To the Rescue! A-One+ at the Sharp End of the M20 Bridge Collapse

Network The magazine of A-onGe+ Intuegraated rHigdhwayi Saervin ces To the rescue! A-one+ at the sharp end of the M20 bridge collapse

In this issue... Lights, Camera, Action! A-one+ works with the BBC Grey to Green Creating green bridges

Potteric Carr Winter Habitat connectivity project 2016

Network Guardian

In this issue...

Cover story 6 We swing into action Foreword following the M20 bridge collapse. Welcome to the latest edition of Network Guardian, where we celebrate the very best of A-one+.

A lot has changed in the business since the last edition – some of it expected, some not so expected. Foreword from Clive Leadbetter, Managing Director of A-one+ ______3 First of all, let me start by extending a warm welcome to our colleagues in Area 4 as they join the A-one+ family. A-one+ Latest News ______4 In the first months of the new contract we’ve made great progress together and I’m delighted with the positive attitude of everyone in the Area 4 team. Collaboration: Customer Excellence ______8 There has been no better example of that ‘can-do’ attitude and Collaboration: Industry Excellence ______collaborative approach than the fantastic effort to clear the M20 after 10 the bridge strike earlier this summer. Innovation ______As you’ll see in this edition, many of our colleagues went above and 12 beyond to resolve a difficult situation in extra quick time – thank you all for your hard work. Recognition ______14 This year has seen the end of the Area 7 contract as it became part of Highways England’s new Asset Delivery model. Added Value ______16 Once again, A-one+ staff showed commitment and positivity in dealing with what was a difficult period and we’re sorry to lose them as Highways England Feature – Cold Repave _ _18 colleagues. We received the news that Area 14 would be following Area 7 into the Team Talk ______20 Asset Delivery model earlier this year. While this news was unexpected and we know there are some Fundraising Round Up ______23 challenging times ahead, we remain dedicated to our staff in Area 14 and to keeping up our high levels of performance as a MAC. Signing off... ______24 Some of our successes this year - introducing cold recycling to the Highways England network and the fantastic efforts of the high volume For more information about A-one+ and the pump team - are more great examples of A-one+ staff always looking services we provide go to our website: at ways to improve and innovate, and I know this attitude will see us www.aone.uk.com through in Area 14. And finally, last but by no means least, we were delighted to retain Area 12 under the ASC framework. The transition and mobilisation period has gone very well and we still managed to gain recognition for industry innovation with our Barrier Master product, soft estate sustainability work at Potteric Carr and new LED gantry lighting systems. We’re looking forward to what the next four years will bring.

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Clive Leadbetter You Tube A-one+ Managing Director A-one+

3 News

News The BBC has commissioned a 15 part documentary about the iconic A1 which stretches from London to Edinburgh. As maintenance provider in the north and covering 150 miles in Area 14 alone we are working closely with the production company providing access to our staff and network operations. The aim of the documentary is to capture the history of the road and the people who live and work on it. They are keen to help highlight the safety of our road workers and raise awareness of all the many and varied things that we do in the background to keep the road network moving. The series will be aired in the afternoon and prime time in the evening next year sometime. We will let you know the dates as soon as they are confirmed. A fresh new look! We are thrilled to have finally launched GAfter ra every ehecttic ifnive mgonthss o f tCoontro l Aof nertweork aman ag4ement was our brand new website. It has a modern mobilisation planning we were able to immediate from midnight with three design and layout and provides more welcome around 200 colleagues incidents handled over the first 24 hours. information about what we do, where we transferring to our new Area 4 contract, Additionally the team responded to and work, who we work with and about our based in Maidstone covering the south coordinated the high profile M20 bridge company in general. It also features a east region. Every effort was made to strike which took place in August. Our Area solutions page full of case studies with a ensure a smooth transition for all 4 team has been praised from all quarters handy download and print function in case concerned including: for their fast and professional handling of the whole incident. Read more about the you want to share information with our • Customer charter workshops M20 incident on page six. client or sub-contractors. If you have • Stakeholder e-newsletter something that you think could be • Bespoke staff handbook Since then we have started to embed the included please get in touch • 250 employee welcome packs and 110 A-one+ processes and culture while [email protected] sleep well kits for operatives maintaining a high standard of service to • New equipment our customers. Read more about this in the All our latest news and vacancies are customer excellence section on pages 8 & 9. available and you can sign up to the newsletter function where we will send intermittent updates of achievements and innovations. Make sure you tell your client contacts to check out the new site and all CIHT corporate the new features it has to offer! Wpea harvet jonined troigentheg r with Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation as a corporate partner. Partnering offers members the opportunity to work more closely with the institute and benefits from networking and knowledge exchange with a wide range of industry professionals. Individual membership of CIHT offers routes to qualifications and is dedicated to providing support and networking opportunities with a calendar of cutting edge seminars, conferences and social events.

Our aim is to work with regional CIHT offices by attending and organising learning events and activities. If you are interested in membership check out how to join via the website www.ciht.org.uk. If you are already a member please get in touch and let us know if you can get involved in our corporate partnering activities. [email protected]

4 Network Guardian

WAe a rew verya plerasmed to i nwtroduece Clhcris Sohepmpard, e the new general manager for Area 4. Chris started with us on 31 October and Fun facts about Chris: Do you have any strange phobias? comes from CH2M. He has a long history I am not good with heights and froze of working on infrastructure projects If you had a superpower what would halfway up the Eiffel Tower about ten across a range of industries and is keen to it be? years ago. My kids were taking the settle into his new role with our team It would have to be time travel. I am a mickey…but it was the nearest I had to a based in Kent. Huge thanks to Steve Derby County supporter and not had major panic attack. Strangely…I love Beauchamp for leading the team through many exciting times recently. I’d like to be flying! the mobilisation and early days of taken back to the early 1970s when they transition. There will be an extended hand were English champions twice and playing If you were an animal what would over period and Steve will continue to be in Europe. 40,000 fans packed into the old you be? involved with Area 4 in other ways after rickety Baseball Ground watching Brian I have four cats (my wife works at a vets that time. Clough’s wonderful team. so brings her work home with her!). They have a great lifestyle…sleep, eat sunbathe What movie title most describes and lay in front of the fire. So it has to be your life? a cat! The Sound Of Music…I have over 40,000 tracks on my iTunes and love going to What is your favourite Pringle flavour? concerts. I have seen all the greats…I think Smokey Bacon…..I defy anybody to eat Prince appearing in a field in Kent in 2012 one Pringle..an impossible task as they are was amazing and so surreal and The so moreish! Rolling Stones in Hyde Park are my best What is the nerdiest thing you do in two. your spare time? What was your favourite toy as a child? I am a very keen vegetable grower…..I I loved Thunderbirds and had models of all spent many years in North East England five. Years later, I managed to get my son a where they have competitions to grow Tracy Island which was sold out in the massive leeks…It rubbed off on me. When Be sure to give Chris a warm A-one+ Christmas rush. What a disappointment and I was 14, I used to be a serial trainspotter… welcome and don’t forget to ask him now found in every charity shop near you! luckily I grew out of it! about his fun facts?

