National Roads Maintenance Review - Phase 2 Report

Appendix C Options not taken forward

During a detailed review it became clear to the steering group that some options should not be taken forward for one of the following reasons as shown in Table 6.

  1. They did not meet the objectives of the Review
  2. They duplicate, or are a subset of, another option.
Table 6 -Options not taken forward
Description Reason
Review the practicality and benefits to utilising GPS road condition surveys, similar to those used in Sweden. 1
Contracting out all road maintenance activities at a local authority level. 2
Integrate all roads authority procurement. Single unit for procurement purposes rather than a series of non-aligned entities. 2
Review the possible implementation of Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) models for the sector. 1
Maintain the status quo. Continue with existing delivery and local voluntary collaboration. 1
Continue lobbying to make disabled parking bays enforceable without signage. 2
Absorb trunk road network responsibilities within local authority boundaries. 2
Roads authorities to report backlog figures in a consistent manner on all assets incl. footways and bridges 2
Create a single National Roads Maintenance Authority 2
Formalise shared services arrangements between all roads authorities 2
Joint procurement/ collaborating - purchasing, implementing and/or supporting new procurement (IT) systems 2
Consider the adoption of the Transport Scotland approach to 'Type Approval Installation Trial' (TAIT) process as a consistent, Scotland-wide process for new trialling new systems 2
Agree a formalised collaborative approval system for use across all roads authorities in Scotland. 2
Transport Scotland and SCOTS to review issues on lighting standards to enable trials/ adoption of unlit, reflective signage/ dimming/ switch off periods 2
Investigate how a greater use of reflective materials in lieu of sign lighting can be adopted 2
Once current trials are completed deploy Transport Scotland's Departures Database and consider its application to departures on Local Authority roads 2
Implement Transport Scotland review of maintenance thresholds and condition parameters for identification of maintenance schemes 2
Consider a shared asset management IT system for all local authorities 2
Develop and implement Benefits Realisation Plan(s) for asset management improvements
(based on that produced by Transport Scotland) 		2
As part of the continued development of the SCOTS RAMP programme the effectiveness if it's Scheme Prioritisation should be monitored and developed as required 2
Each Local Authority (LA) to review the Carriageway Scheme Ranking System developed as part of the SCOTS RAMP programme to determine if it meets the requirements of their existing scheme assessment methodology 2
Transport Scotland to continue monitoring the effectiveness of their value management prioritisation process, used to assess the Operating Companies maintenance works 2
Review retaining the status quo for local authority condition assessment with regard to total length and accept gaps in knowledge 2
Deploy Transport Scotland Condition Assessment and Deterioration Models for Ancillary Assets 2
Continue development of SCOTS KPI suite, in conjunction with the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Benchmarking Club
Potential developments being considered include DDA Compliance and unit costs 		2
Develop and apply consistent unit cost benchmarking methodology across UK strategic roads authorities/ operators (Transport Scotland) 2
Performance measurement for continuous improvement
Council-wide coordination of systems and methodologies to systematically measure performance of suppliers, systems and employees 		2
Develop powerful communication strategy to inform stakeholders of the conflict between road use and road maintenance, and the effect that this compromise has on safety, efficiency and durability 2
Explore three way information flow (operators, public and media) to determine preferred channels. 2
Investigate the further use of mobile information platforms (e.g. trailer mounted) 2
Investigate the further use of mobile technologies for direct communication with users
e.g. apps for provision of information and for user feedback 		2
Increase the participation and use of academic skills in undertaking research and trials of new materials and techniques 2
National Roads Research Working Group (NRRWG) to invite business cases for new research, develop these and prioritise 2
NRRWG manage Research Projects as they are undertaken 2
Encourage skills retention & development by ensuring social issues are considered through procurement processes, including attracting new recruits. 2
Encourage Industry / University links in a commercial basis with a focus on roads maintenance 2
Improve coordination/ links with the rest of the UK, and further afield, on sharing knowledge and the use of new/ innovative materials and techniques 2
Encourage academic research into roads. Invite more projects from researchers to try and capture that unexpected concept that changes convention. 2
Identify the opportunities for identifying and making use of sources of research funding 2
Introduce effective mechanisms to share new ideas, tools and techniques across the Scottish roads maintenance community 2
Identify a suitable body for coordination of all technical groups and research resources (review and challenge function)
Should include consideration of a central archive/ single portal for research information 		2
Identify and secure training funding stream for skills development on business improvement techniques 2
Determine the best periods of funding for roads maintenance in Scotland 2
Develop cost/ benefits case on 3 - 5 year budget profiles 2
Review optimal working periods in different circumstances, to investigate trade off between delays to users and efficiency of works 2
Further co-ordinated work required on the use of joint repair techniques instead of large machine patching 2
Support collaboration between Transport Scotland, Local Authorities (SCOTS) and Utility Companies on recent experience in single visit repair and cold repair of road surface defects 2
Promote continued and co-ordinated development on bridge maintenance techniques 2