planning our work and
number of examples of best practice, getting Traffic management out on the
opportunities and initiatives that were network.
13Regular communications The Temporal Consulting team In addition, there was a growing sense of
It was essential that during this time we worked with the framework community them and us between the site operatives
continued to communicate with the leadership team to develop and trial and those working from home together
business and our framework community, a cultural intervention programme with a ‘big brother’ feeling of needing
not only on COVID specific matters, but aimed at: to be seen to be online.
also to ensure we didn’t lose momentum
on business campaigns and national • Creating a community conversation The conclusion was that it simply
awareness days. We issued a huge in support of wellbeing wasn’t enough to undertake a digital
number of timely communications to t • Improving personal awareness transformation, and to be operationally
he whole business which included: of wellbeing set up for the ‘new’ normal. Our way
• Supporting leadership in tracking of working – our policies and culture –-
• COVID specific communications the cultural climate of wellbeing and needed to be carefully adjusted
with information such as working identifying policies to strengthen it with compassion to support the
safely on the network and working lifestyle change.
from home The leadership group invited up to 100
• Health and wellbeing advice community members to attend voluntary Meditation sessions
weekly mindfulness sessions and to Nicola Temporal also ran a four-week
• Campaigns and national
complete a short survey concerning their ‘introduction to meditation’ course which
awareness days
wellbeing after each session, for a total was offered to the whole business and
• Increased engagement opportunities of seven weeks. had the purpose of providing the
for those feeling isolated such as support needed to start and maintain a
Monday morning meditation The cultural calculator (a TC product) meditation practice. This was found to
and ‘Friday Fun’ sessions monitored three aspects of wellbeing: be incredibly helpful during this time,
given the challenging environment that
In addition, we also took our quarterly • The personal felt experience – happy, some of our teams were working in.
in-person roadshows online, and with work-life balance, healthy, optimistic Those who took part benefitted from:
great success. The turnout was much • How people are looking after their
higher than usual with really positive wellbeing – rest and energy levels, • Achieving a greater sense
feedback and strong engagement. stress management, nutrition, of wellbeing
The briefing content was tailored for physical care • Learning how to manage
network-based teams and recorded as • How people are experiencing their levels of stress
a video so the briefing could reach as environment – ways of working, • Growing of self-awareness
many people as possible, despite the community and connection, leader and self-confidence
much smaller shift bubbles. ship listening, extra hours, resources
and equipment. Highways England have reviewed the
Wheel of wellbeing Business Continuity Plan and it has been
As well as the communications around The leadership group were given put forward as ‘best practise’ for use
wellbeing, we also worked with Temporal opportunities to tailor interventions during by other Areas on the strategic road
Consulting – the company who brought the programme with their teams using network. In addition, it has been
to life the concept of the Wheel of the data to inform each intervention. successfully audited by external
Wellbeing. It became apparent wellbeing The findings from the programme were: auditors and also used by Balfour
was going to be important during the Beatty in relevant areas of their business.
pandemic, as people were exposed to • Despite having more meetings an
the pressures of work and homelife and experience of disconnection Highways England are aware. A COVID
the constant expectation of being remained specific edition of the Motion newsletter
available for online meetings. • Despite having more freedom was also created to share positive
to work from home a lack of developments on the network with
work life balance remained Highways England during this
• Despite having less of a need to challenging time.
travel to work common themes
were low rest, low energy and
working additional hours
14We delivered £45m of
improvement projects for
Highways England, including
keeping some large and
complex static sites operational.
15Healthier Highways
Connect Plus recognises the need to improve
worker health protection in line with our
strategic themes of ‘Promoting Health’
and ‘Leading in Safety’.
Through a collaborative partnership with Steve Perkins Associates (SPA), experts in risk-based
health leadership and culture transformation, we have started to develop a strategic health
leadership framework to improve the protection of health for all those who work on the
M25 network.
