The IHT Award for Effective Partnerships

Sponsored by Mouchel Parkman (insert logo)

This award recognises the achievements of effective partnership relationships in the development and/or delivery of transport solutions. Many achievements in the transport sector are the product of well-tried and trusted arrangements. This award seeks to identify the added value that can result from working in partnership.

Criteria for the award were:

• Planning and shared goals (robustness of research and consultation)
• Implementation (management, operation, communications)
• Performance measures/internal & external feedback
• Benefits for the partners
• Benefit to the user/wider community
• Best value and cost-benefit

Short listed candidates

North Lincolnshire Council Clugston Construction - Pell Frischmann – Highways Alliance Partnership

Introduction

North Lincolnshire Council’s Highways and Transport department has recently established a strategic partnership to procure and deliver highway related projects over the next five years. The focus of this report is to identify the added value that can result from working in partnership. However, in the first instance, it is necessary to understand the partnership background by outlining the profile of North Lincolnshire and introducing the companies which make up the Highways Alliance partnership.

Size and population of North Lincolnshire

North Lincolnshire is situated along the Humber estuary on the East Coast of England. The area has a population of approximately 153,000 and covers 85,000 acres (210,035 acres). It is a predominately rural area with one major centre of population.

Transportation and Industry Overview

North Lincolnshire has excellent access by road and rail and has sea and air connections to the rest of Europe. The workforce in North Lincolnshire is in excess of 72,000, with over 40% of the employees in the Scunthorpe travel-to-work area employed in the manufacturing and distribution, hotel and restaurant industries.

North Lincolnshire Council / Customers

The Audit Commission’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment has rated North Lincolnshire Council as a good council. It has a customer driven culture and is acknowledged as leader in the field of procurement. Highways and Transport’s key responsibilities are to reduce congestion, increase road safety, improve public transport and accessibility, and improve the economy. Therefore, our target customers / clients range from multi-million pound industries like Corus (steel industry) to an individual using a pedestrian crossing. Furthermore, as a public authority, we have a wider duty to all our citizens to maintain our assets effectively and provide value for money in everything we do.

North Lincolnshire Council’s Highways and Transport Service

Highways and Transport is one of the Council’s 13 service areas and it is responsible for highway maintenance, major engineering projects, project design, road safety, passenger transport (including Social Services and Education transport), transportation policy, and network management. The scope of this submission principally encompasses the service relating to the design and build of highways schemes, and also includes some consultation and feasibility studies regarding transportation policy.

Drivers for Change

Prior to the partnering arrangements, North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) engaged a wide range of construction contractors to deliver highway schemes. Whilst this ‘traditional’ method of procurement offered some advantages, it was recognised that there were significant weaknesses with the approach. The approach fostered a short-term culture and adversarial relationship(s), which resulted in increased bureaucracy, longer project runs, quality issues, litigation and a lower return on investment. In order to counter these issues, and incorporate the principles of ‘Constructing the Team’, ‘Rethinking Construction’ and ‘Accelerating Change’, Highways and Transport set up a long term partnering arrangement. Following a rigorous procurement process involving over 40 applicants, Clugston Construction (a locally based company) bidding with Pell Frischmann was offered a five year partnership contract, with an option to extend for a further five years. The services of Pell Frischmann allowed the partnership to expand their consultancy and design capacity.

Clugston Construction - The Clugston group of companies is a privately owned group of businesses founded in Scunthorpe in 1937. Clugston are a well-established organisation with a leading reputation in construction, facilities management, property development and distribution. Group turnover in 2005 was circa £150 million. The company employs over 600 people, with the majority residing within North Lincolnshire.

Pell Frischmann - Are consulting engineers. The firm has grown to offer engineering services in all areas of construction including buildings, transportation, water, power and telecommunications. Over the last 75 years they have been associated with many landmark projects all over the world, and are known for Excellence Through Innovation.

The Highways Alliance

Together, North Lincolnshire Council, Clugston Construction (CC) and Pell Frischmann (PF) are the Highways Alliance. The contract confirming the project partnering arrangements was signed early in 2005 to deliver projects over the next five years. It is envisaged that they will deliver in excess of 250 schemes with the total value exceeding 15/20 million within the boundaries of North Lincolnshire.

The Format of this Report

The following now addresses each of the six award criteria in separate sections. Each section is split into two key parts: The first part provides a narrative description explaining what work/initiative the Highways Alliance has undertaken to meet the award criterion; and the second part (in the blue boxes) provides actual examples identifying value which has been added resulting from partnership working.

Criterion 1 - Planning and Shared Goals (robustness of research and consultation)

Introduction

A structured, planned and flexible approach to service delivery is essential for the effective delivery of highways schemes. This section looks at the defined goals set by the Highways Alliance, the planning frameworks used to achieve the goals and the mechanisms implemented to research and consult on future goals.