How are we doing? A snapshot of our performance for September For September 2016, here are the cumulative outputs achieved over that period.

Area 12 • resurfaced 73.797 lane km of Cat 1 defects summary pavements September 2016: • Painted 13,285 linear metres 24 hr defects: 134 of road markings 7 day defects: 51 • Fitted 3,118.7 linear metres 28 day defect: 38 of barriers • Completed 181.01 linear metres of drainage • Completed 22 Bridge Joints

Area 14 • r esurfaced 7 3.5 lane km of Cat 1 defects summary pavements September 2016: • C ompleted 5 0 linear metres 24-hour defects: 59 of drainage 7-day defects: 9 24-day defects: 71 Area 4 Average completion We do not have the performance statistics available for Area 4 for for 7-day defects: 3.5 September yet but will include these next time.

5 Feature

The arm of the digger struck the footbridge bringing concrete and rubble crashing down onto the motorway and directly onto the trailer of a heavy goods Svehicle but thantkfully nrarrowly miissing king out other road users and avoiding fatalities and serious injuries. We were less than three months into our new contract managing Area 4 and had to assemble a crack command team to deal with this high profile incident. A-one+ Incident Manager Gary Shoveller was first on the scene and found emergency services and Highways England traffic officers diverting trapped traffic. Within three hours we had a clear up plan in place, risks assessed, sub-contractors and partners ready to move and the incident operation was approved. At 18:30 Photo: Highways England that same day, just six hours after the initial strike and only 20 minutes after the road was handed back to Highways England from Kent Police, we rallied; grab lorries, breakers, staff welfare, generators, cutting gear, removal trucks and two of the largest heaviest cranes in the UK were brought on site to get started. Over the rest of the weekend our command team worked with Highways England and supply chain partners; Ainscough, Neil Yates Recovery, Asa Presneil, MW Sweepers, Tony Newport grab lorries, Carnells, HW Martins, CD Fencing, Associated Asphalt, Colas and Hardstaff. Together we cleared away 70 tonnes of bridge from the carriageway, In the meantime our customer On the ground the command team were resurfaced, fixed broken barriers and communications team were busy busy coordinating the retrieval and on cleared away debris. contacting local schools, businesses and Friday 2 September, less than a week after Thanks to the dedication and collaboration residents who might be affected by the the first strike, the remaining section was of everyone involved the M20 was back to bridge making sure they were aware of the safely demolished. all lanes running at 18:55 on the Sunday, situation, offering alternatives and less than 31 hours after initial strike and a profiling their individual needs should the Four pulverisers cut up the sections, rubble day earlier than planned. situation change. removed, barriers repaired and 10,000 sq metres of road was renewed – around five The remaining cantilever section was A number of our team cancelled leave miles, more than double the amount laid deemed safe to allow traffic to run over the week to help with the incident as during overnight closures. underneath it, with restrictions. Phase two well as stepping up to keep the rest of the would be to remove that safely and swiftly day job going and providing a usual high Making the most of the opportunity we but that needed planning and approving. standard of service. deployed maintenance teams to carry out

6 Network Guardian

On August bank holiday Saturday just after noon, one of the busiest times for the M20 motorway linking London and the Port of Dover, a low loader lorry carrying a digger with a dump truck struck a footbridge over the London bound carriageway near Maidstone, dislodging half the bridge onto the live lanes of fast moving traffic and consequently bringing the whole area to a standstill.

Feedback on the incident has come from all levels.

Looking at the state of the bridge and road I am sure many people thought it would take days to clear, so the fact the road was fully open by Sunday was an incredible achievement and I’m immensely proud of everyone involved.

Jim O’Sullivan Photo: Highways England Chief Executive of Highways England

routine works to avoid further closures in Customer compliments received through the future. So in addition we managed to HAIL: cut grass, litter pick and clean gullies, renew studs, white lines and maintain Well done to the team for barriers on 8km of carriageway. opening the motorway so In total the M20 was shut for around 66 quickly following the hours over an eight day period but we accident with the bridge. managed to safely coordinate the clear up of the incident, the demolition and achieve over 4,000 working hours, safely. Congratulations to the All lanes re-opened on Sunday evening - earlier than planned by around 18 hours. company who was carrying out the works on getting it finished well before schedule.

Helen Martin

Can I add my personal thanks to you, your team and supply chain. There was a huge personal commitment by everyone involved that was impressive.

Mike Wilson Highways England Command Team

7 CollaboratIon

Customer Excellence Although many things have changed for our company since last year one thing that has remained the same is our unwavering efforts to improve customer satisfaction by changing the way we work. Our new contract in Area 4 has brought with it new challenges for us, managing a busy network that includes the ‘gateway to the UK’ but our team there brings fresh ideas to the table. And our new contract in Area 12 is making us think differently as we have to deliver differently. This is where YOUR expertise and enthusiasm continues to give us the edge over competitors. Every day in the way we work and how we behave demonstrates our commitment to customer excellence. Let’s find out what has been happening over the last 12 months.