The need
Safety is both an imperative and a value for Highways construction and maintenance involves
Highway’s England. There is rightly a strong focus a wide range of health exposure hazards including;
on work-related accident prevention across the SRN, respirable crystalline silica, other respirable dusts
but much more could be done on work-related and particulates, noise, vibration, welding fumes,
ill-health prevention. The Health and Safety Executive isocyanates, VOCs, manual handling, diesel
estimates that each year 4000 construction workers exhaust emissions and solar radiation. Unfortunately,
die from occupational lung disease; there are 5500 awareness of these hazards and their associated
new cases of occupational cancer; and at any health risks is generally poor across the industry.
one time there are nearly 81,000 construction We recognise this situation needs to be addressed
workers with work related ill-health ranging from and embarked on work to begin the journey to
musculoskeletal disorders to lung disease, ‘treat health like safety’ across the M25 network.
and noise-induced hearing loss to stress.
16Connect Plus PMR 2021
Deliverables
The collaborative leadership team, established for this project and including volunteers from
across the M25 community, as well as Highways England and experts from Steve Perkins
Associates (SPA), has undertaken a wide range of activities throughout the year, including:
• Embedding a communications approach • Designing ‘Good Health Conversations’
for Healthier Highways messages using playing cards to stimulate health
regular community e-newsletters, health protection engagement on site
and safety forums, and a dedicated and in online meetings.
Microsoft Teams channel for downloading • A new Supervisors’ dust awareness
resources available to the whole community. modular training course delivered live
• Creating bespoke toolbox talk videos online. It incorporates practical training
on dust and noise awareness using the dust toolbox talk video,
contextualised for the M25, which together with a short test.
have had very positive feedback. • Introduced a new Health ‘Don’t Walk By’
• Production of task-based fact sheets quarterly award for the best health
on the health hazards and controls protection submission/observation.
for road planing and paving, targeted First awarded in Q2 2020.
at supervisors and works managers.
We’re particularly proud of
the work undertaken by the
collaborative surfacing supply
chain working group on dust
control in asphalt planing, which
includes framework contractors
and supply chains, the
planer manufacturer and
SPA specialists. Exposure
assessments revealed low
levels of RCS, but high levels
of respirable dust requiring
control improvement. Working
together the group discovered
existing planer water spray
controls were not being fully In addition, we discovered that the planer vacuum extraction
used due to misunderstandings system isn’t regularly maintained and checked, thus reducing
on their use and function. dust extraction efficiency. A case study on M25 planing dust
Further measurements control has been published on our website.
conclusively demonstrated
that full water spray halves The team also planned and have now began to trial a new
dust exposure. active noise control protection and measurement system by
Eave. This is being rolled out across the framework community.
We also conducted a coached gap analysis project for
health protection policies, systems and practices across
the framework community. This highlighted a number of
community-wide areas for improvement with each company
agreeing to develop their own specific improvement plans.
17Benefits
There is now wider access across
the Community to Healthier Highways
resources through our communications
programme resulting in increased
awareness. A survey of attendees
at the 2021 M25 stand down event
showed that 70% of delegates were
now either very/somewhat aware
of the campaign and its messages.
Trials of the supervisors dust
awareness training course yielded
very positive feedback with 94% highly
met rating for our objectives and 100%
rating for recommending the course to
colleagues. A noise awareness course
is now in development.
Community trials of the Good Health
Playing cards showed very positive
We’re starting to feedback with unanimous agreement
from participants that the cards helped
to start health conversations and
realise fantastic provided new ideas for discussions.
As a result of this success a wider
benefits following
roll-out is now planned.
With regard to the dust control in
the development asphalt planing work, follow-up and
further exposure testing on planing
dust revealed that water sprinkling
of our Healthier controls were not used to full effect
(usually at about 50%). Rectifying this
Highways initiative.
results in a halving of respirable dust
levels taking them to a safe level.
As we delved deeper, it turned out
there was a belief in the planing sector
that saving sprinkling water was the
right thing to do for several apparently
legitimate reasons. We disproved
all of them as far as M25 planing
is concerned. They were:
• A belief that tailings from
planing needed to be dry to
facilitate reheating at the
asphalt recycling plants.
Directors of those plants
confirmed that was not true
as they put no specification on
the water content of tailings
and in-fact store them outside
in all weathers prior to recycling.