Shared Goals

The Highways Alliance was driven by the Rethinking Construction key performance indicators (KPIs) – i.e. to: a) reduce capital costs, b) reduce construction times, c) increase predictability, d) reduce defects, e) reduce accidents, f) increase productivity and g) increase turnover and profits. These generic goals are also supported by the requirements of the 1999 Local Government Act to implement the ‘most economically advantageous tendering’ processes (MEAT) which helps achieve outcomes like improved quality, increased customer satisfaction and better value for money.

Planning

The Highways Alliance requires planning to take place at three distinct levels in order to provide effective service delivery. These are:

Strategy Planning: Is undertaken by the Alliance Board, which includes senior management representatives from each organisation. The Board’s role is to provide strategic direction and leadership for Highways Alliance.

Business Planning: Is undertaken by the Core Group which has key representatives from each partnering organisation. The Core Group takes responsibility for coordinating Highway Alliance key activities and ensuring that value for money is achieved. In addition, selective members from the group also chair programming meetings and hence are able to make longer-term decision regarding the overall programme.

Operational Planning: Centres around individual (or several) of schemes. This flexible approach allows the project engineers to develop the most suitable and effective methods for scheme completion. In addition, because of the operational planning, a great deal of attention is paid to issues such as project duration etc.

How are Goals Researched / How do we consult?

The Highways Alliance goals are encompassed in four key documents

1. The Project Partnering Agreement – (agreement to work in mutual cooperation to fulfil their agreed roles)
2. The Terms of Reference of the Alliance Board - (strategic planning),
3. The Terms of Reference of the Core Group - (business planning) and
4. North Lincolnshire Highways Alliance Charter - (operational).

Originally, the Highway Alliance’s goals were researched during a 1-day workshop involving the Alliance partners, taking into account national policy, industry best practice and each organisation’s priorities. The partners formally consult on these charters and terms of reference annually. However, in the interim, the Board and Core Group review and debate these documents periodically to test their continued effectiveness.

Actual examples showing how value has been added from this aspect of partnership working?

The partnership approach outlined in this section has added value to Highways operation in a number of ways. The most significant of these include:

• A proactive culture has been fostered which has encouraged trust and the commitment to achieve shared responsibilities/goals. This newfound partnership approach based has resulted in, for example, a reduction in traditional bureaucracy (i.e. clerk of works and ‘trivial’ variation orders). Consequently, employees have now been empowered to use their initiative to solve problems and, therefore, optimise scheme construction (examples of this practice are documented in project closedown documentation)
• The Council now has access to over 150 years of commercial experience throughout each discrete planning level. The combination of public / private sector working has provided a wealth of best practice – for example the Highways and Transport department is now able to adapt its planned programme to deal with external projects as they arise, and normally complete them before the specified deadline.
• The planning forums, especially at the operational level, allows for open debate during scheme design and construction. This structure allows value engineering to be considered at all stages of the process. Traditionally, value engineering was never discussed during construction, because the contractors would build strictly according to design.
• Because the Alliance Board and Core Group have defined goals, terms of reference and regular minuted meetings, the Council can demonstrate clear leadership, proper use of resources and an auditable process showing the key decisions made.
• Alliance partners play an important part regarding the development of transport planning by contributing to the Local Transport Plan (The LTP details how NLC will spend circa £20m capital funding over the next 5 years). Involvement at the early stage allows the partners to identify problems, offer solutions and create more cohesive planning.
• All partners are ISO 9001 accredited which ensures that through consultations are undertaken regarding highways works. This also provides the reassurance that partners are operating under a continuous improvement framework.

Criterion 2 - Implementation (Management, Operational, Communication)

It was generally recognised that organisations operate under the traditional client/contractor relationship. However, the culture which this relationship engenders is not conducive for partnership working. In view of this, North Lincolnshire Council set out to choose a company which had a proven track record of partnership working, so their experience could be used to develop a new ‘alliance culture’. Hence, following the appointment of CC and PF, a number of initiatives were undertaken to achieve this outcome. The following shows how communication initiatives, management leadership and operation involvement has been used to develop the right culture to ensure the Highway Alliance’s success during the implementation period.

Leadership – To ensure that the Alliance’s leadership is balanced, it has been agreed that the Board meeting will be held at each organisation on a rotating basis. Furthermore, the meetings will be chaired by the host organisation’s senior manager. This ensures that the culture is driven by top management and is not biased towards one organisation’s philosophy.

Shared Depot and Building – The biggest (physical) commitment to the partnership has been to accommodate key staff from Clugston Construction and NLC into a single office and depot. This ensures that staff integrated more easily and therefore work more effectively on projects and are readily accessible.

Logo – A Highways Alliance logo has been designed based on NLC, CC and PF existing logos. This ‘branding’ is used where possible to create a sense of common purpose and professionalism and increase public awareness of the Alliance.

Programming – Whilst, in total, there are four separate programmes (capital, revenue, utilities and other), a further programming role exists to ensure these programmes are consolidated on a master programme. This is then made available for all partners on the IT network.

Extranet – An extranet exists for all Alliance members. This allows (the official/latest) minutes, project briefs, designs and scheme briefs etc to be available regardless of location.