Working with Transport Focus Stuart Edwards works for Transport maintaining motorways – and it’s given me a Focus, the independent transport user chance to challenge current thinking, amongst other things, about maintaining line watchdog. Hear what he’s been up to of sight to road signs. Where doing more than with our Customer Hub. the minimum would improve the customer As the independent transport user watchdog experience and safety, we feel it’s the right it’s Transport Focus’s role to represent the thing to be doing. We hope that a culture interests of all road users on England’s develops that leads to faster action when motorways and major ‘A roads. We use our signs, bollards, barriers or lampposts are research and knowledge to influence damaged. It sends a clear message to road decisions that will affect them. users that if it’s damaged, we’ll fix it – and Back in April I joined the Customer Hub to fast. help develop the collaborative road user- Other areas that road users tell us is focused approach between A-one+ and important is road surface quality – it’s their Highways England in the Yorkshire and number one priority for improvement. We are Humber region. I’ve been working alongside planning further research in to this area later Brain Statham and his team based out of this year to understand which aspects users Stuart Edwards Normanton, Wakefield, to share our latest prioritise – be it noise, smoothness or road research and recommendations in this markings, to name just a few. We’re also do stop me and say hello if I’m visiting your regional forum. This helps to keep the encouraging greater accuracy and usefulness office – I’m always interested in learning interests of road users at the heart of of scheduled roadworks information – nailing about new developments on the network. decision making and planning. down days and times as early as possible to Meanwhile if you would like any further aid with journey planning. information about our work, visit our I’ve also recently been out on the network in website: www.transportfocus.org.uk. Yorkshire with the head of safety inspections I look forward to continuing to support the to learn more about what’s involved in valuable work of the Customer Hub. Please

Sharing good news We are regularly assessed by Considerate Constructor Scheme and recognised with consistent high scoring, however we are always seeking to improve. One of the things we want to get better at is sharing good news and best practice. Not always easy as we don’t have a regular direct channel to communicate to road users. We have been looking at sharing good news by working with Highways England and communicating updates via their twitter feed along with some images of our teams on the ground. A recent example of this is the M62 Balkholme essential maintenance work during August. The tweets updated followers with statistics about the work such as how many reflective studs were replaced and the amount of re-surfacing in square metres. Comparisons were made in reference to the Olympics which were taking place in Rio at the time of the work, helping to make the tweets interesting as well as helping the reader visualise the scale. The tweets also helped to raise awareness that the works took place overnight and the huge range of work we undertook to avoid repeat visits as we made the most of the road being shut. Find us on Twitter at @Aone_uk for company and industry news and for live network updates go to @HighwaysEngland.

8 Network Guardian

Going the extra mile in Area 4 During East Sussex resurfacing works we produced a Just days after mobilisation we bespoke pack for a local business holding an open evening delivered an emergency scheme overnight on the A2, a lasting four nights over the period of the works. heavily populated and well- The packs included news on the travelled route to the Dover works, diversion routes and contact Port. To keep the area free flowing and maintain essential pedestrian information and was handed out to access, the team implemented a four way traffic light system. The job 500 attendees ensuring that visitors took just six and a half hours to complete and received praise from to the event could access and leave local businesses. without any issues and that the stakeholder was assured of our A collapsed stretch of road on the A27 Polgate Bypass required commitment to them as a local emergency repairs so we quickly organised a road closure to carry out business owner. the repair and prevent further subsidence. During closure we also managed to cut vegetation and channel clear and sweep both sides of the 5km stretch of road. Flying high A-one+ hosted our first Gatwick Airport and West Sussex County DAurin2g t1he suBmmaer wre nmaneagted tWo lift oa neow fod otbridge into place with just one night Council quarterly meeting together network closure and causing minimal disruption to local residents. The old bridge had with Atkins Global and Carillion been struck in 2012 and needed replacing to help provide necessary access routes for recently at Kings Hill to continue the local community. effective collaboration.

Carolyne Ferguson and Tracey Arnold from Area 4

We have also attended Gatwick Airport Transport Forum, learning about new innovations such as electric taxis and Great to see that you are rejuvenation of the airport. High praise!... reaching out to our The Area 4 customer and stakeholder liaison stakeholders to build team also met with East Sussex Highways, a Thank you for listening to me relationships and share best joint venture between two of our parent and taking my enquiry seriously practise. companies to ensure seamless communication and for all your help in liaising Wayne Moore, Highways England across schemes as well as sharing resources with interested parties. and best practice. The team has also been Customer compliment regarding invited to the joint county council meetings vegetation cutting on the A27 for the first time which is a real boost.

I would like to say that I was very impressed with the team’s knowledge and commitment to what they are doing and considering some of the issues they are facing am amazed that they are producing the level of work that they do. They are a credit to Aone+ Sharon Alemanno, Highways England Senior Business Coordinator

All credit to the team who received high praise from one local resident in connection to his enquiry regarding the proposed resurfacing. The gentleman concerned was full of praise. Felicity Drewitt, Highways England with regard to the A259 works that took place on the 7 November

9 CollaboratIon

Industry Excellence M1 J24 pinch point scheme A-one+ delivered an innovative M1 J24 before worked commenced improvement of the M1 at junction 24 to overcome severe congestion at the intersection which had traffic queuing on all approaches regularly affecting the mainline M1 carriageway. Analysis showed that congestion was a result of significant traffic flow from the A50 accessing the southbound M1 via the junction. Traffic had to circumnavigate two thirds of the circulatory, creating the issue. We proposed an innovative cut-through route specifically for the traffic from the A50 to the A453 under signal control, leading to the M1 southbound at junction 23a. Combining the widening of the A50 southbound approach to four lanes, and dedicating right turn lanes for the cut-through, we aimed to remove a significant percentage of traffic off the circulatory. The design team also M1 J24 after completion identified an unconventional widening of the carriageway on the south over bridge to achieve a three lane layout within the existing width of the bridge deck without extensive structural redesign. Creation of a kerb face in the existing concrete service bays allowed conventional kerb area to be used as a running lane. During design we undertook a suite of environmental investigations and sustainable enhancements which were incorporated into the design such as the replacement of grassland on verges with native wildflower mixes and replacing trees with native species. The team also sourced a building under demolition nearby with approved concrete rubble that was secured for embankment formation material. The scheme received industry recognition for Laing O’ Rourke and Highways England and stakeholders a period of calm following sustainability from CEEQUAL1* in conjunction proposed that it be completed as an addition completions. with the A453 dualling major project. The to the existing major project with the A-one+ Evidence since completion of the scheme development received a whole project award site manager becoming embedded within indicates that significantly more that 50% of with an excellent score of 80.4%. major projects delivery team. the traffic has transferred to the new link. The Located adjacent to the on-going A453 High level integration and collaboration was scheme has delivered the improved traffic dualling major project deadlines for the undertaken with all stakeholders. We also flows predicted and is therefore achieving its scheme could not wait for its completion. expanded the scheme to include a number of contribution to the recovery of the local A-one+ liaised with major project contractor medium term proposed works to offer all economy.

*Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme

10 Network Guardian

Area 4 gets the litter bug!

Area 4 has been collaborating with Lewes District Council to maximise output from closures in the area. Lane closures were being arranged on the A27 for vegetation works and Lewes District Council worked with A-one+ to gain access during the closure to litter pick and carry out sweeper works.

