April 2010
Transport Scotland, supported by Halcrow, won the “Quality and efficiency of rendered services” award at the recent “Road to Excellence” challenge hosted by the Swedish Roads Administration in Stockholm.
The challenge looked at the issues facing Roads Administrations in eight countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada (Alberta), Slovenia, USA (Minnesota) and Scotland – and benchmarked their policies and performance. Transport Scotland, supported by Halcrow, was subject to an extensive interview in late 2009 by the independent assessment team of experts from Aalto University School of Science and Technology in Finland. The entries were then assessed and four categories were reviewed for awards:
- Customer satisfaction
- Energy and environmental efficiency
- Quality and efficiency of rendered services
- Competence development and identifying best practice for R&D.
Transport Scotland’s strategy for the management and monitoring of its trunk road operating companies, subsequently developed and implemented by Halcrow, led the way and impressed the judges. A joint presentation in Stockholm by Transport Scotland’s David Arran and Halcrow’s Donald Bell put the seal on a winning submission.
Through the prestigious Performance Audit Group (PAG) commission, Halcrow has proactively supported Transport Scotland in successfully managing its operating company contracts since 1995. Halcrow won the commission for the third time in 2009, building on its success in two previous competitions.
Donald Morrison, Head of Asset Management at Transport Scotland commented “This award recognises the strength in our approach in ensuring our trunk road maintenance contracts deliver value and performance. It is important that we share this knowledge internationally and benchmark our performance against others.”
“We are delighted to have supported Transport Scotland in this challenge” commented Bruce Lunn, Halcrow’s Commission Manager for PAG. “This success reflects the teamwork between Transport Scotland, Halcrow and the operating companies. It demonstrates the importance of sharing a common goal to deliver world-class maintenance on Scotland’s trunk roads.”