Suggestion Scheme – is run quarterly and is sponsored by Clugston Construction who pay a cash prize to the best suggestion(s). The suggestion scheme’s aim is to harness the ideas from all three organizations and to try and to get people to work together on problem identification and related solutions.

Social Events – are arranged periodically as part of the team building process. Social events to-date have included a cricket match, golf tournament and a football match with Looked After Children.

Training – Agreement has been sought for staff members to receive train and development from any one of the three organizations, if it is deemed appropriate. Clearly the range and diversity of development opportunities for employees is significantly greater now there are three organizations available.

Newsletters and Focus Groups - Are primarily aimed at non-alliance members to ensure they are kept informed of key activities. The Newsletter, The Alliance Times, is published biannually and includes general information on issues such as major schemes completed and suggestion scheme winners. The focus groups are informal group discussions based on particular issues that colleagues raise.

Community Initiatives – In addition to highways and transport Issues, the Highways and Transport department has a wider obligation to meet the corporate commitments of the council and the community. The Alliance partners have contributed to this by facilitating the employment of two ‘looked after children’ (children in the care of NLC), part-sponsored a looked after children football match and have engaged with the Council to work outside the traditional construction area to support community initiatives.

Supply Chain – It is recognized that the partnership philosophy needs to extend beyond the first tier relationships (NLC, CC and PF). Therefore the Alliance has started the process of engaging with second tier suppliers, with a view to encompassing them within the partnering arrangements.

With any new organisation it crucial to get the culture right otherwise the business will not succeed. The above shows how the Highways Alliance has used initiatives/strategies to create a culture which empowers individuals, creates a team working environment, supports open communication and embraces wider council objectives. Whilst many of these benefits are intangible (increased morale/motivation), it is widely recognised that organisations will only thrive if the correct culture exists.

Actual examples showing how value has been added from this aspect of partnership working?

The partnership approach outlined in this section has added value to Highways operation in a number of ways. The most significant of these include:

• Alliance workers are more motivated because they are aware of the need for the Highways Alliance and the benefits of partnership working.
• Employees now have more development opportunities increasing the Alliance’s skill base (and the individual’s morale).
• A shared depot has reduced costs, improved working conditions, improved access and improved communication.
• The employment of two looked after children has provided immeasurable benefits for the individuals.
• The reassuring culture means that CC/PF do not feel threatened about extended negations with the supply chain. This will bring about improvements in consistence, reliability, price and quality.
• The employment of local people and local contractors, the increasing use of recycling materials, shorter journeys for deliveries to work all contribute to the social, economic and environmental ‘triple bottom line’ of sustainability of North Lincolnshire.
• Sickness levels are monitored across the partner organisations, so appropriate comparisons can be made and action taken accordingly to reduce any high levels of sickness.

Criterion 3 - Performance measures / Internal external feedback

Introduction

The Highways Alliance has been built on a performance management foundation to ensure the community receives value for money. This section identifies the performance management framework adopted by the partnership and identifies the initiatives used to increase efficiency and quality.

Bonus Payments – If a scheme is completed below the target price, a bonus payment of 25% of the saving is paid directly to the contractor and a further 25% is set aside to fund a second bonus if the Partnership achieves a number of Performance Indicator (PI). The remaining 50% saving is recycled to deliver other highways schemes.

Highways Alliance Performance Indicators – Performance Indicators (PI) are used as the principal mechanism for measuring and monitoring the Alliance’s performance. The performance indicators were jointly agreed by the partners during a specific workshop. Although there was a need to ensure the PIs underpinned relevant parts of the Highways and Transports overarching aims, it was also important to consider issues that were important to all Alliance Partners. In summary, a balance suit of PIs were agreed which covered a diverse range of issues such as staff productivity, construction quality, road accident reduction and customer service. Within the suite of indicators are four best value performance indicators (BVPIs), which ultimately contribute to the Councils Comprehensive Performance Assessment rating. Hence, by focusing on the key PIs the Alliance is making a direct contribution to the overall success of the Council, the community, the regional and the national highway and transport agendas. PI definitions are reviewed annually and challenging targets are set accordingly

ISO Awards - Each of the three partners are accredited with ISO 9001 (Quality Assurance) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) systems. As part of the Alliances commitment to environmental factors, considerable work has been undertaken to minimize, reuse and recycle construction materials. The ISO 9001scheme ensures that the Alliance receives external feedback regarding scheme consultation and construction. All partner organisations’ accreditations are reviewed, at least, annually. Therefore, external feedback on quality and environmental issues are taken into consideration and incorporated into action plans to ensure continuous improvement.

Transparency and Accountability – The Highways Alliance has undertaken a number of initiatives to ensure the operation accords with the open governance ethos. The three key initiatives are a) the publication of the Highways Alliance Report 2004/05, b) an internal Council audit of the Alliance (undertaken by auditors totally independent to the Highways Alliance activities) and c) the publication of a Cabinet paper and Cabinet presentation supporting the Highways Alliances report. It should be notes that partnership embraces the philosophy of open governance and open book accounting.