Lewes District Council had to quickly induct four operatives problems but most of all, what was to happen and how things through CSCS test, high speed road training and PPE to the were going to work. It was a true experience and something I want correct standard in just three weeks to enable them to work on to carry forward, this height of professionalism. A pure pleasure.” our network. Drug and alcohol tests took place one week before work started and co-sharing the works proved to be a massive success. Sharing our network with local authorities, borough and district councils, not only shares the cost but also the workload and boosts efficiencies. Andy Gillie from Lewes District Council said: “I cannot speak highly enough of what A-one+ and especially Ian Eldred did to help us get this project off the ground. It was truly a pleasure working with such a professional group of people. “From our first day of training to this final night it had been a daunting prospect. “But at no point did I or my crew feel any kind of danger, we were treated as equals and informed constantly of issues and possible

High volume pump team The A-one+ high volume pump The pump was purchased by Highways team is a group of 30 volunteers England following a major incident on from our Area 14 maintenance a 30 mile stretch of the A1 in North team. They are on call 365 days a Yorkshire in 2012 which took more year to respond to emergency than two days to clear. The aim of the flooding incidents anywhere in team and the pump is to provide greater reliance to strategic road the country. Storm Desmond in December 2015, network allowing key routes to be re- receiving many messages of thanks opened more quickly providing huge from residents as well as official thanks savings in time and money to road from Cumbria Police and fire and users and local as well as national rescue services. economy. The team continue to train and have The team has successfully mobilised created a benchmark should Highways twice to network flooding events, once England invest in more pumps. They in Catterick in October 2015 and again have also been recognised by the Chief in Team Valley in January this year. Fire Officers National Resilience team The pump has the capability to be and will soon be accepted as a deployed anywhere in the country and national asset. spent four days in Cumbria following

11 Innovation

Innovation Intellicone Keeping our road workers safe is Resource Solutions, with input from A-one+ - we can contain them as quickly as possible always top priority for A-one+ and stop incidents escalating. Intelligent technology combined with a fresh approach to traditional site safety tools has We’ve combined Safelane with physical led to a dramatic drop in errant vehicles barriers, additional signage and CCTV to putting operatives at risk on A-one+ sites. produce a significant drop in the number of errant vehicles that reach a point where the In 2015 Area 14 recorded zero incidents of a workforce could be put at risk. road worker being injured by an errant vehicle. Martin Partington, Safety and Business Support Team Manager for Area 14, says: “Our The team had looked at ways to improve operatives report feeling more confident safety after statistics showed that 66% of working on the network, knowing that there incidents on the network involved vehicles is an early warning system in place. that – either by accident or on purpose – had entered the works area. “Instead of relying on mobile phones to alert We were among the first contractors in the others to danger, they can now feel confident UK to use Safelane, an integrated, dynamic that there is a real-time alarm system system of motion sensitive units that alerts continually monitoring the whole site, backed the workforce to a rogue vehicle. up by physical barriers to stop vehicles in Although we might not be able to entirely their tracks.” stop vehicles entering a site, thanks to the Safelane – which was developed by Highway

iDashboarThe dnew ms aintenance strategy incorporated Background Re-shaping the maintenance strategy through key improvement actions: a data intelligence led approach to soft estate • Growth retarder programme to control asset management. early season growth using same operatives Hours spent cutting grass is down to 3,890 for summer and winter maintenance Solution compared to 5,543 in the previous year. As part of our continuous improvement cycle • Selected areas of verge hardening Soft estate enquiries reduced by 75% we applied lean tools and techniques to soft eliminating grass cutting in key areas estate asset management. This was aimed at Maintenance spend reduced by 34% with no • Mapping areas of grass cutting required by driving out waste from the process, drop in level of service. developing an enhanced maintenance the contract to understand and develop strategy aligned to whole life maintenance, intelligence led maintenance, reducing cost This methodology has been so successful we resilient to span contracts and reduce long and number of enquiries have expanded the approach to other areas of the business. Litter and pothole dashboards term liability. • Sourcing alternative equipment to reduce are driving further updates and all the potential for hand arm vibration. Existing data sources were reviewed and dashboards have since been uploaded to analysis of several years’ customer enquiries: This fingertip knowledge enabled us to work Highways England sharing portal to allow by month, by route and by type alongside peak more pro-actively, targeting hotspots in a other service providers to benefit from our routes. This allowed us to identify a number of more controlled manner. Directly addressing learning. hotpots. customer feedback in this manner led to a Secondly, we developed a prototype Maintenance 68.4% reduction in customer enquiries during iDashboard to provide an easy to read summary the same period compared to the previous of hotspots, issues colour coded to signify if on year. target on urgent action required. Not only are customers more satisfied but the To provide a baseline measure we checked soft benefit/cost ratio has added value through estate spend per year, soft estate number of better whole life management, improved customer enquiries and hours spent cutting quality, reduced costs and improved road grass per year. worker safety.

12 Gantry lighting

The range of advantages includes; The main challenge was seeking timely Background During a project to replace overhead sign agreement to transfer product use from • Adaptability for specific project design gantry lighting we decided to look at building sector while ensuring it meets the • Adaptable beam photometry allowing a alternative lighting solutions. stringent industry specifications. Early range of beam distribution concept engagement with technical experts • Final effect can be tweaked when in Solution mitigated any risk. We started by looking at lengthening the place life span of current lighting arrangements • Refractors are without front screws so The system can be transferred and used as while meeting stringent specifications for not affecting the product rating a standard arrangement for any future motorway gantry signage. Working with • Ultra-even white colour softens the schemes with the only variable being manufacturer Urbis/Schreder we identified hard edging number and type of fittings required. a product originally developed for • Longer life span, lower system power, It is also an alternative to the more recent architectural ornamental lighting on minimal lumen depreciation use of retro-reflective prismatic sign monuments and building facades. (maintaining its initial level of LED material which is reliant upon headlights for output) provides a significant reduction LED SCULPline offered longer life span and illumination and factors such as weather, in maintenance offering cost and safety robust materials (aluminium, glass, dirt and poor quality headlights impacting benefits polycarbonate). The IP66 ingress protection on customer experience. • Instant switching and dimming rating means that the photometric and • Sustainable product lifecycle with This new system provides improved and mechanical properties are sustained over reduced carbon footprint (energy consistent lighting for road users at night. time, reducing the need for future consumption has fallen by over 65%) maintenance, saving time and cost.