18Connect Plus PMR 2021
• As water usage is measured These findings are relevant across All of the work undertaken as part
as an environmental resource, the road planing industry and of the Healthier Highways initiative
everyone felt a pressure to are now being communicated has been shared with Highways
conserve it. more widely through webinars, England and we would hope that
conferences and articles in industry there is scope for it to be adopted
• People were concerned that
publications. more widely in the future.
there would be a need to refill
the planer’s water tank during
During 2020, following the • Highways England teams
a shift which would delay the
introduction of our Health DWB in the South East region under
job and incur extra cost.
prize, health protection submissions Nicola Bell were included
However, calculations showed
more than doubled and we saw a in the M25 strategic Health
that for the short planing
four-fold increase in numbers which and Safety Forums in
windows on the M25 a full
involved solutions further up the December 2020 and June
tank of water was more than
hierarchy of controls than just PPE. 2021, where Healthier
enough to complete every
Highways outcomes
job with the sprinkling system
Our messages and resources have were reported.
running at 100%.
received wider attention across
• Finally, there was a concern
the industry through our • We presented Healthier
that spraying more water
communication efforts with Safer Highways to the HE Highways
would make the carriageway
Highways and Highways UK. Safety Hub in February 2021
excessively wet for the cleaning
and the HE Supply Chain
sweepers preparing the planed
Safety Leadership Group in
surface for the next part of the
March 2021. The latter
process. However, planing is
included Mark Byard,
conducted in all weathers –
wet or dry – and the cleaners HE Health, Safety and
will also be spraying water Wellbeing Director.
during their work.
Through honest and open
conversations within our supply
chain working group we were
able to work through each of
these reasons and collectively
agree that none of them applied
to M25 planing work, and
therefore there were no
operational or commercial
reasons why the water spray
should be turned off on the
conveyor belts.
Our conclusions have provided
significant improvements to health
protection for our workforce,
without incurring additional cost.
19Road space improvements The need
In order to align with Highways England’s strategic
imperative of customer service, road space booking
Road space planning accuracy needs to be strong to provide reliable
information to customers and other stakeholders.
accuracy is a critical Performance across England is currently well below
the 90% strategic target and in Area 5, we have
historically been significantly below, averaging c30%,
enabler for informing and during the winter, much less than this.
customers moving Deliverables and benefits
smoothly through A detailed analysis of the reasons for not achieving
the current target has been completed. This has
revealed a wide range of issues including process,
our network. systems and organisation, all of them impacting on
performance. So far, the following have been put
in place to start to address performance:
Cone time reporting
In recognition of this, Highways England
A daily report has been developed to allow the
has set a target to achieve 90% accuracy of
road space team to follow up with contractors and
carriageway closures booked at least seven
Service Delivery when cone times are not recorded
days in advance. This means that seven
on a booking. Without this information, bookings are
days’ notice should be able to be provided
classified as ‘not used’. This improvement has led
to customers and stakeholders for at least
to a 5% improvement in performance compared to
90% of bookings.
2020, by ensuring that accurate records are kept of
when cones are placed and removed.
Historically, the performance in Area 5 (up to
January 2021) was approximately 30% on this
Cone Time App
measure, one of the worst performing areas in
A cone time app has also been developed to allow
England. It is therefore essential that we improve.
Connect Plus Services (CPS) and traffic management
contractors to log cone times directly through their
Road space planning is complex, involving many
tablets or mobile phones. The app is in use within
stakeholders and there are many reasons why
the CPS Service Delivery team and with some of the
the 90% target is not being achieved. However,
traffic management community who use Google-based
through the analysis of the data, we have been
devices. Currently, approximately 10% of cone times are
able to identify targeted areas for improvement,
being logged through this method. Additional training and
some of which are already in place. Further
familiarisation are ongoing to increase this figure. The app
improvements, including a drive for true integrated
is also in the process of being published on the Apple
planning across the M25 community, will take
store and we’re confident that adoption will increase
longer, but will ultimately provide a platform to
once this has been finalised. The benefit of the app
deliver long term sustainable improvement.
is that notification of cone times can be logged more
accurately against road space booking numbers,
As a result of improvements already delivered
without using an automated phone service which
since February 2021, 7-day road space
is liable to human error in the entry of information.
accuracy is now approximately 60% per
month on a regular basis and Area 5 is
Process review of our approach
no longer the worst performer in the country.
