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SPEAKER 1

Mike Bordiss
County Highways Officer - Northamptonshire County Council
E-mail: mbordiss@northamptonshire.gov.uk
Company's website: www.northamptonshire.gov.uk

Mike has worked for Northamptonshire County Council since 1980 and has held a wide range of appointments ranging from highway maintenance to waste disposal. He has been part of an organisation that achieved a Charter Mark, Investors in People and Quality Assurance at the same time seven years ago and still retains all three.

Mike is a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Institution of Highways and Transportation. He sits on a number of national groups including the Strategic Partnership Project between the DETR, LGA, Highways Agency and representatives of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London to establish a framework of standards and guidance for Best Value in highway maintenance.

PRESENTATION 1  
Revising the Highway Maintenance Code of Practice

The search for 'more from less' or 'value' is not new but the 'Best Value' has significant implications for highway maintenance. Best Value is about much more than cost and requires new thinking about the communities' requirements of its highway network and means to address them.

There are often high levels of dissatisfaction expressed in local opinion surveys but at present, no common way of addressing this. Data collection systems make it difficult to develop a coherent case at a national level and at local level, meaningful comparison of network condition between authorities is not usually possible.

There are some common practices and standards in the current Code of Practice but this is now widely accepted to be in need of revision.

A partnership project 'Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance' was launched last year by Lord Whitty following an LGA proposal. A Project Partnership Board has now been established with representation from all key stakeholders including DETR, HA, CSS, TAG and representatives for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London. Links have also been made with UKPMS, NRMCS, Audit Commission and with research work on performance indicators, footway condition etc.

Regional workshops have been held to identify the key issues for the new Code, technical support networks established and specific new research commissioned.

Publication of the new Code is planned for Spring 2001.
 

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SPEAKER 2

Paul Forman BEng(Hons) MSc CEng MICE MIHT MITAI
Head of Investigations & Risk Management - Transport Research Laboratory (TRL)
E-mail: pforman@trl.co.uk
Company's website: www.trl.co.uk

Paul provides expert advice and training to solicitors, insurers, highway authorities, property and fleet managers and emergency service personnel both in the UK and abroad. Paul regularly manages multi-disciplinary accident investigations and he advises authorities and corporate bodies on systems conducive to both improving public safety and minimising exposure to claims. Paul was Chairman of the Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators (ITAI) between 1997 and 1999.

PRESENTATION 2  
Highways Liability & Risk Management

The session starts with an outline of the techniques of crash investigation and reconstruction. It then shows how investigators can assess the effect of transient factors such as flooding, frost and ice, or temporary factors such as the involvement of in-vehicle electronics based systems.

The highway authority's duties and powers and the concepts of negligence and nuisance are then considered. This is followed by examples of particular highway features or authority practices that cause concern or which expose the authority, their agents and contractors to civil claims for personal injury compensation.

The presentation highlights the concept of "prior knowledge" and those interactions that affect the highways function including: police and third party liaison; design standards and new works; routine maintenance; winter maintenance; street lighting; waste management; development control; accident investigation and prevention; and safety audit.

Overall, the session is intended to raise awareness as to weak interactions between otherwise good design standards, maintenance regimes and systems of work. By addressing such interactions, authorities, agents and contractors can mitigate their vulnerability in respect of liability claims whilst concurrently improving public safety.
 

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SPEAKER 3

Eur Ing David Avery MA(Oxon), CEng, MICE, MIHT
Network Strategy Team Leader - Highways Agency
E-mail: david.avery@highways.gsi.gov.uk
Company's website: www.highways.gov.uk

David Avery is a chartered civil engineer who has been working in highway and related disciplines for the past 25 years. David worked for consulting engineers for 15 years on the feasibility, design, supervision of construction, inspection and testing of road, bridge and building works. He joined the Department of Transport in 1990 and is now employed by the Highways Agency. His public sector activities have included project management of major schemes in preparation and under construction, network management, capital maintenance and improvement schemes. David's current post is Network Strategy Team Leader and he is responsible for development of Route Management Strategies, Strategic Plans and the Trans European Road Network.

PRESENTATION 3  
Route Management Strategies - A Highways Agency Initiative

The presentation will commence with an overview of strategic planning in the Highways Agency, the programme for publication of the family of strategic plans and the relationships between the plans, Government objectives and route management strategies (RMS). The aims of RMS are:

• To maximise customer focus and stakeholder participation;
• To consistent, open and integrated;
• To enable HA to better plan and optimise investment in the trunk road network.

These aims will be discussed in detail, followed by consideration of the RMS procedure and outputs. This will include the methodology for engaging stakeholders and the use of performance indicators in the process of investment planning on a route basis. Examples will be shown of performance, problem identification and action identification frameworks, together with example management plans. Public consultation stages and techniques will be discussed.

The development of the RMS technique through a series of trial routes will be explained and the presentation will conclude by outlining the proposals for rollout of RMS across all routes in the core trunk road network.
 

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SPEAKER 4

Pan Yuli
Research Institute of Highways Science - Ministry of Communications, China
E-mail: cpms@public.east.cn.net

Pan Yuli works for the Research Institute of Highways Science - Ministry of Communications, China.  He is part of a chinese delegation on an exchange visit with the IHT, to the UK.

PRESENTATION 4  
Highway Maintenance Policy and Practice in China

The rapid development of the China economy has resulted in a great demand in improving its congested highway network. As a result of 10 years of highway construction and reconstruction, the network is greatly improved in terms of construction standards, network size and pavement quality. Expresways, which appeared no more than 10 years ago in China, are now a popular means for daily transportation, with the total length exceeding 10'000 kilometers.

