Digital solution delivers single view of severe weather information for Highways England

Integrated system improves service delivery and efficiency to keep road network flowing

25 October 2016, London: Highways England has launched a £5 million integrated weather information system developed by the Civica Group, to enable better management of the nation’s main roads during times of severe weather and to support its aims of keeping the road network free flowing and safe.

Highways England operates and maintains England’s motorways and major A roads, a network that spans 4,300 miles and carries a third of all traffic by mileage and two thirds of all heavy goods traffic. Developed by Group company IPL, part of Civica’s digital solutions business, and incorporating Exactrak vehicle navigation and reporting technology, the severe weather information service (SWIS) brings together critical information on weather forecasts, road treatment plans and winter fleet data into a single system. It will help Highways England and its partners to manage the risk of severe weather more effectively through improved access to dynamic real-time information, together with delivering technology-based efficiencies.

Highways England and its partners need access to accurate, robust and timely weather and winter service information to enable them to better manage the resilience of the Strategic Road Network and fulfil their network operator role. SWIS delivers an enhanced, consolidated view of information to approximately 2,000 operational users actively working to manage and improve the performance of the road network in advance of and during severe weather conditions, including winter service providers, maintainers and control room staff, and external parties. The system supports better planning, execution and recording of winter treatment actions, improved identification of weather events with a potential impact on the road network, and enhanced rectification of weather and winter treatment equipment faults.

David O’Connor, weather information services sponsor, Highways England, said, “Severe weather always presents a challenge, but with Civica’s support we’re improving the user experience through access to consistent and comprehensive information, enabling us to deliver a world class service in relation to managing risk and the safety of the major road network and its users.”

Steve Shakespeare, executive director, digital solutions at Civica commented: “The road network is relied upon by people and businesses across the country and its operation is essential to people’s lives and the economy. The new system improves access to critical information to help Highways England to respond to weather conditions and ultimately reduce risk and save money by keeping the network safer and free flowing.”

Known for its ability to safely deliver complex and mission critical digital solutions, IPL has worked with Highways England as a long-term software development and support partner. The project was also supported by fleet data logging specialist Exactrak, providing real-time vehicle tracking and route navigation for drivers, to enable Highways England to monitor all treatment activity carried out by the winter maintenance fleet. The solution enables the monitoring of all activity once a vehicle has left a depot and this data is recorded in SWIS to ensure compliance and to inform future planning.

ENDS

About Civica
Civica (www.civica.co.uk) is a market-leading specialist in digital solutions, critical software applications and outsourcing services that help organisations around the world to transform the way they work. Combining exceptional customer focus, experience and commitment, Civica supplies more than 2,000 major customers in 10 countries around the world.

About Exactrak
Exactrak (www.exactrak.co.uk) design real-time vehicle tracking and monitoring systems which can be accessed 24/7 via a dedicated web portal. With over 15 years of experience in the winter maintenance sector, Exactrak have developed systems to specifically address the best practice detailed in the Winter Service Practical Guidance (Appendix H), helping users achieve significant cost savings for their operation. From basic route navigation to cutting edge systems to allow fully automated gritting, exception reporting and route based forecasting, Exactrak tailor their products to meet business requirements and offer unrivalled customer service and support.