Description
In 2003 Owen Williams procured the Design and Construction Supervision Services contract (DACS) with West Sussex County Council (WSCC) to provide highway design consultancy and contract supervision services.
By 2006, Amey had acquired Owen Williams and this proved an opportunity to provide WSCC with a greater range of services and a one stop service. Through the course of the contract to date, several innovations have been developed to support the client.
Efficiency
1. Improved Key Performance Indicator (KPI). The new KPI’s are easier to understand and simple to complete. Because of this there has been no resistance from WSCC and Amey staff to complete the KPI’s. The process takes less time, and monitoring of the contract performance is more complete.
2. Ring Fenced AIP/SM team. With the development of a closer working relationship between the Consulting AIP Team and WSCC AIP/SM team, opportunities for staff development, training and experience have been identified and maximised, resulting in new commissions within the team.
3. Urban Cluster Analysis. For each area a detailed feasibility (desktop) study report was prepared. Each report provides an accident problem overview for West Sussex County and identification of areas of particular interest which may be suitable for further works. This process involved the analysis of a total of 5,840 personal injury accidents.
4. Asset Management. Improved resource targeting of the client’s highway maintenance budge and continual development of processes which reduce costs and improve outputs. Tighter control of the client’s annual grass cutting budget as well as up to date details of all verge locations, including forward visibility around bends.
5. Secondments. Secondments are an efficient and very successful way of working closely with the client, therefore improving client relationships and understanding of the services Amey provide as well as maximising utilisation and providing a guaranteed fee for Amey.
6. Feasibility Design of Cycle Networks. WSCC wanted a feasibility/preliminary design of 20km of proposed Cycle networks for a fixed fee. Our approach was to see if we could undertake more of the network for the fee that WSCC had to spend.
7. Coastal Expressway. Amey used GPS recorded data from the Stagecoach 700 bus service to examine delays caused by junctions, congestion and traffic layouts. They then to analyse those sites so that remedial works could be undertaken to reduce delays particularly in rush hours.
8. Capital Funding. With Amey being a bigger and more diverse company than Owen Williams it is possible to find people within the company who have the required expertise to assist WSCC in the procurement of capital funding for medium and/or major projects.
9. West Sussex County Council Bridge Manager Role. Good Management Practice that is appropriate to local circumstances, the structure type and the function a structure provides.
Innovation
Since the acquisition of Owen Williams Amey have managed to provide WSCC with a more effective and efficient service, providing WSCC with a greater range of services than previously possible through Owen Williams. This has lead to the development and introduction of several new work streams and innovations including the following:-
1. Improved Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reporting mechanism. The original KPI forms were cumbersome, long and difficult to understand.
2. Ring Fenced AIP/SM team. Due to a shortage of staff within WSCC, Amey provided a dedicated design resource to support the delivery of the Route Safety and Local Safety Scheme Programme. Amey provided four dedicated key staff plus project management, CAD and supervision support.
3. Urban Cluster Analysis. Amey support the WSCC Accident Investigation and Prevention (AIP) team in the delivery of the Route Safety and Local Safety Scheme Programme. In January 2008 Amey were commissioned to undertake a review of the ten largest urban centres in West Sussex, using an approach to accident data analysis developed in house that facilitated the identification of sites requiring treatment that would not have otherwise been found.
4. Asset Management. Introduced into the Chichester office in 2007 as a new work stream, initially through the development of the Client’s skidding policy and SCRIM site investigation methodology. This has since progressed to a review of WSCC Infrastructure Services Department service delivery requirements, the Development of Asset Management processes in highway maintenance, mobile and office based GIS data collection processes, the assessment of grass cutting requirements and safety barrier inspections.
5. Secondments. Not a new idea but a new approach for the DACS contract to provide WSCC with resources, where and when they are needed. Since 2003 Amey/Owen Williams have provided the county council with a large number of secondments for a minimum of 6 months at a time.
6. Feasibility Design of Cycle Networks.
7. Coastal Expressway. Amey provided a statistical analysis of journey time data to help WSCC identify ways of reducing delays to the Stagecoach 700 ‘Coastal Expressway’ Bus service from Portsmouth to Brighton. This analysis identified the top 20 locations where the most significant delays occurred.
