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Area 9 Debrief - The Findings
January 2008
Communicating both good incident management practice and lessons learnt are central to achieving the objective of the TIM Bulletin. This article features the findings from a post-incident cold debrief held in Area 9.
The incident
On the 1st November 2007 at approximately 21.21hrs, a Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) was travelling northbound on the M6 between junctions 6 and 7. The LGV collided with a gantry support in the central reservation destabilising the gantry above the southbound carriageway. This resulted in the Variable Message Signs on the gantry becoming detached and unsafe. As a result the gantry needed to be removed from the network immediately.
Due to the safety issue with the gantry on the southbound carriageway, a closure was implemented at junction 7. The closure instructed traffic to leave the motorway and find alternative routes from the network via Birmingham’s suburbs. However, this closure was not as effective as it could have been due to some local roadworks just off junction 7, which resulted in some minor congestion around the local area. This was identified early and resulted in the closure being moved to junction 8; this enabled more efficient flows away from the M6.
In addition to this, traffic travelling southbound on the M6 further north were informed of the closure via the Variable Message Signs. Traffic was recommended to travel on the Birmingham orbital roads, the M5 and M42 or seek an alternative route. This was conducted at an early stage and informed travellers well in advance of the upcoming incident so they could alter their route accordingly.
In order to remove the gantry, the Service Provider required a crane to lift and remove it. In an effort to resolve this situation, the Service Provider’s Network Control Centre asked the Highways Agency’s Regional Control Centre if they could contact a Police contracted recovery agent to provide the crane. This caused some confusion over what the Police recovery contacts could be used for and it was decided that Police vehicle recovery was for vehicles and loads involved in collisions/incidents. It was determined that the Service Provider should use their supply chain to source the crane for rectifying infrastructure damage.
The Service Provider sourced a suitable crane as quickly as they could bearing in mind that the incident happened overnight. Following the incident they have now put a specific contract in place for future incidents.
What went well
The debrief was seen by all as successful and highlighted that previously identified lessons had been learned and acted upon. This is largely associated to on-scene personnel judging the length of the incident early and acting accordingly. This included, road closures, strategic closures and notifying the media. This was largely associated to joint-working arrangements. Likewise, it was felt that multi-agency communication both on and off scene went very well during the incident.
Lessons Learnt
The debrief was conducted in a ‘no blame’ environment where all parties arrived with a willingness to learn. This enabled the participants to identify some operational developments which will assist them during incidents in the future. These were as follows:
- Better understanding of the differences between recovery equipment for vehicles and loads and the equipment requirements to deal with Highways Agency infrastructure.
- Service Provider having a crane company on supply chain call-out.
As well as identifying lessons learnt, the debrief also developed a number of actions to aid continuous improvement. These included the following:
- Obtain guidance regarding the use of cranes on raised sections of motorways. Specifically the ‘point loading’ effect.
- Check the requirements regarding any potential lifting operations on gantries beneath electrical power cables.
- Build relations with the crane provider recently added to the Service Provider’s supply chain. This will include understanding their procedures for operating on motorways, i.e.
o Development of lifting plans
o Interface between the crane provider and the AmeyMouchel appointed persons for lifting, who will trained under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Act 1998 (LOLER 1998) to British Standard 7121.
Summary
Identifying areas of improvement and development is just as much good practice as doing something well on the network. A high quality post incident debrief is an important phase of the incident management cycle. This incident highlighted that not only was the incident managed successfully at the time but that the cold debrief enabled learning to be identified and shared.
Have you encountered an issue that you have resolved in your Area/Region? If so, feel free to tell us at the TIM team and we can disseminate it nationally. Please e-mail TIMbulletin@highways.gsi.gov.uk.
Has this article been worthwhile reading? Why not take a moment to send us your comments, thoughts or questions. Please e-mail TIMbulletin@highways.gsi.gov.uk.
