Highways Agency

Tools

Air Quality Assessment

A new road scheme will change local traffic flows, which in turn will impact on air quality. Air Quality Assessments are undertaken to estimate the total air pollution concentrations for a road scheme. This information is then used to assist the development of government policy on air quality, and standards for vehicles and fuel. New road schemes do not always have a negative effect on air pollution, when congestion is reduced vehicles produce fewer emissions.

The Agency is working in partnership with Local Authorities in the delivery of the National Air Quality Strategy by maintaining our guidance on Air Quality Assessment and making available our air quality data via the Internet. The Agency is also working to develop and evaluate traffic control systems, which reduce congestion and vehicle emissions.

Better Business Practice

There are a variety of principles that the Agency is applying to procurement that provide a structure for continual improvement. More information is provided in the Highways Agency Procurement Strategy

Early Contractor Involvement (ECI), design and build contracts - This is about bringing suppliers and designers together much earlier in a schemes conception than previously occurred, allowing them to work together more closely. This allows more scope for innovation, improved risk management, better forward planning of resource requirements and minimisation of environmental impacts, better ability to recruit and retain staff, improved consideration of buildability and health and safety, shorter construction periods and reduced environmental impacts during construction. Overall, the early creation of delivery teams clearly offers the opportunity for better value and improved performance. The first project to incorporate early contractor involvement was the A500 Stoke Pathfinder in 2001.

Long term contractual relationships - The Agency is moving towards long term contractual mechanisms that produce steady business for the suppliers, giving them the incentive for long term investment in people and plant, moving to a culture of shared objectives.

Minimise the burden of tendering on industry - The Agency recognises the high cost of tendering and that these costs do ultimately find their way back to clients. Procedures will be introduced to keep tendering costs to a minimum.

Partnering culture - In a move to develop better value road maintenance and trunk road management, the Agency has developed Managing Agent Contractor contracts (MACs). MACs are part of the Agency's efforts to give a more streamlined and integrated partnership approach in managing the network, providing better services for road users on trunk roads and motorways. The MACs provide innovative solutions to keeping traffic flowing on a number of important routes and will include rapid response vehicles to enable roads to be opened quickly following incidents.

Supply Chain Management - The Agency also requires evidence that firms have developed a partnering culture throughout their organisations and with their supply chains, adopting supply chain management policies and practices, which integrate, encourage and reward good performance. The relationship between contractors and their designers on design and build contracts will be particularly important. The Agency will require arrangements that encourage the development of best value solutions and not solutions that are simply the cheapest to design.

The Agency has established two Supply Chain Management Teams to manage supply chain relationships. Particular attention is being given to the development of business relationships with its key suppliers including the agreement of strategic management objectives to improve standards of business delivery. The teams are responsible for performance reviews, maintain regular contact and carry out site and office visits to assist in the "reality checking" of quality promises and submissions. The assessment of performance is being fed back into the supplier selection process to help judge capability and suitability of firms.

Supplier Performance Assessment and Reporting - The Agency will work with its suppliers to establish consistent indicators, which can be used to identify best practice and measure performance of all those involved in project or service delivery. The need to demonstrate continual improvement will be the basis of longer-term partnerships.

The Agency will introduce 360-degree reporting throughout the supply chain, including suppliers reporting on clients, to ensure that partnerships are operating effectively.

Risk Sharing - The Agency will accept risks where appropriate, provided that suppliers play a full part in effective risk management to minimise cost and other consequences. The emphasis in the selection process has now moved to quality aspects, seeking to select firms best able to identify optimal solutions and to deliver them efficiently and safely. Price will be taken into account in terms of affordability and how much the Agency will pay for added value. The Agency will assess the attitude and ability of firms to manage risks, remove wastage, improve efficiency and to control costs. The Agency will also use risk schedules to help ensure that potential risks are identified and are allocated clearly and fairly under the contract.

Small and Medium Size Firms - The Agency's programme of work is increasing and it will be important to ensure that there are adequate resources available to deliver the programmes. It will mean that the HA will continue to make use, where appropriate, of good quality, small or medium size firms either directly or through the supply chain.

Considerate Constructors Scheme

All our suppliers are required to belong to the Considerate Constructors Scheme (http://www.ccscheme.org.uk/). This is a code of practice which recognises improved standards of site management, safety and environmental awareness and seeks to minimise noise, dirt, offensive behaviour and the inconvenience that can sometimes be associated with construction sites.

