SITUATION
The M25 is the busiest highway in Europe and the most used part of the UK’s strategic road network. Tasked with managing and maintaining it on behalf of National Highways are Connect Plus Services, a joint venture made up of Balfour Beatty, Atkins and Egis.
Connect Plus Services book thousands of shifts to carry out planned maintenance works a year - an essential part of keeping the M25 running smoothly. Booking windows are constrained by flow rate thresholds and road-access charges. Aside from these factors, CPS needs to hit customer experience, safety, and cost targets.
REALITY
<1% of shifts tried to make use of extra available hours, i.e. the extra time at the start and end of shifts where traffic flows may be low enough to allow crews to work safely. They stick to gut-feel safe hours, meaning road maintenance crews often arrive on the road later, and leave earlier than they could. The knock-on impact is that scheduled works span a greater number of days, resulting in more closures impacting road users.
OPPORTUNITY
Connect Plus Services and Alchera identified an opportunity to create a shift in the way roadworks are planned, maximising the use of available time. The vision was to empower maintenance planners to make more effective decisions that increase maintenance windows, by safely extending the start and end of shifts. To fuel this they needed data to support what the correct decisions should be.
By making better use of available time on the road, Connect Plus Services sought to get more schemes completed, in shorter windows. The resulting impact would be improved customer satisfaction through fewer closures, coupled with the increased profitability associated with optimised scheduling of resources.
SOLUTION
Alchera deployed our Dynamic Road Space Booking solution, to integrate with existing workflows across the complex set of stakeholders operating the M25. Maintenance Operators save time with much simpler and more intuitive access to data about the road in real time via Alchera’s Data Hub.
Alchera’s predictive Machine Learning algorithms forecast traffic patterns to identify when works can take place safely and effectively, showing planners where shifts can safely be extended. The resulting improvements forecast a 10x ROI, while ensuring the M25 runs more effectively for the benefit of all road users.
These improved working practices have been recognised throughout the industry, winning the Maintenance Efficiency category at the 2023 Highways Awards.
‘Finding capacity on the M25 network to deliver our ambitious scheme of maintenance works can be challenging. Alchera have provided the tools to help us solve this challenge efficiently’
Adam Talbot, Head of Digital & Data, Connect Plus Services