Through a process review of our approach to road
space booking, and by benchmarking our practices
with other Areas within the strategic road network,
we identified that the our process
20for booking road space was subtly to facilitate this, a suite of Power programme planning approach.
different to all others, in respect of when BI reports have been developed, This includes introducing an
bookings are confirmed. Within Area 5, showing a range of road space integrated planning approach to
bookings previously were typically not metrics and enabling benchmarking of look further ahead at all road space
confirmed to Highways England until all performance across the M25. These bookings, and integrate works
diversions were approved. Often, local reports will be published to the with each other much earlier in the
highway authorities or TfL do not confirm community in the second half of 2021. process. The aim is to avoid late
their agreement to diversions until very clashes of works, late cancellations
late in the process. This means that New format co-ordination meeting and enable more sharing of road
bookings were being confirmed late and An important change that has been space. This activity will be led from
then failing the 7-day accuracy measure. implemented following the review the CPS PMO team but will involve
of the road space booking process multiple stakeholders from across
We have now adjusted the process is to implement a new format the M25 community. Through the
to align with the rest of the country, co-ordination meeting. These development of this approach,
so confirming bookings ahead of meetings are now weekly, involving we aim to achieve the 90%
receiving confirmation and agreement all road space applicants, and review strategic target by 2025.
of diversions. On rare occasions the status of road space bookings
diversions may not approved up to 8 weeks out from the works We are actively involved in regional
resulting in a cancellation, but this date. The meetings provide a final and national forums on road space
happens in only a minority of cases opportunity for works co-ordination management and have been sharing
and has so far proved to be very and also act as a reminder for our good practices with these groups.
low. Road space bookings are applicants to cancel bookings that are
now confirmed 7-10 days ahead no longer required – well ahead of the We have also had early
of works, giving Highways England works date and therefore positively discussions with Highways
and stakeholders greater visibility of impacting the 7-day accuracy England regarding our programme
events. This process change has measure. These meetings are well optimisation approach. They
had the most significant impact attended and are an enabler to recognise that integrating road
on performance, and is responsible sustaining performance above 60% space planning into strategic
for at least a 20% improvement on the 7-day accuracy measure. programme planning will help to
in performance on the 7-day unlock higher levels of accuracy.
accuracy measure. Over the coming months, we will be We will be keeping Highways
introducing further improvements to England updated on the progress
Road space booking good make the booking process more we are making.
practice guide integrated with the overall
To support changes that have been
implemented, we have also published
a road space booking “Good Practice
Guide”. This document outlines the
processes to be followed by applicants
and describes the best practices for
each step. Lunch and Learn webinars
have been held across the M25
Community to share this information
and the document is available online
to all road space applicants through
the Network Occupancy Management
System (NOMS).
Power BI reports
An important enabler to improved
Road Space performance is to
allow applicants to see their own
performance and how that compares
to the rest of the community. In order
21Network intelligence - Binder and surfacing dashboards
In this case study we explain the latest
developments undertaken to enhance
network intelligence on Paved Areas.
To this end, multiple dashboards A set of filters including, but not limited to,
using HAPMS Construction Date Laid, Lane Code, Material Type, Road
Datasets were constructed to Number and Direction (e.g., Clockwise
map networkwide binder and versus Anti-Clockwise) – which all provide
surface courses, that will deliver meaningful insights – are directly usable, and
a number of actionable insights. metrics including average age of courses,
given a prespecified set of filters are
The need also presented.