Construction Skills Certification Scheme

The Agency will require suppliers to have a fully registered and qualified workforce through the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) (http://www.cscs.uk.com/) or one of its equivalents. We are committed to the concept of a fully qualified workforce, take this into account in supplier selection and monitor suppliers' commitment to the Agency's target.

CSCS ensures that operatives' skills have been validated against national standards and that they have the required knowledge and the appropriate health and safety training to operate safely on site. We recognise that currently not all highway construction and maintenance activities are supported by appropriate qualifications such as NVQs. We are working in partnership with others to establish these qualifications.

Environmental and Landscape Management Tools

Working on behalf of the Agency, Managing Agents (appointed to maintain the different areas of the highway network) have many responsibilities for protecting and enhancing the environment. In many cases, Managing Agents are required to undertake the necessary survey work and produce five year Environmental Management Plans for the soft estate. These plans are closely related to their duties in compiling, updating and using the Environmental Database (see below). The identification of opportunities, design and implementation of specific Environmental Improvements on the network is also an integral part of the Managing Agents role. The scale of such environmental improvements will vary depending on the local situation and may include minor planting schemes, noise mitigation, biodiversity species/habitat enhancement measures or water quality protection measures. Further information on these tools can be found in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 10, Section 0 (see http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/index.htm).

Environmental Database

The Agency's Environmental Database comprises text and map-based information relating to landscape, noise, water, biodiversity and heritage elements within the highway estate. The Agency's Managing Agents use the database for operational purposes (e.g. when prioritising maintenance and other network management activities and defining the need for associated environmental assessment work). The Agency also uses it at a strategic level for statistical analysis, conducting audits and determining legal compliance. More information on the Environmental Database is provided in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 10, Section 0, Part 6 - (see http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/index.htm).

Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment is the primary tool for the assessment of the effects of a proposed project on the environment and is legally required for projects of a certain type and scale. Environmental Impact Assessments for major Highways Agency projects are undertaken within the provisions of the Highways (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1999. The Agency also applies similar environmental assessment principles to smaller scale works (such as network improvements involving works within the existing highway corridor). Environmental Impact Assessments typically cover the following topics: Air Quality; Cultural Heritage; Construction Effects; Ecology and Nature Conservation; Landscape; Land Use; Noise and Vibration; Pedestrians, Cyclists and Communities; Vehicles; Travellers; Water Quality and Drainage; Geology and Soils; Policies and Plans. Guidance on Environmental Impact Assessment is provided in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 11 (see http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/index.htm)

The Highways Agency is currently modernising Volume 11 of the DMRB to maintain it as the definitive guidance document for the Environmental Impact Assessment of highway schemes.

Environmental Management Systems

An Environmental Management System provides a systematic way of dealing with environmental issues within an organisation. This allows the organisation to identify relevant environmental legislation and comply with it, identify relevant environmental issues and set mechanisms in place for their improvement and provide training and procedures to ensure staff understand what is expected of them and that they meet these expectations. Environmental Management Systems help to:

• Improve environmental performance; enhance compliance; reduce risk; prevent pollution; preserve resources; increase efficiency; enhance staff morale and awareness of environmental issues; and improve image to stakeholders. From March 2004, our contractors will have to operate a certified EMS, where appropriate, to secure future work. This will enable standard environmental techniques, developed by the Agency, to be integrated into environmental work taking place across our network.

Guidance and Specifications - Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, the Trunk Road Maintenance Manual and the Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works

Guidance for the management of motorways and trunk roads is currently provided in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB), the Trunk Road Maintenance Manual (TRMM) and the Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works (MCHW), produced by the Highways Agency.

• DMRB is a comprehensive manual, which contains all current standards, advice notes and other published documents relating to the design, assessment and operation of the trunk road network and motorways. The manual sets out the standard of good practice that has been developed for the network.
• TRMM provides detailed guidance on maintenance and management work on the trunk road network. It includes requirements relating to the maintenance of all landscape and ecological elements within the Highways Agency's responsibility, including areas of grassland and scrub, hedges, planted areas and wetlands.
• MCHW is a manual for engineers on technical requirements for motorways and trunk roads. It offers guidance on a variety of construction and maintenance issues including Volume 1:Specifications for Highway Works, which is responsible for maintaining the Highways Agency's best business practice approach to trunk road management, operation, and design.

