Transport Scotland announces winner of new 3G maintenance contracts

Transport Scotland has named BEAR Scotland Ltd as the winner of both new 3G contracts to manage and maintain trunk roads in the north east and south east of Scotland.

The outcome of the tender competition for the south east contract was announced on 8 November. News of BEAR Scotland Ltd's second win came on 11 December.

As the incumbent contractor for the north east, BEAR Scotland Ltd has been responsible for the area's 659 kilometres of trunk roads for the past six years. It will now also manage and maintain 472 kilometres of trunk roads in the south east of the country.

PAG's project director Donald Bell praised the work of PAG staff in supporting Transport Scotland in the tendering process. He said: "This has been a tremendous team effort and we are delighted to have successfully helped Transport Scotland deliver the procurement process for the 3G contracts."

The new contracts will start on 1 April 2007 and will be in place for five years with the option of extending to seven years.

Core PAG team heads west

A team from PAG is among 300 staff now based at Halcrow's new offices at City Park in Glasgow.

PAG's project director and director of the Glasgow office, Donald Bell said: "The relocation of Transport Scotland to Glasgow has coincided with Halcrow's growth plans and enabled us to relocate some of our team closer to our client."

Halcrow will create 100 new posts over the next two years, expanding its workforce in the city by more than a third.

Opened in 2002 following a £20 million conversion of a landmark former tobacco factory, City Park is Scotland's first business village, offering facilities such as a gym and health suite.

Located on the third floor, the Halcrow office was designed by Comprehensive Design Architects, whose other projects include Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh.

The design incorporates various innovative features including an Ideas Lab, breakout areas and an 'airport lounge' room for visitors.

To reflect the company's core value of openness, no one has their own office. Instead space is open plan, with numerous glass-walled meeting rooms.

PAG annual report published

The latest annual report on trunk road maintenance in Scotland, undertaken by Transport Scotland is published today.

Compiled by Halcrow's Performance Audit Group (PAG), 'Driving Improvement' reviews the performance of maintenance contractors who delivered more than £142m of work this year.

The Halcrow team is based in Edinburgh and led by project director Donald Bell. Mr Bell commented: "Our team of engineers and accountants has carried out more than 130 detailed audits as well as visiting over 1,200 roadworks sites across the 3,216km-long Scottish trunk road network to gather data for this detailed report."

He continued: "Our report found BEAR and Amey's commitment to improving their sevices continued. The overall number of default notices issued declined, reflecting a year on year trend. Work across the network was to a good standard, and the contractors' management systems performed well."

The contractors worked well to reduce delays at roadworks, with 99.3% of the network open to road users. Emergencies were handled quickly and professionally. BEAR significantly improved its performance in repairing the most serious faults, Category 1 defects, delivering good performance. Amey's performance in this aspect of work dipped. PAG and Transport Scotland will monitor Amey's commitment to improve. A prolonged and cold winter resulted in the contractors spreading more salt than in the previous two years.

Donald Bell said he was delighted to deliver the report to Transport Scotland. He said: "The PAG team is proud of its contribution to driving forward improvement in maintaining, managing and operating Scotland's trunk roads."

John Gooday, the Transport Scotland National Network Manager, said he was pleased to receive the report. He said: "I am grateful to all of the PAG staff who have contributed towards the production of the Driving Improvement report. This is the culmination of a great deal of work undertaken throughout the year and sets out, in a clear and transparent manner, the performance of our maintenance Operating Companies."

Halcrow was originally commissioned by the Scottish Executive, in 1995 to lead the first PAG project. In 2002, Halcrow, with long-term partners PricewaterhouseCoopers, beat international competition in a rigorous tender process, winning another seven-year contract to lead the project until 2009.

Tender competition for trunk road maintenance contracts

Transport Scotland today announced the firms who have been selected to bid for contracts for the management and maintenance of the trunk road network in the North East and South East of Scotland.

New operating companies will be selected to manage and maintain the trunk roads and motorways for both areas. The firms who will be tendering for the contract in the North East of Scotland are; Amey Infrastructure Services Ltd, BEAR Scotland Ltd and Scotland TranServ, a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Mouchel Parkman.

The firms who will be tendering for the contract to cover the South East of Scotland are BEAR Scotland Ltd and Amey Infrastructure Services Ltd.

The contracts are being competitively tendered and will be awarded this autumn. It is expected that the successful bidders will begin operating in spring 2007 when the current contracts end. The new contracts will be for 5 years with the option of extension by up to 2 years at the sole discretion of the Scottish Ministers. Projected annual turnover for each contract will be between £9m and £24m at current prices.

Dr Malcolm Reed, the Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, said: "These contracts highlight our continuing commitment to make the best use of the trunk road network in terms of customer service, value for money and innovative roads management.

"Maintaining high standards on our trunk roads is vital for Scotland's economy, and the successful bidders will be instrumental in achieving this aim. I am confident that the bidders selected have the necessary experience and resources to deliver a high standard of service whilst offering value for money.