Our pavement strategy on fully flexible Two screenshots are presented on
(FF) pavement stipulates that binder course the opposite page.
failures and deterioration should be avoided
by increasing surface course replacement, Benefits
especially on Lane1. As such, it is deemed
important to recognise and scrutinise The dashboard will be initially used to
high-risk locations where binder courses strategically select representative samples
are particularly aged and vulnerable, and of binder course to be investigated (i.e.,
where the failure risk could be exacerbated sampling on site, core logging and further
without prompt preventative maintenance. asphalt testing). The aim would be to build
Investigations including coring and testing up a comprehensive database of binder
can be carried out to determine the course types and ages to determine where
condition of the binder courses, and on this the risks are for future schemes, meriting
basis, further actions can be taken to either additional testing to assess the binder
protect or fully replace it. It was for instance, course prior to any inlay works and
found that networkwide, binder courses on minimise the occurrence of early failures.
Lane 1 are on average 29 years old, against
9 years old for thin surface courses. It is also aimed to be widely used by
asset engineers and designers when
Deliverables planning annual Asset Management Forward
Plan (AMFP) programmes. Combined
A comprehensive dashboard, mapping with other data sets such as defect
the type and age of both binder and occurrences (CAT1 hotspots), inspection
surface courses throughout the network, data (i.e., TRAffic-speed Condition Surveys),
was assembled. Specifically, the dashboards and other available visual information, this
were constructed by using modern data could enhance network knowledge and
scripting methods to ingest, cleanse, and understanding of pavement modes of failure.
process HAPMS construction datasets. Further analysis will be undertaken over the
The processed dataset was then visualised course of 2021/22 to consolidate the results.
through Power BI, and shared within the
M25 community. The information will be included in the AMFP
and shared with Highways England.
22Connect Plus PMR 2021
23Network intelligence – Deterioration of asphaltic plug joints
A detailed review of asphaltic plug joint service
life has been undertaken to evaluate the use of
longer life high modulus materials.
The replacement of these joint types The need
represents a very significant part of the
planned structures investment portfolio Bridge expansion joints are one of the structural
and innovation, and greater understanding inventory components that require the most
of service life has a direct benefit in frequent intervention. These joints allow structures
both investment requirements but also to articulate and provide a running surface for traffic.
minimises expected network disruption As such, they are subject to a large amount of
and long-term risk reduction. localised and high loading, traditionally causing
deformation and failure over time.
Analysis of high modulus expansion
joint performance has been undertaken Deliverables
using asset data to identify and evaluate
performance trends. This has reinforced The installation of high modulus asphaltic plug
the fact that these joint types are performing joints has been adopted for a number of years.
above the previous deterioration model, However, this year, a detailed review of deterioration
with a forecast 50% improvement in trends has been undertaken and compared with
service life. The Decision Support Tool used the traditional deterioration model used previously
for future asset intervention identification for these joint types. This review has demonstrated
and investment forecasting has been a substantial reduction in the rate of deterioration,
updated with the revised service life. providing confidence in the adoption of a revised
deterioration curve in the Decision Support Tool.
24Benefits
The installed high modulus Utilising an expansion joint system generated through longer-lasting APJ
asphaltic plug expansion joints are that has greater resistance to life expectancies. Different scenarios,
demonstrating improved performance deterioration directly reduces the including differentiated assumption for
characteristics when compared with frequency that replacement is A and M-roads, were considered, as
standard joints of this kind. required. As a result, fewer road shown in the second graph below.
closure will be required – every 12
Comparison of inspection data years as opposed to every 8 – High modulus expansion joints have
review for a number of structures meaning less disruption to the been adopted within other Highways
has demonstrated this improved travelling public and less exposure England areas however, it is believed
performance and a comparison of to a live traffic environment for our this study is the first of its kind to
initial deterioration patterns suggests workforce. In addition, by using holistically review their performance
these joints take approximately 50% longer-lasting materials, we reduce and utilise the results to refine future
longer to reach a severity condition the risk of premature failures, thus condition modelling.
three. The first graph below depicts the reducing the likelihood of serious
APJ refined deterioration in comparison joint-induced road accidents. Highways England are not currently
with the traditional deterioration model. aware of the study but this shall be
This improvement in deterioration reflected through the AMFP.
It is anticipated this trend forecasting offers greater network
will continue for greater severity availability and supports journey time
levels, and additional reviews will be reliability.
undertaken to confirm this, and to
verify further improvement to future We adopted a probabilistic approach
condition modelling. to quantify savings that could be
25Retrofitting emergency areas
Connect Plus were asked by Highways England
to retrofit ten emergency areas on the smart
motorway sections on the M25, and to do
this within 12 months.
