Highways Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2011-2012

SECTION 2: Summary of our Performance
Improving
the efficiency
of traffic
management
The Future Operating
Model for traffic
management has been
developed to provide
improved levels of
service to the public at a
lower cost. The savings
generated through the
roll-out of this model
are estimated at around
20 per cent by 2013.
We have achieved a
total in year saving of
£43.8 million against the
Spending Review 2010
baseline, exceeding
the budgeted saving
of £24.1 million. More
detail on this can be
found in Section 3:
Serving the public.
Traffic Officer on patrol
Efficiency in delivery of
major projects
The Agency committed to reduce
the cost of major projects in the
Spending Review 2010 period
by 20 per cent against baseline
estimates, and now has additional
projects to deliver following the
Chancellor’s Autumn Statement
in November 2011. This puts a
sharp focus on how we deliver
those savings and become a more
efficient client.
During 2011 we established two
key enablers to ensure delivery
of the efficiencies and savings. A
Major Projects Delivery Hub now
focuses on improving delivery by
working closely with integrated
delivery teams to:
• Develop and embed new
ways of working across
Agency business areas and
supply chain to fully exploit
collaborative opportunities and
drive continuous improvement
in the efficiency and
effectiveness of project delivery.
• Support projects on common
delivery issues, combined
with delivering functions that
have application across the
programme as a whole.
• Focus on standardising
solutions and processes and
their consistent application,
adopting lean principles and
best practice.
Improvements to the
way renewal and
improvement schemes
are prioritised
We have also thoroughly reviewed
our capital renewals programme
at the start of the year with a
target of achieving a 10 per cent
efficiency saving. This resulted in
project savings of around £40 million
- from a £336 million programme
of over 600 schemes due to be
completed by the end of the year.
£29 million of the savings were then
re-invested in additional projects.
The Spending Review 2010 was
a driving force to change the way
we prioritise road schemes. We
score road schemes to reflect
the benefits they will bring and
these scores are then used
to prioritise the allocation of
resources. This process is called
Value Management and requires
collaboration between ourselves
and our service providers. We have
undertaken a review of this process
and the outputs of this highlighted
a series of improvements. A single
Value Management document has
been produced, covering all asset
types, and describing how this
process should be applied. This
will bring clarity and consistency
on outcome requirements, clear
roles and responsibilities, and
technical annexes for applying
Value Management scoring to all
asset types.
Supporting economic
growth through the
Planning Protocol
initiative
The Planning Protocol was
launched in early 2011 and has
gained both wider awareness and
adoption throughout 2011-12.
The Protocol is aimed at saving
developers and the Agency
both time and money in dealing
with planning applications
which potentially impact upon
the strategic road network and
also, through early engagement,
increases the chances of reaching
a positive outcome for developers.
Highways Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2011-12