Lean set to transform UK Smart Motorway construction projects
Ever spent hours in a traffic jam on the motorway wondering exactly why the apparently empty and untouched lane next to you is closed for construction…. and how long it’s going to take you to get past the problem?
If so you’ll be pleased to hear that a UK Highways Agency (HA) are aiming to improve the way that projects are delivered – with less disruption and more information for road users – and Rubicon Wigzell are working in support of these ambitions.
Over the past four years we’ve worked closely with the HA, deploying lean thinking both within the HA supply chain on major projects and within the Highways Agency itself.
As the Agency accelerates its Smart Motorways Programme over the coming years, we’re working to support this programme of work, with the goal of delivering projects faster and in the most efficient way, with minimum impact to road users.
Rubicon Wigzell director Andrew Moore has spent several months working with the HA supply chain, analysing production output data from several current Smart Motorway Schemes. The results of this work and the development of a common approach means we are confident that ambitious improvements can be delivered:
“We’ve looked closely at the process from initial planning through to completion in order to devise a deliverable Lean approach which focuses on minimising waste, speeding up the construction process, reducing costs and reducing the impact on drivers. As the implementation phase gets underway we should soon be able to see evidence of improvement, with construction sites over shorter sections of motorway, with more concentrated activity, over shorter timescales. Motorway construction works have been done in the same way for many years, we’re excited to be involved in developing a new approach and looking forward to seeing the impact for the Highways Agency, its suppliers and for road users.”