Working collaboratively with Deliverables and benefits By running the design and
our framework community, we construction phases simultaneously,
were able to successfully deliver An innovative community culture the team were able to find the
this project, causing minimum This project was delivered under quickest route to construction,
disruption to the travelling our innovative COFA framework – cutting out the ‘dead’ time which
public while having to deal six organisations working closely is usually found in conventional
with the challenges caused together with a community culture project programming.
by a global pandemic. at its heart, to deliver renewal and
improvements works around There were 17 possible locations
The need the network. for the 10 areas. In January 2020,
representatives from all parties including
Highways England introduced new At the start of the project we Highways England visited each one
standards for Smart Motorways which involved all six contractors, plus during daylight, to make assessments.
required emergency areas to be spaced the designers, in an open discussion, This helped identify the most suitable
between three quarters and one mile using their collective vast experience locations, ensuring both design and
apart, so that in the event of a break- to assess the potential challenges operational constraints were identified
down, a vehicle travelling at 60mph will to delivery, particularly in light of the and solved collaboratively at the
reach the next emergency area within tight timescales. Based on a range earliest opportunity.
45 seconds. Previously, the spacing of criteria including the urgency of
requirement was 1.5 miles. This change the project, we came to a mutual Using a conveyor-belt approach, the
aimed to make customers feel safer decision about who was best placed team used selection criteria to identify
and improve confidence when driving to deliver the scheme and opted to quick wins on design, which allowed
on all lanes running (ALR) sections of use two contractors. This would help construction to begin almost immedi-
the M25. to build resilience into the delivery ately, whilst design of the more complex
and ensure the deadline was met. bays was undertaken afterwards. This
We were asked by Highways resulted in the project being delivered
England to construct ten The approach we undertook for this in three phases – as illustrated on the
emergency areas on the smart scheme was made possible by the next page.
motorway sections of the M25 M25 community-wide commitment
within 12 months, this was the first to collaborative working, and the Managing risk
time that extra emergency areas formal collaboration training Risk can always be a factor in these
had been retrofitted to a completed programme which aims to ensure scenarios, however, by assembling
section of the motorway. These that everyone buys in to the cultural the entire project team at the outset,
extremely tight timescales were we were able to assign the risk
ambitions of the M25 Community.
driven by the Department for management to the person best
placed to manage it. This way, if
Transport’s action plan to improve Working unconventionally there were any design issues, we
smart motorway safety, which Delivering this project in the were able to provide the mitigation in
was announced by the Transport conventional way – design, tender real time. While adopting this method
Secretary in January 2020. and then construction - would incurred more costs upfront, overall,
Construction began in the same have taken approximately three the project came in on budget, be-
month, and the extra emergency years, which would have been cause costs associated with poorly
areas had to be delivered unacceptable given the context managed risk had already
by December 2020. of the scheme.
26Connect Plus PMR 2021
Phase 1
EA Bay 2
EA Bay 3
EA Bay 4
EA Bay 5
Phase 3
EA Bay 8a
Phase 2 EA Bay 9a
EA Bay 1 EA Bay 12
EA Bay 6 EA Bay 15
been ironed out, making construction which allowed them to design out It was an immense challenge to
almost frictionless. the need for narrow lanes in phase deliver all bays by the end of 2020,
three of the construction process. but the whole team were galvanised
The programme and its associated This dramatically improved the driving by that. Each challenge that the team
risks were managed in several ways, experience for our customers. encountered was tackled with a
including: one team approach - where the
Biodiversity net gain team owned the issue not the
• Project board meetings, which During 2020 we recruited a individual or organisation.
helped to maintain focus and biodiversity advisor, and this project
remove blockers was the first scheme to consider With all parties focussed and pulling
• Collaborative planning sessions, biodiversity net gain from the outset. in the same direction – we proved
where the teams met for a full that it could be done.
day on a weekly basis The construction of the emergency
areas necessitated the removal of The project team have already shared
Overall, this approach gave far more areas of the soft estate, therefore, learning back to Highways England,
predictability and certainty of delivery replanting was a required to replace and are playing an ongoing role as
against the challenging timescales. and enhance adjacent land. The they move forward with the rest of
sites were assessed to calculate their Smart Motorways Programme.