Suggestion Scheme – The partners sponsor a Highways and Transport suggestion scheme. This harnesses the collective creativity of the three partner organizations (up to 7000 employees) to think of solutions to highways and transport related issues. Since the scheme started nearly 200 suggestions have been made and, where practicable, these are allocated to operational areas for implementation. The authors of the best suggestion(s) receive a cash prize.

Media Coverage - A number of Highways Alliance activities have received prominent media attention. A front-page (and inside cover) article on the Christmas road safety suggestion scheme was published in the Scunthorpe Telegraph on 29^th November 2005.

In Summary, as the public body, the Council has a duty to demonstrate how well it is performing and whether its resources are being utilised effectively. The above show the mechanisms employed to monitor and measure performance.

Actual examples showing how value has been added from this aspect of partnership working?

The partnership approach outlined in this section has added value to Highways operation in a number of ways. The most significant of these include:

• The partners share in the benefits of successful project completion. The last bonus payments equalled £14,100. From this £4,700 was paid for successfully achieving a number of PI and £9,400 was paid for the schemes which were completed under the agreed target price. It should be noted that nearly £1,000 was also deducted for a scheme which exceeded its targets cost. This process of rewards and challenging targets motivates and encourages partner organisations’ to achieve objectives.
• Challenging performance targets ensures that all partners work together to achieve the desired outcome (for example the quality KPI target is set at zero defects).
• The ISO 14001 accreditation ensures that value is added. An example would include using recycled materials taken from one scheme (i.e. topsoil/aggregate) and used on another. Under traditional contracting this is very difficult to implement because of the number of contractors involved in different projects. This benefits the environment, the community and the Alliance.
• ISO 9001 – The Alliance is starting to consolidate the core processes from their quality manuals. This partnership approach will ensure that organisations share best practice and hence continually improve their QA systems.
• The suggestion scheme offers an opportunity for everybody to participate in highways and transport issues. The partnership makes this possible by sponsoring the cash prizes for the scheme winners (a Council will not normally permit its funds to be used for cash prizes).
• Transparency and Accountability – The partnership demands open book accounting and complete openness regarding the operation. Under traditional procurement it is unlikely that the contractor would agree to this level of scrutiny. Therefore the community can be reassured, because of open governance, that it is receiving value for money.

Criterion 4 - Benefits for the partners

Introduction

Clearly, in a true partnership, all partners must benefit from the relationship. The following outlines the benefits which our partners receive from the Highways Alliance.

Shared ownership and Responsibility - The Alliance recognises that it is difficult to estimate targets costs on large and/or complex schemes. Although the target price is set and agreed collectively, the partnership shares the risk for any costs which exceed the target price by a maximum of 10%. However, within this 10 % shared risk zone, the partner’s overheads and profit will be reduced on a linearly basis. Therefore, this shared risk approach helps ensure that realistic target prices are agreed and that all organizations share a proportionate quantity of the ‘pain’ and ‘gain’.

Planning and Programming – All Alliance partners play a significant role regarding the programming process. This enables them to contribute to the viability of the programmed ensuring that resources are optimally deployed. This helps create employment stability and allows a skilled workforce to be retained. Furthermore Alliance partners are involved in important consultation exercises so they can contribute to the future shape and direction of the Highways and Transport network.

Management Involvement in Democracy - Managers from the construction side of the Alliance have attended council focus groups, cabinet member briefing sessions and cabinet meetings, which has enhance their knowledge and understanding of how public authorities work. This helps the construction partners understand the key community issues, local government culture (which is different from the Alliance culture), prevailing opportunities/trends, and how the Alliance contributes to the community of North Lincolnshire

Actual examples showing how value has been added from this aspect of partnership working?

The partnership approach outlined in this section has added value to Highways operation in a number of ways. The following highlights some key examples:

• The most significant benefit has been the creation of a long-term relationship (5 years with an option to extend for a further 5 years). This has ensured a constant flow of work which has created a stable and well-developed workforce.
• Furthermore, the long term approach ensures that a) quality standards are maximised (only 4 defects identified to date), and any defects are corrected within short time scales, b) staff share resources and work as a team (e.g. shared offices) and c) target costs are kept to a minimum through joint working and constant reference to value engineering and innovation which has the potential to reduce costs at all stages during the project (to date over £30,000 has been saved by value engineering – see paged 11 of the attached document).
• In addition, other intangible benefits have been developed through the Highways Alliance which, although do not make a direct financial saving, have contributed to the partnership’s success

Criterion 5 - Benefits for the Community

The ultimate priority of the Alliance is to serve the needs of the community. The following provides practical examples of how the Highways Alliance achieves this objective.

Programme of Works - The majority of schemes have been finished a head of schedule. To date, the current programme shows net project under run of minus 25 days. This is clearly helps improve traffic flows, reduces disruption, and improves customer satisfaction. The percentage of satisfied customers during 2004/05 equalled 95 percent. In addition works can now be rotated to ensure that resources are deployed to priority schemes thus reducing peak time congestion.

