Improving the road works planning process - a case study of an urban English local authority

Diminishing local government budgets coupled with a need to reduce highway excavation activity means that there is an increasing need to deliver cost effective and efficient processes for managing road works. Accordingly, the aim of this paper was to investigate how the process could be streamlined, and how co-ordinated working opportunities could be enhanced. This was achieved by conducting a swimlane analysis to map the business processes of three teams within an English local authority from the design stage up to the point of issuing a road works permit. Research revealed that silo working was inherent and that processes were built around fragmented and outdated IT systems which made them inefficient. A subsequent validation exercise found that certain practices and management styles were culturally embedded and were common across other local authorities. Peer reviewed recommendations are made to improve working practices, such as adopting an integrated Highways Management IT system, vertical integration between the customer relationship management IT system and the Highways IT systems, and the provision of regulatory training amongst others. A generic framework is also created for transferability to other local authorities to use when evaluating their road works processes.