Minimising disruption to the travelling the biodiversity unit value and a
public is an essential part of our replanting scheme was designed Furthermore, the team now
project planning. The team did a to achieve biodiversity net gain. has a design catalogue of
fantastic job of phasing the work emergency areas, covering a
and refining construction methods For the first time, biodegradable wide range of design constraints
and traffic management designs as cardboard tree guards were and site conditions (e.g. sheet-piled
the project progressed, to ensure specified, reducing the greenhouse retaining wall constructions, precast
continuous improvement. effect that traditional plastic tree concrete units, L-shaped retaining
guards can have on the plants. walls etc) which is already being
For example, we were able to phase Using this product should also used to inform the design of other
four separate emergency areas into two mean that, unlike the plastic emergency areas on Highways
pairs, constructing them simultaneously. guards, we won’t need to England’s network.
As a result, this required only two traffic remove them, saving manpower
management layouts. On the M25, and traffic management costs. The project is well known and
traffic management forms a large part of highly regarded throughout Highways
the project cost, so planning in this way Collaboration at its best England. Nicola Bell took the time to
allowed the team to save £400,000 per This project was truly a collaborative write to everyone who worked on
layout, while minimising disruption to effort, something that was brought the project, thanking them for the part
our customers. to light even more during the global they played in what was a fantastic
pandemic. The teams had to change achievement.
In addition, during phase two of and adapt to this new way of working.
the construction process, the team Extra reporting was also put in place In addition, the tree guards
conducted a range of surveys to ensure COVID was effectively were shown at the Highways
including topographical, ground managed at site level, together with England showcase by the
penetrating radar (GPR), drainage, extra welfare and other arrangements. communications team.
electrical, communications, ground
investigations and pavement cores
27Sustainability roadmap
The Sustainability Roadmap The need Deliverables
sets out the sustainability
objectives for the M25 Sustainability is becoming the focus of We have delivered a number of
network. This roadmap many companies’ agendas as we learn sustainability-led projects during
is the key to ensuring all the importance of our environmental and project year 12, as part of the
parties involved in the social responsibilities beyond business sustainability roadmap.
contract are working to as usual. A good sustainability plan
the same plan and ensuring is structured to represent the UN The first Green Travel Plan.
environmental and social sustainable development goals, which We submitted the first iteration of
responsibility, whilst ensure that every aspect of our work the Green Travel Plan which included
maintaining a healthy can be analysed and improved upon. information regarding the distances
business. our staff commute from home to
Safety is represented in development their place of work, and the relevant
The Roadmap is reviewed each goal 3, good health and wellbeing. This carbon savings that could be made
year, however the overarching translates to a business that nurtures the by implementing video conferencing
design of this Roadmap and staff’s mental wellbeing, putting huge systems in offices, eliminating the
the strategy that supports it importance on promotion of good mental need to travel to meetings. We also
was re-written in contract year health for everybody working on the M25. factored in the amount claimed
11 to ensure it is relevant to against business mileage, and where
the business, the industry Our customer remains the focus of our supply chain are located around
and all parties contributing multiple goals and actions, including the network.
to the M25 network. reducing the number of environmental
incidents and designing new ways for Funding for energy improvements.
scheme designers to reduce the carbon Following the success in the
that their projects produce. reduction of network lighting that
has led to considerable energy
During this contract year we continue savings, funds have been allocated
to measure social value to ensure that to improve energy consumption
our customers across the network are across all our depots. Initial ideas
at the forefront of our activities, resulting include electric vehicle charging
in higher community engagement in the points and solar powered car ports.
geographical areas that need it the most.
Adding additional skills to the team
In March 2021 we recruited a
Sustainability Analyst with the remit
of managing the increasing amount of
data the environment and sustainability
team is negotiating. This will include
building environmental and sustainability
dashboards using Power BI.
28You can also read