Further information and guidance on issues such as Vegetative Treatment Systems in Highway Drainage, Environmental Protection and Archaeology can be found in Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 10 (see http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/index.htm)

Health and Safety

The Agency has a responsibility to protect the health and safety of those that work for it. Health and safety policies and performance are a very important factor in the selection of suppliers. Firms will need to demonstrate a strong corporate commitment, supported by a robust health and safety structure and a good safety record. Improved health and safety performance will be delivered by improvements to the Agency's procurement procedures including:

• Closer scrutiny of suppliers' corporate commitment; regular monitoring and reporting of performance; targets for continual improvement; earlier involvement in the planning and design of work; greater scrutiny in producing designs which are safe to build and operate; longer familiarisation and mobilisation periods for the contractor and the supply chain; targets for the training of operatives and the policing of the registration scheme; requirements on firms to produce action plans for continual safety improvement; more comprehensive post-project reviews.

National Highways Sector Schemes

The National Highways Sector Schemes are another key tool established to provide a quality benchmark for planning, training and management.

People Policies

The Agency looks for evidence from suppliers that they have a commitment to their staff. This can be through Investors in People (IIP) accreditation (http://www.iipuk.co.uk/) or the use of procedures based on the Movement for Innovation's (M4i) Respect for People toolkits (http://www.m4i.org.uk/).

Partnerships

Partnerships are essential for any multidisciplinary task. The Agency has worked in partnership with statutory environmental bodies on a series of joint projects. For example, Research and Development undertaken by English Nature and the Highways Agency on butterfly conservation in relation to the A30 upgrade. The Agency has also worked closely with the Department for Transport, English Nature, English Heritage and the Countryside Agency in the development of appraisal techniques for highways schemes.

This emphasises that the protection of species, habitats, landscapes and heritage are not simply the remit of the conservation organisations, but should also be the responsibility of business, private utilities, local communities and a range of other interested parties.

Road Users Charter

The Road Users Charter sets out how the Agency aims to make the best possible use of existing roads in order to benefit all road users. The Agency objectives under the Charter are as follows:

• Provide the best possible service to road users and those affected by roads;
• Manage maintenance and improvement programmes that give the best value for money for the tax payer; and
• Contribute to the Secretary of State's target of reducing road casualties.

Road Users Survey

The Agency aims to constantly improve its service to road users and other customers. The Road Users' Satisfaction Survey is an independent survey, which measures awareness of, and satisfaction with, the Agency's services nation-wide. Further information on the Road Users Survey available here

Route Management Strategies

The way the Agency thinks about planning roads and other transport has changed. It now needs to look at the regional picture, focus on local needs, and consider how we can integrate road planning with other transport and planning decisions.

The Route Management Strategy (RMS) process has been developed to help the Agency to do this, by taking a strategic approach to the maintenance, operation and improvement of its network, and involving regional stakeholders and the public in the decision-making process. Each RMS will lead to the adoption of a ten-year strategy and a three-year investment plan for each of the routes comprising the strategic road network.

The New Approach to Appraisal

The New Approach to Appraisal assesses the impact of transport studies and schemes in a balanced way. It is used to assess the impacts of infrastructure contracts across the Government's five objectives for transport (environment, safety, economy, accessibility and integration). The links between the New Approach to Appraisal and other assessment processes (including Environmental Impact Assessment) are outlined in "A New Deal for Transport - The New Approach to Appraisal" (available from the Department for Transport website - http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/economics/rdg/multimodal/anewdealfortrunkroadsinengla5491)

Whole Life Costing

Whole Life Costing is a process that aims to look at "every cost incurred in respect of a facility or product from inception to disposal", that is the total costs associated with the purchasing, construction, use during service-life, maintenance and disposal at the end of life. In the Agency's case this could be the provision of a pavement (the road), a bridge, lights, drainage, noise barrier, tunnel etc. The objective is to make investment decisions with an understanding of the consequences of these decisions. Costs need to include not just the direct costs of constructing and maintaining a facility but also the costs imposed on society and the environment by its use and operation, (for example, the costs to the users when they are delayed by maintenance work).

Compiled by the Centre for Sustainability (http://www.c4s.info/) and TRL Limited (http://www.trl.co.uk/)