Multidisciplinary consultancy Mott MacDonald has been appointed to deliver an intelligent asset monitoring and management system that will support the development of Highways England’s (HE) technology operations center (TOC).
The Tools for the Technology Operations Center (T-TOC) contract will see Mott MacDonald and key partner Fujitsu develop and deliver a suite of software systems that will monitor and manage electronic assets across HE’s network of motorways and major trunk roads.
With nearly 100,000 intelligent infrastructure devices across the government-owned agency’s strategic road network (SRN), the efficiency and reliability of their operation and maintenance is critical for future infrastructure programs and the safety of road users.
HE’s operational technology is categorized into three areas:
• Roadside Technology – equipment deployed at the roadside, such as signs, signals, sensors, and CCTV cameras;
• Telecoms services – the systems that interconnect roadside technology with control center systems;
• Control Centers – centralized systems that are used to monitor and control the roadside technology.
HE’s operational technology has an estimated capital value of £1.5bn (US$2bn).
T-TOC will enable a more efficient system of electronic traffic management, enabling HE to centralize operational decision making, providing data that informs demand models, predicts future needs, and identifies areas for investment. The Mott MacDonald and Fujitsu T-TOC contract is due to be completed in 2019, with the potential to extend service provision for a further four years.
“Having successfully delivered traffic and infrastructure management technology for Highways England since 1998, we have a deep understanding of the critical role these tools have supporting the SRN,” noted Alison Mackenzie, Mott MacDonald’s T-TOC project director.
“We’re looking forward to working closely with Highways England and Fujitsu to deliver the T-TOC system and improve the performance and availability of SRN technology assets. This will support Highways England in meeting the requirements of the UK government’s Roads Investment Strategy.”
Russell Goodenough, managing director of Fujitsu’s transportation business division, commented, “Innovative digital approaches are transforming all aspects of our transport infrastructure. We’re delighted to complement Mott MacDonald’s deep pedigree in the sector with our global digitization expertise to accelerate transformation for Highways England. Our track record of delivering agile projects such as this reinforces our position as one of Europe’s leading ServiceNow implementation partners.”
HE’s senior project manager, Janet Foreman, said, “We are planning to improve the way we monitor and maintain our technology, such as signals and CCTV, by introducing a new technology operations center that will support operational regions using commercial off-the-shelf products to improve the accuracy of information provided to road users, and therefore result in more reliable journeys.”
