Executive summary
Overall, the Operating Companies (OCs) carried out maintenance of the network well. Relationships between Transport Scotland, OCs and Performance Audit Group (PAG) continued to be positive, with all parties working together to resolve issues and raise standards.
This was the second year BEAR has operated the trunk road maintenance contracts in North East (NE) and South East (SE). Scotland TranServ and Amey were in their third year of these contracts in North West (NW) and South West (SW) respectively.
There was continued substantial investment by Transport Scotland in managing and maintaining the trunk road network, although the budget was 22% less than the higher than average funding in the previous two years. Overall, spend was broadly in line with budget, with overspends in NE, SE and SW being partly off-set by a slight underspend in NW.
As with last year, efficiency savings of around £19m were delivered by these contracts compared with the previous arrangements. The OC’s systems for financial control were robust.
Traffic management across the network improved further on the already high standards. There was excellent performance by the OCs in reducing delays and minimising the impact of roadworks, with 99.3% of the network being available to road users throughout the year.
The OCs reported strong performance in carrying out safety and detailed inspections on time. The OCs are now fully utilising the routine maintenance management system (RMMS), following resolution of issues identified in 2007/08, although there is room for improvement by Amey in SW in accurately recording inspection data.
BEAR in NE and SE performed well in repairing Category 1 defects on time, whilst there is potential for improvement by Scotland TranServ and Amey.
Cyclic and reactive maintenance was generally performed well by BEAR in NE and Amey in SW, with scope for improvement by the other two OCs. Grass cutting by all OCs generally progressed well, particularly in NE and SW, although early season work was slow.
The OCs completed their programmes of structures inspections on time and performed well in carrying out their cyclic and structural maintenance of structures.
Amey in SW successfully delivered its programme of statements of intent (SOI). Improvement is required by the other
OCs in managing their respective
SOI programmes.
All OCs continued to develop sustainable initiatives and working practices during the year, including trialling the carbon calculator developed by Halcrow for Transport Scotland.
The standard of workmanship by the OCs, their sub-contractors and works contractors was generally good. Operations and works contracts were in general well supervised by the OCs. The tendering process for works contracts was managed well.
The OCs’ performance in delivering their winter service was generally good. The winter period was the coldest it had been since 2000/01, although there were fewer road closures due to winter weather than in previous years.
Emergencies were responded to very effectively by all OCs. BEAR in SE and Amey in SW dealt well with landslips/embankment collapses and a major diesel spill respectively.
The OCs continued to operate their quality and environmental management systems successfully, demonstrating continual improvement. Health and safety systems run by all the OCs continued to meet the requirements of the contract, with the OCs showing a highly responsible attitude to health and safety.
BEAR in NE and Scotland TranServ in NW delivered excellent performance in resolving issues promptly as they arose, with no remedial notices being issued.
In SE, BEAR was slower in closing out issues, with one remedial notice issued and closed out quickly.
Amey in SW delivered fair performance in resolving issues. One remedial notice was issued, fewer than the previous year, and remains open.