The improved and enlarged highway network requires advanced maintenance skills and new technologies. The presentation outlines the nature of the highway network, agents of maintenance, budget resources, and maintenace policies and practice.
 

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SPEAKER 5

David Kamnitzer
Consultant, Carl Bro IBI
E-mail: dkamnitzer@ibigroup.com   Tel: +44 (0)20 7566-1400
Company's website: www.carlbro-ibi.com

David is a consultant with Carl Bro IBI in London. David has overall responsibility for the UK systems group and has been involved in a range of intelligent transportation systems implementation projects.

PRESENTATION 5   
Application of Spacially Encoded Video to Assist Highway Maintenance

Maintaining an accurate database of roadside assets is an important part of highway operations and maintenance. This information is essential to enable the highway authority or maintaining agent to:

• analyse network performance;
• ensure that drivers obtain a high quality service from roadside signing; and
• identify faults before they become expensive to repair and have an operational impact on highway performance.

Despite the obvious benefits of maintaining an accurate record of roadside assets, this activity is often not completed by highway authorities. There are a variety of reasons for this, including:

• the high cost of manual surveys;
• the lack of a standard format in which records are supplied by maintaining contractors; and
• data / information storage challenges.

This presentation describes how the use of spatially encoded video and video browser software can reduce the costs of collecting asset information and enable the information to be better maintained and more widely deployed and utilised within highway authorities and their maintaining agents.
 

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SPEAKER 6

Jim Comport MSc, C Eng, MICE, MIHT, MIWE
Assistant City Engineer - Portsmouth City Council
E-mail: jcomport@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Company's website: www.portsmouthcc.gov.uk

In his role as Assistant City Engineer for Portsmouth City Council, Jim Comport is responsible inter alia the City's Highway Infrastructure. His background includes a spell in the 1980's as Chief Engineer (Road Maintenance) at the neighbouring south coast city of Southampton - something his colleagues at Portsmouth seem likely to never forget, such is the local passion for football!

PRESENTATION 6   
Is PFI The Solution for Portsmouth's Crumbling Roads?

The presentation will focus on the highway maintenance element of Portsmouth City Council's Best Value Pilot 'A New Way to Effective Asset Management'. It draws on the experiences of the last 2½ years embracing 3 aspects of the fundamental service review ie why a review was necessary and key questions that were addressed, the adoption of a highway asset management plan, and a PFI application which has been keenly supported by the 4P's and is receiving a lot of interest at DETR. Is this the future for highway maintenance?
 

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SPEAKER 7

Sam Ralph C Eng, MICE, MIHT
Deputy Director of Planning and Transportation and Head of Engineering for Norfolk County Council.
E-mail: sam.ralph.pt@norfolk.gov.uk
Company's website: www.norfolk.gov.uk

Sam has had some 39 years experience in highway engineering. He started his career in the private sector and then underwent training Under Agreement with Berkshire County Council. He then moved to the Devon Sub-Unit of the South Western RCU where he was involved in the Motorway and Trunk Road Programme.

In 1974 he moved to Norfolk at the time of the Oil Crisis believing that the new build was out and Highway Maintenance was the business to be in. He has held a succession of posts including Divisional Surveyor, Assistant County Surveyor (Administration) and Senior Assistant County Surveyor before taking up his current position in 1993. He has extensive experience of major highway design, supervision, maintenance, waste management and organisational change.

He is a past Chairman of the East Anglian Branch and has been a member of the Institution for 34 years. He is actively involved in the CSS and chairs the Service Provision Group examining service development and procurement and is a Member of the ICE Task Force in the publication of a Best Value Guide.

PRESENTATION 7  
Delivering the Maintenance Service in Norfolk

The presentation summarises the factors influencing road condition and describes the importance of Business and Organisational effectiveness in allocating resources to needs. With the demise of Compulsory Competitive Tendering, and the introduction of Best Value new opportunities have been created which need to be grasped by the Industry.

Maintenance is seen not simply as a works identification, ordering and delivery process, but one which begins with a close interaction with the public, elected representatives and other stakeholders, coupled with local knowledge and expertise.

The writer believes that added value is more likely to be achieved by combining the best of the public and private sectors through a partnership arrangement. The paper describes the partnerships and aspirations for the evolution of the highway maintenance service in Norfolk. This involves in-house Client and Contractor providers working in partnership with Mott MacDonald and May Gurney (Construction) Ltd.
 

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SPEAKER 8

Brian Goodwin Bsc. FIHT
Area Manager Transportation and Operational Services Essex County Council
E-mail: brian.goodwin@essexcc.gov.uk
Company's website: www.essexcc.gov.uk

Brian joined Essex County Council in 1975. Unknown to him at the time he was implanted with a special security device and he has never managed to work out the password to escape.

He has gained experience in all aspects of the Highways service and through CSS he has been involved in various working groups looking at Codes of Practice and National Strategies relating to Road Safety.

He was appointed Group Manager for Traffic and Road Safety in the late 1980's before becoming an Area Transportation Manager in 1994. In his current role he is responsible for all day to day operations in the north half of Essex and for the strategy, policies and overall service across the County for Traffic Management and Safety, Traffic Control and Information Systems, Street Lighting, Highway Records and Public Rights of Way.

PRESENTATION 8   
Delivering the Service - Highway Maintenance 1975 to 2020

Life in Local Government and the delivery of the Highways service has changed significantly over the last 25 years and it will continue to change.

The presentation will explore the way in which new technology, materials and procurement processes have changed the service in recent times and outline a vision for how the service will continue to develop over the next 20 years.
 

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