Saving Reinvested – As discussed earlier, any savings that are made on completed schemes are divided between the partners. The proportion received by NLC is ring-fenced by the Council so Highways and Transport can reinvested it back into the network.

Looked after Children – The responsibility which the partnership has undertake regarding their commitment to looked after children is making a significant contribution to the ‘life chances’ of a number of young people. By giving these children meaningful employment, training and development, the Alliance feels that they are providing them with the opportunity to become a valuable asset to the community. These types of initiatives help prevent disadvantaged children falling into the cycle of unemployment, crime and anti-social behaviour.

Suggestion Scheme Outcome - In total over 200 suggestions have been made. Indeed the most recent road safety suggestion scheme received over 100 ideas. This has a tangible benefit to the community, for example, as a result of the suggestion scheme, improvements have been made across the highways and transport network.

Actual examples showing how value has been added from this aspect of partnership working?

The partnership approach outlined in this section has added value to Highways operation in a number of ways. The most significant of these include:

• The suggestion scheme is sponsored through the CC and PF. Without the partnership it would not be possible to fund a suggestions scheme which rewarded the winning entries. This is because NLC Audit Team have advised that it would not accord with financial regulations (however, it is permissible if funded externally)
• The partnership allows the programme of works to be altered because it is managing all the schemes. Therefore this creates a synergy whereby a larger pool of resources can be deployed to priority areas. This would not be possible under traditional arrangements where contractors would work on discrete schemes with reduced economies of scale.
• Without the partnership, savings would be not be realised as the full cost would be paid directly to the contractor. Hence the partnership approach is one of the key mechanism, for a Local Authority, which allows savings to be made.
• Without the partnership it would not be possible to employ two Looked After Children (LAC). This is because all council recruitment is subject to competitive selection. Hence the posts would have to be advertised and, realistically, the LAC may not have been selected. However, CC was keen to employee the individuals directly and invoice NLC for their salary costs.
• The employment of local people and local contractors, combined with the increasing re-use and recycling of materials and shorter journeys for deliveries to work all contribute to the social, economic and environmental ‘triple bottom line’ of sustainability for North Lincolnshire.
• Anecdotally, it is believed that local people will have more pride in the work which they undertake within their local community.

Criterion 6 - Best Value and Cost Benefits

One of the principle acid tests regarding the success of the partnership is whether the Highways Alliance is providing the best value for money invested. The following five examples provide quantifiable evidence to support the cost benefits associated with partnership.

Example 1 – Direct Comparison with Previous Procurement Methods

From the inception of the Alliance to 30 December 2005 total expenditure equalled £5.15m. At the year-end (2004/05) seven schemes had been officially closed down with a total scheme cost of £1,208,919 (including £14,091 in bonuses and –£993 in deductions). Under traditional target pricing, experience suggests that contractors would have inflated their prices by 10 percent. This means that the seven schemes closed would have incurred an additional £85,771 if they had been procured using traditional arrangements. This is considered a conservative estimate as it assumes the contractor, under the traditional arrangements, would have met all contract variations. Using the 10 percent estimate calculation, an additional £279,689 would have been incurred on incomplete schemes up to 30 December 2005. This would bring the overall additional cost to £365,460.

(i) Savings on Schemes Closed Down

Savings £85,771

Capital Savings projected on remaining jobs to close

£3,942,179 x 7.0948% £279,689

Total Savings (perceived) £365,460

Example 2 – An independent Quantity Surveyor Comparison

The aim of this comparison was to provide an accurate method of comparing the target price rates. To achieve this, an independent quantity surveyor was commissioned to produce a competitive price for a specific Alliance scheme (Ramsden Road on the Normanby Park Industrial Estate). The quantity surveyor based the target price on rates from a similar highway scheme which had been won in competitive tender. The final calculated target price indicated that the Clugston’s target price was £23,058 or 3.25% below that calculated by the quantity surveyor.

Example 3 - Comparison of an Alliance Scheme with Another Clugston’s Scheme Won in Competition with a Different Client

This project used the target price rates for Ramsden Road again and compared them with rates from another Clugston Construction scheme outside of the Alliance. This comparison scheme had been won in an open competitive tendering process earlier in 2005. The comparison of the bill of rates showed that most of the Alliance rates, but not all, were lower than the non Alliance scheme, varying between 1% and 38%. The nominal average of the order of 9% lower.

Exercise 4 – Value Engineering Examples

Another way to measure performance was to consider savings made by working on multi projects. In effect this means taking advantages of innovation from one job to the next rather than losing that innovation as the contractor moves on to another client. Over £30,000 has currently been saved through value engineering.

Example 5 – Other Financial Savings

Prior to the commencement of the Highways Alliance, an organisational restructure took place to ensure that the council’s staffing resources would integrate effectively into the Alliance structure, without a duplication of job functions. This restructure resulted in the saving of £131k from the Highways and Transport staffing budget.