machinery, including lorry-mounted cranes and User feedback further developed a smaller Backagrournd rier Master The most common type of Vehicle Restraint chains and clamps which are not specifically version that can be attached to a lorry mounted System (VRS) seen on UK highways are steel designed for this purpose. A number of serious crane or small excavator. beams mounted on steel posts which are driven incidents have occurred highlighting the hazard This new method eliminates the safety hazards into the ground or set in concrete foundations associated with these methods. involved with traditional post extraction. Once These barriers are frequently damaged requiring A safety improvement group developed full the Barrier Master is placed on the ground, the repair or removal. understanding of the current industry approach post is hydraulically gripped and extracted. This and explored a range of alternative methods operation transmits 100 per cent of the pulling Post removal is a very high risk activity and each with the aim of achieving a safe, efficient and force back into the ground. This avoids the year we carry out over 2,000 safety barrier economical solution that would benefit the danger of ejected parts experienced previously. accident damaged repairs; extracting 8,000 whole industry. posts. Increased performance is an additional benefit Extensive trials took place in collaboration with to the safety. On the M62 we achieved removal Solution PostPullers (UK) and a prototype Barrier Master of 100 extra-long driven safety posts from the Safe removal of the posts is traditionally was developed. central reservation in just 75 minutes by one achieved through a mixture of methods and operator using Barrier Master, from the safety of a cab without any operative having to touch a post. By comparison, the same would have taken a three person crew with lorry mounted crane over 12 hours using the established methods. Alongside operative safety and the reduction in time and resource the Barrier Master contributes to road safety by having fewer network repairs and less lane closures to facilitate the maintenance. Barrier Master is award-winning (see overleaf) and also recognised by Highways England in terms of industry safety innovation.

13 Recognition

WAe cnloseod oftf lhast eyearr h avsingu beecn ccroweneds thes Mfosut Colns idyeraete Caomr pany 2015 at the Considerate Constructor Awards, which was a huge accolade fending off around 700 other eligible companies. This year has been exceptional and we have had another amazing 12 months of award wins and recognition for new products and processes and just being us. 2016 kicked off with the Highways England Supply Chain Recognition Awards, we received highly commended for Customer Experience for our Customer Hub and our Spotlight on Customer entries and came joint winners of the Safety, Health and Wellbeing category for demonstrating the ways in which we support our staff and raise awareness of health issues (watch out for this one; it appears again repeatedly throughout 2016).

Then came the CIHT (Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation) where we were Innovation category winners for Barrier The A66 Scotch Corner to Hartforth entry In spring it was the ICE (Institute of Civil Master a unique, safer and more efficient way also scooped a win in the Most Innovative Engineers) East Midlands Merit Awards. to extract and replace barriers. Project/Scheme of the Year at the Highways Shortlisted for four in total but coming out Magazine Excellence Awards too top in Studies and Research category for the Then followed the ICE Yorkshire and Humber FASTtrack drainage system and Medium Regional Education Team Company Award Projects £750,000 to £10 million for the M1 2016 which we achieved for significant junction 24 pinch point programme. engagement with students, supporting graduates during their training and representing civil engineering on a professional scale.

Health & Safety category winners for Better Health at Work and Sustainability category winners for A66 Scotch Corner to Hartforth where we achieved 1,000 tonnes each night for three consecutive nights through collaborative working.

As new members of the Institute of Customer Service we submitted an entry in the Customer Satisfaction Awards Commitment category for the Customer Hub Group and were astonished to be shortlisted as many other entrants were customer service centres or worked directly with their customers.

14 We managed to achieve Silver and Gold Considerate Constructors.

At the Annual Considerate Constructors North East Equality Awards Awards this year we managed to claim a Silver Award for Area 12 in recognition of continued commitment despite undergoing transfer to a new operating contract. And Area OCneo thimng wme arei wthtolely adnd utnroese rvsedlay feto hteyalth and wellbeing in the workplace. The 14 achieved a Gold Award this year and were committed to is safety and this comes up judges were so impressed by the submission also declared runners up of the Most time and again within our award submission. that they decided to put A-one+ forward for Considerate Company £10m and over We have seen unprecedented success with the Outstanding Practice award which we category. Fantastic efforts from all. health, wellbeing and equality over this last also won and is further testament to our year. Picking up recognition early on from absolute dedication to keeping our people Highways England Supply Chain Recognition safe, well and included. Awards and CIHT for our health and wellbeing practices. Equality North East is an independent not- for-profit company that works across the During a special presentation at Ramside whole of the region. Established over ten Hall in Durham, A-one+ came away with not years ago the organisation has become an one but two awards at the North East important regional resource and leading Equality Awards 2016 . body for equality information, advice, Initially entering and winning the Improving guidance, training and support for individuals Lives category based on ongoing commitment and organisations in all sectors. Area 12 - silver award

Just a week after success at the North East Equality Awards came Royal Society for Public Health Awards , the UK’s premier national health and wellbeing awards event.

Area 14 - gold award

And finally, a special mention for Sam Beardon , one of our Year 2 Apprentices in Area 12 who was shortlisted for the CIHT Yorkshire and Humber Apprentice of the A-one+ Claimed the Workplace Health and Nicola Blackwood MP, Parliamentary Under Year which is a great achievement, well done Wellbeing Award in recognition for our Secretary of State for Public Health and Sam! ‘Better Health at Work Project’ handholding Innovation, said: “I am delighted to be able to almost 1,000 predominantly male employees award this year’s Public Health Minister’s taking steps to improve health and drive Award to A-one+ for its Better Health at Work engagement. initiative. An outstanding example of how organisations, large and small, can improve We were also one of two winners presented health and wellbeing in their communities, with a prestigious Public Health Minister’s through developing local skills, knowledge and Award which is a scheme launched in 2014 in networks to direct interventions to where they partnership with the Department of Health are most needed.” by Nicola Blackwood MP, putting us at the top of the pile for excellence and innovation The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is in the UK. an independent, multi-disciplinary charity dedicated to the improvement of the public’s The judges said: “The Better Health at Work health and wellbeing. They inform policy and programme has clearly demonstrated positive practice, and educate, empower and support outcomes on the health and wellbeing of the communities and individuals to live healthily. workforce. The active involvement and leadership of staff at all levels is impressive, promoting a strong sense of commitment right Sam, pictured front second to left with his award across the organisation.”