"Service levels have been carefully reviewed for the new contracts and, where appropriate, amended to suit the changing demands of the network."

Maintenance contract for Scottish trunk roads begins

New contracts awarded to Scotland TranServ and Amey to manage and maintain the trunk roads in the North West and South West of Scotland will begin this weekend.

The five-year contracts, awarded in December last year, cover over 2,000 kilometres of the 3,300 kilometre trunk road network and will provide a high level of service for motorists in Scotland.

The new contractors, Scotland TranServ and Amey, will be responsible for carrying out a range of activities including regular inspections and subsequent repair of defects, regular maintenance such as grass cutting, weed control and gully cleaning, provision of a winter service including salting and snow clearing, the repair and maintenance of street lighting and traffic signals and a 24/7 emergency service.

This will be the first time that Scotland TranServ has maintained part of the trunk road network in Scotland. Scotland TranServ is a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Mouchel Parkman.

Amey has previous experience of maintaining Scotland's trunk roads in the South West and will continue providing services in the South East of Scotland, as previously contracted.

John Gooday, the National Network Manager of Transport Scotland, said: "We have worked very hard to develop these contracts and I would anticipate that road users will benefit from the new arrangements.

"In the coming year, we will be investing over £67 million in the management and maintenance of the two Units and I look forward to working in partnership with Scotland TranServ and Amey to provide the best possible service for road users."

Scotland TranServ's Contract Director Roger Williamson said: "We are looking forward to starting work on April 1, and have invested heavily in new plant and equipment, offices and depots and IT provision. We are also looking forward to working more closely with the four local authorities in the region.

"Trunk roads are vital to the economy and the people of the North West of Scotland. We aim to manage the asset proactively and to provide affordable ways of keeping the roads safe and available.

"We are also investing in the training of our people. Further recruitment is going very well and we have filled most of the available positions, although there are still exciting opportunities for engineers in all disciplines."

Willie Watson Amey's Service Director (Scotland) said: "Using the wealth of experience gained from managing and maintaining the South West Unit during the previous five years, and following months of dedicated planning and preparation, we are ready and excited to begin delivering the third generation contract.

"We look forward to working closely with Transport Scotland to ensure the highest level of service delivery provided by our dedicated teams across the Unit."

The tendering process for the managing and maintenance contracts for the North East and South East of Scotland began in January 2006. It is expected that the successful bidders will commence services between Spring and Summer 2007.

Lease signed for headquarters for Transport Scotland

The lease for accommodation for Transport Scotland has been signed. The new accommodation will be based on four floors of Buchanan House, in the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow.

The accommodation, occupying approximately 3,164 square metres, will provide headquarters for staff.

Dr Malcolm Reed, the Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, said: "I am delighted we have secured accommodation in Buchanan House situated in the heart of a city which is already home to most of the major players in the transport industry in Scotland.

"Work has been progressing on attracting the right staff with the right skills to help us deliver our agenda.

"Buchanan House will provide them with fit for purpose accommodation, in a convenient location to engage with our key stakeholders enabling us to work towards creating a transport centre of excellence."

Work is now underway on space plan options, fitting out and ensuring the building is ready for occupation. Located within the building will be the Chief Executive and the five directorates of Transport Scotland which support him.

Transport Scotland staff are currently located in temporary offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow with the first tranche of staff planned to relocate to Buchanan House in May and will full relocation of around 280 staff completed by spring next year.

The lease has been signed for 15 years.

Buchanan House is also currently home to Network Rail, First Engineering and Scott Wilson.

Scottish Minister for Transport and telecommunications, Tavish Scott, has launched the latest annual report on trunk road maintenance in Scotland, prepared by Halcrow's Performance Audit Group (PAG).

The Halcrow team is based in Edinburgh and led by project director Donald Bell. The team's engineers and accountants review the performance of maintenance contractors that deliver over £120 million of work each year on the 3,124km-long Scottish trunk road network.

PAG's technical manager Bruce Lunn comments: "A great deal of weight is placed on the PAG report by the Scottish Executive, government ministers, members of the Scottish Parliament and the industry. Our report provides the definitive and impartial view on the performance of the trunk road maintenance contractors. As the Scottish Executive is one of Halcrow's strategic clients, we are pleased to deliver this high-profile report on time and on budget."

"The report is a huge team effort, bringing together the knowledge and work of the multi-disciplinary PAG team," adds PAG's technical editor Julia Gillon. "In line with Act Now, we are always looking for ways to improve what we do and this year we put in extra effort to make the report more user friendly."

Halcrow was originally commissioned by the Scottish Executive, in 1995 to lead the first PAG project. In 2002, Halcrow, with long-term partners PricewaterhouseCoopers, beat international competition in a rigorous tender process, winning another seven-year contract to lead the project until 2009.