8. Capital Funding. Assisting WSCC on procurement of capital funding.
9. West Sussex County Council Bridge Manager Role. Amey are tasked with fulfilling the highway authority’s stewardship duties and ensuring an asset management approach which allows bridge management activities to be brought together into a systematic and holistic framework.
Outcome
1. Improved Key Performance Indicator (KPI). Because the forms are much easier to fill in there is a wealth of KPI’s showing that the quality of Amey work has improved and that schemes were consistently being designed and delivered within budget and timescale. This gave WSCC greater confidence in Amey and in 2008 WSCC informed its managers that they were to not to use any other consultants other than Amey. (Unless Amey did not have the expertise or resources).
This has been reflected in the greater workload that has come through to the Chichester office. Areas where Amey had delivered little work in the past increased, such as, Safer Routes to Schools, Cycling and Public Transport. Other WSCC teams started to use Amey through the DACS contract, increasing the variety and diversity of schemes delivered e.g. WSCC County Model, S38 & S278 Inspections, Contract Procurement, Road Rail Safety Interface, Signing Strategies, Parking Enforcement, Operational Planning and Traffic Assessments. Amey now deliver work to 21 WSCC Areas with an increase of 50%.
In 2009 Amey successfully delivered work for WSCC in excess of £2M. In 2009 WSCC extended the DACS contract for 1 year to 31st March 2011.
2. Ring Fenced AIP/SM team. A dedicated on-call resource available for the use of a single WSCC client in the delivery of the Route Safety and Local Safety Scheme Programme has improved the overall delivery of investigation reports and preparation of preliminary and detailed design works packages. Within the WSCC Alliance between West Sussex County Council, May Gurney and Amey, the new AIP/SM commission has enabled an increase in design delivery in line with the time constraints of the WSCC Alliance.
3. Urban Cluster Analysis. The second phase of the works report involved the review of all West Sussex County Council and private developer planned and or programmed works. In addition to consultation being undertaken with WSCC Development Control, districts were covered by the individual West Sussex County Council Area Offices, these being the Northern, Southern and Western area offices. The second report identified only those sites which have only been filtered out or recommended for further investigation in relation to possible engineering solutions. As stated within both of the reports they were based only on a desktop study using only the accident data, and as such are not detailed in their content.
4. Asset Management. Wider portfolio of work for the Chichester office. Availability of Mobile GIS solutions to Amey and other customers. Improvements in the clients service delivery.
5. Secondments. Over the last 3 years we have provided secondments to various WSCC teams namely Traffic Signals, Traffic Signs, Safer Routes to School, Development Control and Northern Area Office.
6. Feasibility Design of Cycle Networks. In the end Amey undertook the feasibility/preliminary design of 100km of proposed cycle network for the same fee. This gave WSCC Cycle Team much more information on possible networks they could provide in the next few years which reflected in the amount of detailed design work they requested Amey undertake.
7. Coastal Expressway. This led to assisting WSCC to obtain CIF funding for the improvement of 5 junctions on the A259 in Shoreham. WSCC with Amey assistance was successful in obtaining £5M funding for these junction, bus stop and railway station improvements. This has led to Amey undertaking preliminary and detail design.
8. Capital Funding. Assisting in the procurement of major bid funding.
9. West Sussex County Council Bridge Manager Role. The implementation of the code is enabling the development of an asset management approach which illustrates how bridge management activities can be brought together in a systematic and holistic framework. The framework has allowed us to compare current practice against recommended Good Management Practice, determine any shortfalls in practice and identify their prioritisation needs.
Conclusion
Over the last seven years of the contract between Owen Williams/Amey and WSCC a very positive relationship has been developed which has improved with time. Furthermore the acquisition of Owen Williams has increased the number and variety of services that can be provided and this has enabled many innovations to be brought in and with them greater efficiencies. This has given WSCC greater confidence in Amey as a provider of highway design consultancy services plus much more. This confidence in Amey has resulted in increased workload from a greater number of WSCC Areas, a more varied workload for the staff and an extension of the DACS contract.