15 Added Value

Sustainability and People Grey to Green! Area 4 is carrying out feasibility studies for the potential to create green bridges and achieve biodiversity measures which means retrofitting existing bridges providing habitat connectivity . Infrastructure can have an adverse effect on A 2015 Landscape Institute wildlife; loss of habitat from construction example sketch (see below) of a and highways cut through landscape dividing modified grey bridge demonstrates areas of habitat into smaller isolated areas the simple measures we can put in known as habitat fragmentation. This creates place to reconnect the two a number of problems for nature in the area separated habitats. some of which can have serious safety Another option we are looking at consequences for both wildlife and road is the Japanese designed users. dormouse bridge. Proven to be successful with evidence of Installation of new ‘green’ bridges straddling dormice using the bridge soon major roads can be expensive so we are after installation. We are assessing looking at a number of existing structures the potential to retrofit this to already in place across Area 4 to find some Satellite view of the bridge existing structures in Area 4 too. suitable for retrofitting, helping to re- establish habitat connectivity at a lower cost The bridge is already ‘greening’ itself (see than installing new ‘green’ bridges. below) with potential for modified green strips and dormouse bridge bolt. The aim of this study is to identify and assess suitable structures and examine solutions for long term management. The intended outcome of the project is to facilitate development of schemes in line with the Roads Investment Strategy 2015 -2020 and Highways England’s Biodiversity Plan 2015. The Darenth Wood Farm Accommodation Bridge has been identified as a potential connection over the A2 which has separated the Looking forward to an update on these trials ancient woodland area. in the next issue, well done Area 4!

Raising aspirations Design Lead, Stephen Larkin from Area 14 hosted a special session for the children of Benton Dene School during Aspirations Week this year. The presentation provided an overview about a career in civil engineering which the children thoroughly enjoyed. The school sent a huge thank you with some personally written letters saying how much the children enjoyed the presentation and how civil engineering is something they would like to do when they grow up. The bridge building activity was fantastic and kept even the youngest children engaged all afternoon. All the staff learnt something new too, they had no idea civil engineers play such an important role in everyday life. The presentation was talked about all week and even featured in the assembly and weekly newsletter. A really well received presentation and one of numerous career development activities we participate it throughout A-one+ .

16 Potteric Carr Habitat connectivity project

The embankments complement the nature reserve

The Potteric Carr habitat connectivity project is a unique scheme driven by green infrastructure and ecosystem services principles. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the impact of the road network on Potteric Carr by lessening visual impact, reducing run off of pollutants and mitigating movement of birds, insects and mammals while undergoing improvements to the resilience of the network running next to the location. The scheme proposals were subject to an ecological and landscape assessment and were positively received by statutory environmental bodies with additional measures factored into • Grassland pockets created scheme design through consultation. • 32,000 wildflower plugs planted Potteric Carr demonstrates a number of practical examples of green • 1.8km drainage ditches cleared creating enhanced water vole infrastructure principles. For example; no waste material was habitat permitted to leave site, drainage ditch arisings were removed and The challenge on this project was overcoming differing spread adjacent to their ditch, tree sections were felled and left to interpretations of environmental legislation. This was resolved dry by windrowing, creating habitat piles for invertebrates. through enhanced dialogue and collaborating with stakeholders. A Embankments now complement the nature reserve, creating bio- revised scope of works was delivered still on schedule achieving all diverse corridors for visitors to the site and lessening the impact objectives despite having to incorporate potentially risky changes of the road network. such as moving the planting of 6,290 wildflower plugs to prevent disturbance of hibernating reptiles. The scheme also supports the objectives of the Government’s Bio- diversity 2020 strategy through; Potteric Carr will be the catalyst for future works combining bio- diverse soft estate maintenance with green infrastructure to create • 1.5 hectares of woodland thinning, incorporating specific a more harmonised environment. measures to enhance willow tit habitat • 1800 bare root shrub planting to increase ground level species We achieved this by training our teams to embed sustainability diversity into projects, providing support through specialists and consulting with the necessary bodies when making decisions.

AN-onee+ haws open ead itsp doorps oncre aegainn, tices join our team welcoming another three apprentices to new positions at Normanton, boosting the total number of Area 12 apprentices to seven in the last two years. The three new apprentices, aged between 17 and 19, joined our team during the first week in September after successful application and interview process. Oliver Rimmington, age 19, is studying commercial and finance, with both Matthew Lill, age 18, and Alison Jones, age 17, studying civil engineering. All three attend college one day per week and have settled well into working life.

L-R Matthew, Oliver and Alison

17 Highways England Feature

Cold repave At A-one+ we’re no strangers to testing and trialling new technology as part of our commitment to constantly improving our performance. Our latest innovation is cold repave, a revolutionary process – also known as cold recycling – that has been hailed as a potential game-changer for the highways industry.

A-one+ worked with supply chain partner Lane Rentals and Highways England to bring cold repave to the UK for the first time. “We can resurface larger areas of road, there are fewer Cold repave involves recycling the old road construction vehicle trips and the road surface is material in situ, dramatically cutting costs, designed to last for at least 10 years, meaning that we haulage and working time. shouldn’t need to go back to carry out further repairs The headline figures speak for themselves. any time soon, meaning less disruption for drivers” In the first two schemes delivered by A-one+ this summer, both on the A1 in Northumberland in Area 14, we saw a 141% improvement in productivity. Quarried aggregate used was reduced by 75%, while the amount of waste material taken from the site dropped 66%. As a result the amount of haulage movements required dropped by two thirds. The financial savings were remarkable, with the two schemes each costing 50% less than traditional methods would have done.

So what is cold repave? In a nutshell, it is a single pass process that sees the entire base and binder layers removed, recycled and immediately relaid as new surface. The machine involved, a cold recycler 2200 CR supplied by Wirtgen US, mixes the old material internally with a The process had not been picked up in the UK but, in the light of a pre-determined mixture of bituminous emulsion and a little water, national drive by Highways England to improve efficiencies and before it is laid using a traditional paver. outputs, A-one+ started at looking at whether it could be brought to our roads. With the recycling process completed within minutes in the body of the machine, and with no need to remove old material from the site A fact-finding mission to Florida to see the process in action gave or bring in new loads, the outputs that can be reached are well in Graeme Watt and his team the confidence that, with some excess of traditional methods. adaptations, it would work on the English highways network. Area 14 Watchman Graeme Watt, who was part of the team at A- At its peak, cold repave can achieve up to 1,000 tonnes of resurfacing one+ who helped bring cold repave to the UK, says the “obvious in an hour in the right conditions. benefits” of the process made it impossible to ignore. That figure was fresh in the minds of all at A-one+ following a “This machine ticks every box – financial efficiencies, safety, resurfacing scheme that saw 1,000 tonnes of resurfacing completed environmental benefits. The savings in time and money alone that for three consecutive nights of ten hour shifts using traditional can be achieved make it worthwhile investing in but it also cuts the methods. haulage and the amount of waste going off to landfill. Although a great achievement for all involved, the jump in resources, “Efficiency is the key word around the highways industry at the workforce and road closure times required to achieve the feat proved moment and this machine can offer that in spades. It has the to the team that current methods could not sustain the higher potential to completely change the way the whole road network in outputs for any length of time. this country is maintained.” Graeme Watt adds: “Simply increasing resurfacing outputs does not Cold repave is already used around the world, particularly in the US, provide a sustainable way of reducing costs. Germany and China.