Conclusion

Although the partnership has only been in effect for a short period of time, the partners have already capitalised on the advantages of joint working (planning and shared goals) and established significant gains which would not have otherwise been realised under the traditional contractor / client relationship. The partnership has flourished through close collaboration which has established the positive culture needed to achieve joint objectives (implementation – management, operational, communication). In addition, a robust performance management framework ensures that our performance is quantifiable and transparent (performance measures / internal external feedback). In summary, we feel that by working in partnership, significant value (best value and cost benefits) has been added to the service received by the highways users of North Lincolnshire (benefits for the community).

Ringway – Rotherham Streetpride

Planning and Shared Goals (robustness of research and consultation)

We are proud of our Partnership within Streetpride. Proud because, in just eighteen months, we have developed an integrated service delivery team, all members of which have signed up to our Mission “to work with the community to maintain and improve the street scene to a standard that will promote civic pride and community responsibility”.

We enjoy working together. It was evident from the tender documents that Rotherham MBC’s vision for the contract and the characteristics they were looking for in a partner were aligned with Ringway’s values and way of working. Ringway share the Streetpride ethos that pride in serving the public is possible only if staff are committed and enthusiastic.

In 2002, as part of its modernisation agenda, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council decided to re-organise the way it procured construction and maintenance works in line with Best Value and the "Rethinking Construction" agenda. The Egan Report and its associated research, had already demonstrated the benefits which could be achieved from true partnership working. This was confirmed by reviewing the procurement arrangements of high performing Councils identified by the Audit Commission’s Best Value Inspections published on the internet.

The Council wanted to place particular emphasis on the close co-operation of the whole project team and the development of medium to long-term strategic partnerships between the Council and its contractors. These and other initiatives were designed to generate significant improvements in performance in a number of areas, but particularly in cost, time and quality. The idea was to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of construction works across the whole Council. From the Council's perspective, the objective of the partnerships was to achieve continuous improvement in performance, through a number of initiatives, detailed in Appendix A.

While Rotherham were changing their ethos into a partnering authority and preparing tender documents in line with this, Ringway had declared that conflict would play no part in the business and every contract entered into would be based on partnering principles. To demonstrate this, the company introduced “The Way Forward”, based on the European Foundation for Quality Management’s Excellence Model, to bring continuous and sustainable improvement to meet the expectations of existing and potential Clients.

Following the award of contract, Partnership Workshops were held to create a framework for partnering, sign up to a Partnership Charter and set objectives. A Steering Group was established to review progress and set tangible objectives to ensure effective partnering. Details are enclosed at Appendix B.

Implementation (management, operations, communication)

The Partnership is managed by a small Board whose members represent the elements of the team and the service to be delivered, i.e.:

• Head of Streetpride
• Three departmental heads
• MD Ringway Highway Services Northern Ltd.
• Operations Manager of Ringway Highway Services Northern Ltd.

The role of the Board is to set policy and steer the Partnership, overviewing its performance to ensure optimum service delivery.

Facilitated Partnership workshops were held for all employees with each partner presenting their goals and where six monthly goals were determined and agreed. A joint communication plan has been developed giving instruction on who communicates with whom, both internally and externally. The Ringway communication cascade includes Rotherham personnel. In-house magazines (Rotherham’s EDLineS and Ringway’s Insight) containing regular joint partnership articles are distributed to each partner.

We have undertaken and will continue to identify joint training:

o Eyes and Ears training with South Yorkshire Police (crime and disorder, good neighbour issues)

o Managing Safety (two day residential course run by Ringway)

o How the Council works (run by Rotherham MBC)

Ringway’s Safety Manager and Rotherham’s Safety Officer are working together to develop a joint Health and Safety Policy with joint Risk Assessments and Safe Systems of Work. We are also working together to develop a joint Quality Management System.

All works are planned jointly and joint works programmes agreed. Rotherham MBC had identified a need to improve the certainty of delivery and timing of works. The Partnership works programme now identifies timelines for public consultation and design of works, as well as milestones for approvals of both financial and technical issues. Construction phase timescales are now much more robust, because the whole team is involved in and owns the whole programme.

One recent initiative has been a “job swap” between Rotherham’s Scheme Delivery Contracts Manager and a senior Ringway Contracts Manager, initially for six months, to gain a reciprocal experience of managing construction in each partner’s environment.

Based on the "job swap" experience, both of these senior managers have been tasked with producing a joint, comprehensive report containing a full business analysis and recommendations for change. The recommendations will specifically include options for system change, procedural change and organisational change in order that both partners will work even closer together with consequent improved service delivery.

Performance Measures / internal and external feedback

A suite of Key Performance Indicators has been jointly developed for the Partnership which was finalised in November 2004 (see Appendix C), based on Construction Best Practice Programme objectives.

The KPIs cover both civil engineering and grounds maintenance and monitor the following areas of performance: Quality, cost, time, client satisfaction, health and safety, staff training and environmental impact.

The Council’s CPA result has moved from “weak” (1 star) category to 3 stars in successive assessments and is judged as “improving strongly”. It was also complimented on its effective partnerships, with excellent prospects for improvement.

