HSC08 Conference Report to YHAUC by Sean Fisher

HSC08 Conference Thanks to YHAUC for the opportunity to attend Views and opinions expressed are my own Conference Summaries Common Themes Personal Reflections

HSC08 Conference Presentations Summary (1) Day One – Morning Session 1 – TMA: Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities Gave the view from the DfT of the main drivers for change Generally optimistic presentations from a utility and an authority, looking at the opportunities to improve service to all customers Note of caution about the difficulties of implementation

HSC08 Conference Presentations Summary (2) Day One – Morning Session 2 – Permits Organisations need to think about how and when to implement Permit Schemes Best outcomes for road users Permit Schemes not appropriate for all streets and all works? Consider Schemes for streets where traffic is already at breaking point?

HSC08 Conference Presentations Summary (3) Day One – Afternoon Session 1 – Working Together: Planning the Infrastructure Road and street works carried out for good reason Need to improve communication with the public/road users Positive benefits of authorities and utilities working together Authorities now embarking on the same journey that utilities have already been on

HSC08 Conference Presentations Summary (4) Day One – Afternoon Session 2 – Co-ordination National picture – growth needs of the country Local picture – co-ordinating infrastructure delivery locally Working with developers

HSC08 Conference Presentations Summary (5) Day Two – Morning Session 1 – The Bigger Picture New types of infrastructure – low carbon energy networks Alternatives to new road building Investment to maintain the current road network as an efficient conduit to access and deliver goods and services Better co-ordination to minimise congestion Balancing the ‘green agenda’

HSC08 Conference Presentations Summary (6) Day Two – Morning Session 2 – Addressing the Skills Shortage Building sustainable businesses – methods and materials Innovation in recruiting Quality training and development Appealing area for people to want to work

HSC08 Conference Presentations Summary (7) Day Two – Afternoon Session 1 – Addressing Long-Term Damage Scale of activities Low public satisfaction Results of long-term studies – 168 sites Reasons for optimism – test sites from 1993 Utility resurfacing

HSC08 Conference Presentations Summary (8) Day Two – Afternoon Session 2 – FPN’s Noticing quality JAG advice Offences not linked to disruption

HSC08 Conference Common Themes (1) Working Together –improved relationships between authorities and utilities but is there a shared vision or attempts at reconciling conflicting visions –benefits for co-ordinating works –benefits for all ‘customers’ –needs ‘give & take’

HSC08 Conference Common Themes (2) The “Bigger Picture” –roads as a resource – accessing goods and services road freight and the pressures on UK hauliers –national house-building programme –need to work efficient with developers –links to Civil Parking Enforcement –developing low-carbon energy networks (Combined Heating & Power) –alternatives to new road-building

HSC08 Conference Common Themes (3) Public perception of works –“Heineken” advert –congestion –journey times – reliability/unreliability –opportunities to communicate with the public, why works are carried out and the benefits Climate change –sustainability –for materials, methods and businesses –considering public transport –energy-efficient temporary control signals

HSC08 Conference Common Themes (4) Network Management Duty –raised profile –integration with other policies Parity – across all works promoters Over-regulation –need to avoid further regulation –costs (money, time and resources) to implement Skills gap –quality training for operatives and engineers –make this sector an appealing sector

HSC08 Conference Personal Reflections (1) Good opportunity to be able to put faces to famous names Insight into higher-level thinking that doesn’t always filter down, e.g. why are we all (authorities and utilities) doing what we are doing? Interesting to hear the different points of view from authorities and utilities, although –the two “long-term damage” presentations did leave me confused – mixing long-term damage with reinstatement quality Mix of presentation styles –some were lively and engaging –some addressed both theory and practice –some didn’t seem to add value or move the debate forward –some presentations felt rushed due to other presentations over-running

HSC08 Conference Personal Reflections (2) Interactive panels was a really good idea (let down by a failure of technology) Might have been better for more people to have seen the FPN presentation, and that there wasn’t time for more questions/discussion Other than a couple of mentions about “difficulties implementing changes” there was nothing about changes to EToN4 or the practicalities of how we’re dealing with it

HSC08 Conference Finally Thanks again for the opportunity to attend the Conference Any Questions?