There was a record 118 entries for the 2014 Highways Agency awards across the seven categories.
Highways Agency chief executive Graham Dalton said: “This year our recognition scheme received more than double the number of entries compared to last year – that is simply fantastic. It’s also a strong indication of the steps our suppliers have made in bringing innovation into the workplace.
“I find it truly heartening that at a time when the safety of our road workers is of paramount importance, there were three companies besides the winner worthy of a high commendation in that category.”
The winners were:
1. Building and sustaining capability – awarded to suppliers that have developed their employees’ skills and capabilities through delivery of Highways Agency contracts.
- Winner: Costain Ltd for their engagement with skills and employment organisations that led to apprentices and young staff being recruited for the M1 junctions 28-31 Smart Motorway scheme.
- Highly commended: Carillion Civil Engineering
2. Customer Experience - awarded to suppliers that have demonstrated industry leading commitment to customer service.
- Winner: Carillion Civil Engineering for their work to involve the local community during the A23 Handcross to Warninglid scheme including visits to schools and providing public liaison 24 hours a day;
- Costain Ltd for their proactive engagement with customers, stakeholders and communities during the M1 junctions 28 -31 Smart Motorway scheme.
- Highly commended: Mouchel (designer) and Carillion (delivery partner)
3. Delivering sustainable value and solutions – awarded to suppliers that have integrated environmental, social, economic and management aspects of sustainable development into the delivery of Highways Agency contracts.
- Winner: Interserve Construction Limited for their work on an ambitious sustainability framework and action plan which goes beyond 2020.
- Highly commended: Costain Group plc; Sir Robert McAlpine and AW Jenkinson
4. Safety, health and wellbeing – awarded to suppliers that show industry leading commitment to improving organisational, workforce and road user health and safety.
- Winners: A-One+ Integrated Highway Services (Occupational health and wellbeing aspect) for embedding occupational health and wellbeing as a core value and proactively promoting benefits with its road workers;
- Costain Ltd (Road Users aspect) for a series of site measures and safety initiatives including targeting driver behaviour through the use of personal messages from the children of road workers;
- Skanska Construction UK Ltd (Road Workers aspect) for its efforts to improve road worker safety collaboratively including the construction of a simulated motorway for emergency services and workers as part of incident management exercises.
- Highly commended: Road Workers aspect - Carnell Group; Hanson Asphalt & Contracting; Colas Ltd; Road user aspect - Atkins; EM Highway Services Ltd;
5. Managing down cost/improving value – awarded to suppliers that have demonstrated significant achievement by delivering Highways Agency contracts in smarter, more efficient ways.
- Winners: Carnell Group for their work in providing innovative solutions to make savings, including an environmentally friendly way of recycling filter drain material
- WSP for their work on the A19 Coast Road which generated construction cost savings and reduced the need to work at height by proposing top down construction of a new bridge;
- Simulation Systems Ltd for developing and deploying a highly effective infra-red CCTV system for a Smart Motorway in just five months which reduces the need for street lighting.
- Highly commended: Carillion Civil Engineering; Skanska, Balfour Beatty, Atkins with Simulation Systems Ltd and Wavetronix
6. Promoting diversity and inclusion – awarded to suppliers that have created opportunities to bring people into the workplace, developed skills and created an environment where differences are valued and utilised.
- Winners: EM Highway Services Ltd and Recycling Lives for being involved in a host of projects to attract people into the sector and develop them as well as a series of measures supporting a culture of inclusion.
- Highly commended: BAM/Morgan Sindall JV
7. Supply chain management – awarded to suppliers that demonstrate the Highways Agency’s strategic agenda, values and principles through supply chains.
- Winners: The Collaborative Procurement Working Group (CPWG) – Carillion, BAM/Morgan Sindall, Costain, Balfour Beatty, Asset International, Polypipe and Saint Gobain for their joint work to overcome a shortage of temporary barrier and avoid delays by implementing effective strategies through the supply chain.
- Highly commended: Connect Plus M25 Ltd; Norbert Dentressangle Logistics UK; Skanska UK Plc
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