In delivering its verdicts, the Audit Commission cited Rotherham as a specific case study and said in its final report:

“Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has delivered significant improvements to services for the public in line with its priorities. The Council is working effectively in partnership with other agencies to support local communities and businesses and has achieved Beacon Status for supporting new businesses”

The partnership with Ringway is part of this strategic approach.

One hundred customers are surveyed every month and asked two questions:

• How was your query dealt with?
• How was your issue resolved on site?

The results of these surveys are analysed by a panel including staff and customers (i.e. members of the public) so that service improvements can be made. It is pleasing to note that the latest results indicate that 99% of our customers are satisfied with how their query was dealt with and 92% are satisfied with how their issue was resolved on site.

In 2005, the partnership was recognised by the Considerate Constructors scheme, achieving a bronze award for work on a deprived housing estate in Rotherham where close liaison and consultation with the tenants was needed to minimise disruption. The Considerate Constructor’s Site Monitor described this in his report as “excellent neighbour communication via Tenant Liaison Officer and weekly tenant surgeries.”

Streetpride has received external recognition through:

• Local Government Chronicle – National Winners of the 2005 Environment Award
• Municipal Journal – Commended in the 2004 Street scene Achievement Award
• Royal Horticultural Society – Silver award for Tatton Park floral displays

Benefits to Partners

Both partners benefit from having a good, stable relationship with improved financial management and certainty of costs. Rotherham MBC no longer has to undertake multiple tendering exercises with a marked reduction in bureaucracy. Ringway has security of tenure.

Partnering, coupled with Early Contractor involvement, is bringing benefits to the partnership through:

• Developing close working relationships
• A strengthened partnership between budget holders and construction partners
• Providing advice on alternative construction methods, materials and sharing of specialist knowledge

• Predictable construction times
• Predictability of out turn project costs due to early review of design and early construction estimates.

The emergence of new funding streams, such as Housing Market Renewal funding (HMR) has offset workload reductions caused by the significant downturn in LTP funding. Rotherham’s Housing Service has engaged Streetpride to design and construct schemes in line with the allocated funding. Due to our shortened, streamlined delivery and substantially reduced lead in times, we are able to provide confidence of delivery to high quality and within the timescales and costing, to enable the Housing Service to apply for further funding. We operate on an open book basis where the Housing Service, as budget holder, has direct access to accounts on a weekly basis. Whole team working, using the same designers and constructors on each project builds up trust.

Rotherham MBC has an Asphalt Finishing Team whose intermittent workload has an adverse impact on their ability to deliver high quality on a consistent basis. Through the Streetpride Construction Contract, Ringway has greater volumes of work requiring machine laid surfacing, managed by a highly experienced Works Supervisor. By working in partnership, the Asphalt Finishing Team now reports to the Ringway Supervisor, creating for them a continuous workload programme. This has a dual benefit of improving their output in quality and productivity but also gives Ringway a direct resource for machine surfacing which otherwise would not be able to be provided. The Team is available for both public and private works within Rotherham and elsewhere.

The partnership requires Ringway to subcontract work back to Rotherham’s Schemes Delivery Team (SDT). The scope of the Streetpride Construction Contract has been extended, so that all work comes through that contract irrespective of size of scheme, combining with Ringway’s better ability to programme works and, in so doing, the SDT workload is smoother and its productivity is increased with a consistent standard of delivery. So far, we are combining systems, works programming and management. The next stage is to combine gangs to give one delivery team for all works.

The partnership has access to unrivalled investment in research and development for advanced materials and processes through the Ringway Technical Centre in Warrington, the Eurovia Research Centre in Bordeaux and laboratories across Europe.

Rotherham MBC has willingly assisted Ringway by participating in Reality Checks undertaken by Ringway’s potential Clients as part of tendering processes. Feedback received following these checks has been extremely positive and formed part of Ringway’s successful tender for Solihull MBC term maintenance contract.

Benefit to User / wider community

Rotherham Streetpride is primarily aimed at improving services and engaging the community in their delivery. In delivering this vision, issues of image and branding are key and, chief amongst these, is the simple, easy to remember, golden telephone number which is displayed prominently on street banners, vehicle and literature.

For our customers, this represents a completely seamless service. They literally cannot tell whether Rotherham, Ringway or a mixture of both have constructed any particular works. As far as they are concerned, it is Rotherham Streetpride who is responsible and there is one number to ring if there are any concerns.

All staff within the partnership who have regular contact with customers wear uniforms which display the Streetpride logo to give a clear demonstration of the corporate approach to the Streetpride initiative. All vehicles and plant carry the Streetpride logo and golden telephone number.

Area based teams have been established for service delivery. This ensures that Streetpride staff get to know their area and its residents and the residents get to know our staff, giving increased accountability and ownership.