18 Network Guardian

“To increase outputs you require more resources, with each additional resource coming at a cost. “Inevitably you will get savings but these are negligible and the pressures on the work force are unsustainable in the long term with increased safety risks being a key concern. “We had identified some time ago that the key to providing sustainable efficiencies was to remove the need to import and export materials where reasonably practicable. “Cold repave offers the solution.” News that A-one+ has successfully completed three resurfacing schemes using cold repave has sparked interest from local authorities and engineering firms across the country. It has also been given the backing of Highways England. Steve Bishop, Highways England project manager, said: “There are lots of benefits to using this new way of working. “It means we can resurface larger areas of road, there are fewer “We are always working with our partners to trial new technologies construction vehicle trips and the road surface is designed to last for that will help us to minimise disruption to drivers while we carry out at least 10 years, meaning that we shouldn’t need to go back to carry essential road maintenance.” out further repairs any time soon, meaning less disruption for drivers.

19 Team Talk

WFoellowlinlg bthe ethirdi hnealtg h needs assessment in the last five years the Area 14 health advocates have coordinated several campaigns for 2016 based around the wellbeing issues of most interest to employees. Staring in February with Time to Talk Day (Mental Health) USse oof socical meidaia plaltf orms suche as dAlli tharee p ouliciess; age we discussed varying mental health concerns and how they Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is • cover all types of interactive aren’t a barrier to people achieving success. ever increasing and a large online media percentage of employees now use The Global Challenge launched in May with 11 teams smart phones. In order to protect • include advice on personal and taking part, travelling 63,430 miles. Everyone participating yourself, our company and our client work accounts and usage met at the Coliseum in Rome and travelled the world, sadly take the time to remind yourself of All three also advise that social only virtually not actually. There was also healthy eating, your parent company social media media must not be used to; mental health and sleep activities taking place and some policy, you have signed this as part of • breach confidentiality or people reported improved blood pressure after taking part your employment agreement. The copyright (incl clients, partner, in the challenge without any additional activity. policies can be found on IBMS, go to sub-contractors etc) In June it was Men’s Health Week and we teamed up with HR and Training and scroll to your • bring our organisation into parent company their social media the Men’s Health Forum to raise awareness of stress disrepute (nor clients, partner, policy is on the right hand side. through positive toolbox talks about stress, work-life sub-contractors etc by balance, healthy eating and skin cancer. Although the three policies are association) written differently: broadly speaking • discriminate or harass others they all lead to the same conclusion. • use company branding without express permission Take five minutes out today to find your social media policy and check that you are doing what you can to safeguard yourself.

Session - Laughter is the best medicine

Healthy Heart Day was in September and we provided DIY Health monitoring equipment to self-check blood pressure, FollAowinrg ethea dec is1ion 4to m dove eassemt deloiveryb in iholuises in aAreta i7 oin 2n015, visceral fat, overall fat levels and hydration levels. Highways England decided to repeat this model in Area 14 when the current managing agent contract comes to an end in March 2017. This means that And in October we provided annual flu vaccines and took our current staff will be placed under TUPE transfer like in Area 7. part in Dyslexia Awareness helping increase understanding of the variance of Dyslexia. Since the announcement we have September and more expected soon. been working closely with Highways New office accommodation has been England to ensure a smooth secured at Norflex House in transition to the new contract. We Darlington and is being refurbished in also need to demobilise the current preparation. contract and we have appointed Ted Our appointed TUPE employee Chamberlain as demobilisation representatives are; Neil Davison, manager. Area 14 - flu vaccination Stephen Brooks, Graeme Watt, Ken Highways England has appointed Wake, Stephen Larkin, Helen Graham Riley as their counterpart for Wandless, Stewart Boughen, Garry To round the year off we have looked Sleep management Ted to ensure a joined up approach Chater, Ian Lee, Paul Fleming, Gary at sleep management inviting a and their first meeting was in Lawson, Simon Maxwell, Paul consultant in us understand the November. We expect to hear much Blackburn, Lee Coates, Mikey Wood, importance of sleep and tips on how more from Ted and Graham as the Richard Webster and Simon Lupton to get the best rest, it also demobilisation programme gets please ask your rep if you have any demonstrated how mindfulness can underway. queries. help in our everyday life. We had great feedback with a new colleague As a gesture to thank the incredible We are building on experiences from commenting "Wellbeing is something Area 14 team and to commemorate Area 7 and helping Highways England I've never considered before, but now 13 years together we are producing draft a range of processes for the new I'm going to get an app on my phone an ‘End of Contract’ brochure which contract model as well as and and take mini breaks after taking part is being prepared by the CAST team advising on improvements for the in the sleep management sessions”. and there will be an ‘End of Contract’ depots. party with details to be announced in Let us know what wellbeing Contract awards are expected in due course. activities do you do in your teams? December and we will update you as Engagement with Highways England soon as we hear anything. has started with road shows in

20 Network Guardian

MCartoin Wnard gandr paartnetr uAbi lona thet biiroth ofnsKev!in .an.d. Risha Balmer married August 14 GRIT awards their daughter Nina . Born on Saturday 15 2016 October and weighing in at 8lbs and 2oz

Jenna Allen Nigel Yeatman , proud grandad to Georgie Jo , born at 10:34 on Friday 14 October weighing Brett and Claire Angell , married July 2 2016 8lb 13oz

Tom Simmons , on the birth of his son Jake Our annual Grit Awards Ceremony took John and Natalie Richardson on the birth of Geoffrey Simmons born 24 September place in January at the Thorpe Park Spa his son Freddie Lewis , born July 14 2016, weighing 6lbs 14oz Hotel in Leeds. The prestigious event was Loves his food and has a great set of lungs attended by quarterly team and individual winners from our contract areas and culminated in a presentation to overall team and individual winners. You can nominate a colleague who has gone the extra mile or a team who deserve some special praise and they could be in for a chance of winning cash prizes at an annual award ceremony too. Paul Wiles on the birth of Ellis , born May 15 2016

Tom Coleman and Sarah Gregory both CAD technicians at Normanton got engaged at York races in July.

