HELG Studies Identify Key Improvements in Highways Asset Management

The Highways Efficiency Liaison Group (HELG), the UK highways industry advisory group, has published a series of case studies to help the public and private sector improve the efficiency of highway maintenance through better highways asset management.

Fourteen case studies covering asset management activity in over 50 highway authorities have been made available on the HELG website www.helg.org as part of a wider project announced earlier this year.

‘These case studies examine progress in asset management and how the challenge funds have been used to support developments in highways asset management,” said HELG Chairman Mike Bordiss. “This is a very important, relevant and valuable body of work and reinforces HELG’s primary objective of supporting the whole highways industry in identifying and delivering improved and increasingly efficient highways services.

The studies, funded by the Department for Transport, cover areas such as asset management processes, community involvement, innovative use of IT, data management, deterioration modelling, flood alleviation, drainage, casualty reduction, street lighting and traffic signals.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said:
“These case studies demonstrate that it is possible to deliver a better service for road users at a lower cost, and so will be extremely useful for highways authorities in these challenging financial times.

“We will also be using the lessons learnt through this project as we invest £6m over the next two years to help local authorities make their road maintenance programmes as efficient and effective as possible.”
Ends

Issued on behalf of the HELG Press Office by Joan Roemmele. For enquiries from the media, journalists and researchers only, the HELG Press Office can be contacted on +44 (0) 1782 443080, +44 (0) 7884 438897 or e-mail: joan@theprfirm.co.uk

Notes.
1. The Highways Efficiency Liaison Group (HELG) is a whole industry advisory group, representing the full range of organisations, which constitute the highways industry. This includes central and local government, service providers and professional bodies, making HELG the only organisation of its kind in the UK.

2. Asset Management is the term used to describe a strategic approach to management, preservation and operation of infrastructure assets over their whole life. The approach requires a wide ranging and long term approach, often in excess of 30 years. It differs fundamentally from short-term approaches which may prioritise immediate repairs over preventative work to preserve the life of the asset.

3. HELG’s member organisations are: Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), Constructing Excellence, Department for Transport, Highways Agency, Highways Term Maintenance Association (HTMA), Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), Local Partnerships, Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships, Technical Advisors Group (TAG), Transport for London and Transport Scotland.

4. The authorities for which the case studies will be developed are those that were successful in achieving funds from the £7.5m fund that was part of a wider support package from the Department for Transport to English local authorities. The successful authorities and groups of authorities were: London Boroughs and TfL (joint bid); Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Swindon (joint bid); Nottingham Derby and Leicester (joint bid); Blackpool; Oxfordshire; Hertfordshire; Dorset; Cornwall; Warwickshire; Leeds; Durham; Newcastle; Blackburn with Darwen and Nottinghamshire.

This entry was posted in News Archive. Bookmark the permalink.