Chris Flory , technical surveys coordinator and former Area 14 HR advisor Rebecca High Volume Pump Team Dineen , married on June 27

Dominic Richard Keeley This cutie’s dad is Richard Keeley, Area Manager (South) and Depot Manager. Darren and Jenna Allen both working in Area 14 and proud parents of Jasper Ford , born February 1 2016

Adam Skinner

21 MEETING NATIONAL NEEDS IN TRANSPORTATION

Engineering & Technology Solutions

Connect with us

15:55 Network Guardian

Fundraising round up Each of our three areas put a huge amount of effort into supporting a number of charities both locally and nationally as well as for our parent companies. There is a an on-going calendar of events which help foster a family feel to the company as well as raising much needed funds for a variety of organisations and initiatives. Area 4 Area M to acm anaged illa 12 m ed in n 500 rais d the £ st The CaCa excee ot roa ke Bakek e B ay of h King on the 31ak 15. A d uizzes, s Hill wa Septeem 20 ffles, q b s well at ber at hes, ra ved ought an tended. andwic e achie d home- Cakes bo s ake sal cups of made we th a and c total. tea and c re consu ombol 7.19 in £129.0 offee we med, t ive £61 bs 0 was ra re drunk mpress iser De ised for t and an i o organ he charit thanks t n and y. Huge hompso Derek T Abson, y. Sam Da O n the 11 Po Novempb py Poppy er, Kings da Day. St Hill alsyo anding to commem also raise gether i orated d funds n unity t wi for the R he team th a cake oyal Brit sale, we ish Legio buy ar red d n a poppy ay and for a pou in nd centive.

Hair Toda y, Gone A ndy Reyn To old, Elec morr Hill, cut trical Su ow and shav pervisor Charity ed his ha at Kings . He kep ir for Ma clos t the da cmillan C e wraps t te of the ancer In o encour “big day formatio age mor ” under n for Are e sponso Festival a 4 abou rship. being he t the Sum s supp ld on Box mersby ras ort of Ma ing Day G b cmillan 2016 als ip e found and also o in rsh via the ju how to d nso st giving onate c Spo ghton link bel an oots ass Hou h ow: R ring Gl lthough ttps://ww sponso year. A w.justgi ne+ is m this eep caver ving.com A-o all Tea ed to k nsumme /fundrai ’s Footb ermitt ll rsbyfesti sing/ lfare U7 is not p eally we val We this age doing r ague at efinitely eague the le ey are d pions L sults th he Cham Seal fficial re o host t ches Ian o nvited t ber. Coa ho d were i Novem team w an pitch in of the n their ry proud 17-04 Final o d are ve wins of Fozzar league ll as an nd Ryan pressive r as we mill a two im m caree Mac anaged heir tea ent y m far in t velopm lf Da 13-0 so rton De fts st Go and the Eve the Alto nge winning ber and Lo in Octo out 14 ot ament . Watch rea e first sh Tourn tember A day…th . in Sep ! st golf 8.45pm Gala Rooney he longe sunk at Wayne ly was t nal putt hater certain d the fi Garry C It 0am an ult and Bishop ck at 4.5 hael Ho f golf, at stru ster, Mic ounds o r was rd Web r four r weathe Richa holes, o 16. The ay play 72 July 20 ut the d aged to Friday 1 lost… b man club on lls were mily, nd Golf rous ba from fa Auckla p, nume support ised tee’d u h great ,611 ra erfectly ess wit mous £1 p ge succ an enor aving as a hu es and event h w olleagu ged the is ds and c y arran within h frien an. Garr lly and Macmill persona f the for cancer a love o red from veloped suffe aving de ible nine ly and h n incred fami losing a rt after chaps! spo ell done stone. W

23 Signing off

A day in the life of... A day in the life of a maintenance response Signing off... team operative can change by the hour as Farthing Corner depot’s Steve Wallace can testify. No two days are the same and one minute Steve can be carrying out Did you know? routine fencing repairs on the M2 A-one+ participated in two industry events during when a call sends him and his November. The first was Highways Seeing is Believing colleagues away to deal with an which is organised by Highways Magazine and is a two incidents such as road traffic day indoor and outdoor expo showcasing industry collisions, major incidents or even products and equipment just a dog on the motorway. We took a stand at the event to showcase and promote Having worked in Area 4 for ten the cold repave process with Lane Rental Services. The years, Steve is now an experienced event is held at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground maintenance response operative Leicestershire every two years and is wholly supported by Dealing with a range of incidents even though he came to us as a Highways England. We even bumped into Derek Strand and plasterer. Kevin Paul William Mabb from Area 4. When asked what makes Area 4 so special, he Seeing is Believing replied that he’s working with the best team at Farthing Corner, a sentiment echoed throughout the depots where most feel part of a family while at work.

Graeme Watt presenting

Kevin and Derek from Area 4

Catching up on paperwork

Steve’s typical day starts with a briefing from his We also attended the Highways UK supervisor then with job sheet to hand he can conference and exhibition at the NEC in Highways UK Media Lounge be patching potholes, carrying out risk Birmingham. It is a major UK industry assessments, clearing roundabouts and dealing event for networking, learning and doing with paperwork. business. With over 90 exhibitors, a full Steve will often deal with major incidents and two day conference programme and over recently helped clear the M20 bridge strike. 2,000 visitors it is essential for A-one+ to Steve and his colleagues will never really know participate in the event. We sponsored what they are facing until they arrive. It is the media lounge and innovation hub normally their job to implement emergency area as well as securing the opportunity traffic management and assist in the recovery. to deliver an industry briefing on the cold Their job continues after recovery as they have repave process during the event. Highways UK Innovation Hub to clear up and make good any damage caused by the accident. It is an amazing job that you all do and a great example of teamwork.

Network T h i f A G I tuat d r H i dh i Sain Merry What did you Dear All, Christmas! A-one+ wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. We are proud to have such dedicated think?... people and the reason our organisation has achieved so much over the last 12 months is because We hope you liked this magazine and of each and every one of you. Your effort and hard work has helped to make sure that we retain that you were informed and a high portion of market share and that we are highly thought of by clients, industry peers and interested in the artic le s. If you any our parent companies. feed back a bout this issue or have an Thank you for your hard work and we hope you all have a happy Christmas. idea for something you would like us to consider for the next edition Thanks to everyone who submitted articles, supplied photographs or helped in any way to produce please contact the editor this magazine but specific thanks go to: Vicki Henderson, Rachel Humes, Mark Baker, Emma Hughes debra [email protected] and Carolyne Ferguson.