The partnership has contributed to the delivery of 400 community based schemes under the devolved budget scheme. At a recent Area Assembly meeting, one typical scheme for street scene improvements at Richmond Park Avenue was praised for the standard of work being carried out by Streetpride. The Chair congratulated Streetpride and the Richmond Park Tenants and Residents Association (TARA) for the work achieved in partnership. Councillor Sheila Walker seconded the comments and added “the hard work of Streetpride and Richmond Park TARA shows what can be achieved working in partnership”.

Recycling of excavated materials has been a priority for the partnership and a recycling facility was established in Rotherham to deal with waste materials from all schemes constructed by the partnership. All green waste is recycled. In addition, greater use is being made of recycled products and raw materials in new highway construction.

Due to the number of term contracts held by Ringway across the country, best practice can be shared; one example of this is Gloucestershire County Council’s Recycling Champion visiting Rotherham to lead recycling workshop seminars.

Ringway is developing the first foundation and advanced apprenticeships scheme in the UK in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board for which the framework document is now available. The Ringway Training Department is working with Streetpride and Met-UK College in Rotherham to introduce this training to the partnership.

The two year programme will encompass:

• Level 2 NVQ
• Key skills level 2
• Intermediate Construction award - technical certificate
• Block release at college to gain the required underpinning knowledge (one week in five)
• Mentor on site

The partnership has been recognised by the Business and Education South Yorkshire Work Experience Programme for providing school placements for work experience on its Grounds Maintenance Contract.

Streetpride is part of the Council's Economic and Development (EDS) programme area and each year, the staff of EDS perform a pantomime with all proceeds going to a children's charity. The idea is that staff from a multitude of disciplines get to meet, bond, team build etc and have fun whilst doing some good for the community. Since the inception of the partnership, Ringway has played a full part in the panto with some of the staff performing, some making scenery and by financial sponsorship. Over the last three years, some £20,000 has been raised for disadvantaged children in Rotherham.

Best Value and cost benefit

The contractor selection process relied on detailed written submissions backed up by probing interviews with each contractor. Cost and quality were taken account of in equal measure when developing the scoring system for choosing the Council's preferred partner. The quality criteria included the contractors' approach to partnering, satisfying customers, key performance indicators, engaging with local communities and achieving sustainable construction.

Using the pre-agreed points scoring system backed up by interviews to validate each contractor's submission, the Ringway bid was ranked top in respect of both price and quality.

In addition, by having one contractor for all functions, both partners are expecting the longer term benefits of the partnership to increase over time due to economies of scale, reductions in bureaucracy, the ability to switch resources between functions, and the future potential for integration of services and the creation of area teams.

In conclusion, this unique partnering arrangement with Ringway has ensured that the four 'C's of the Government's Best Value regime (challenge, compare, consult and compete) have all been fully satisfied.

There can be no better testament to the success of the partnership than the comments from the Audit Commission following their most recent inspection when they said:

"The Council achieves good value for money and has reviewed the way it works to improve this further.....The Council has developed major strategic partnerships which are improving access to services for customers and citizens and achieving financial savings."

Conclusion

We believe that this partnership is unique in the UK. Many organisations profess to partner but this IS different. We are already starting to work as one organisation and there are plans in place through the "job swap" initiative to ensure that this is developed further. On the "softer" side, the way that Ringway have been integrated into Council life, as evidenced by their contribution to the panto for example, demonstrates much more than just a partnering approach to a contract.

We are confident that this partnership satisfies all the criteria for the "Effective Partnerships" award and we offer it as an example of best practice.

Winning Entry

IHT Awards 2006

Northamptonshire County Council / Atkins - Northamptonshire Highways Engineering Partnership

‘representing excellence in the environment of transportation’

The Partnership

Northamptonshire is a rapidly expanding county - in fact it is one of the UK’s fastest growing economies. Within 20 years, Northamptonshire is predicted to create 81,000 additional jobs and 99,500 homes. Greater numbers of people and jobs means greater pressure on the county’s infrastructure and, in particular, an already busy transport system.

Rapid expansion brings with it exciting challenges in meeting the needs of existing communities whilst delivering sustainable environmental and economic growth.

Historically, Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) had procured the majority of its highways services through a series of individual contracts. From small specialist works and site-specific schemes to a £5m-a-year term maintenance contract, all of its contracts were let through a competitive tendering process where the lowest priced won. Although these arrangements had provided a good standard of service, improved quality, value and access to additional capacity and skills were needed to meet the rapidly changing needs of the county. The Council identified that these would be most effectively delivered with a single integrated service partner.

The partnering contract, the first of its kind in the UK, was awarded to Atkins in September 2001 following a competitive tendering process.

The process included a thorough assessment of the cultural fit between the organisations to ensure the benefits of a collaborative working relationship would be maximised. The assessment compared the core values of the two organisations and their ability to work together to deliver optimum value and high quality services to all stakeholders and communities in Northamptonshire.

Under the partnership:

§ NCC are responsible for policy, strategy and budgetary control

§ Atkins are responsible for professional and technical services, the design and construction of works and the operational management and maintenance of the highway network

Trust, mutual respect and risk control are placed at the heart of the partnership, reducing duplication of effort and administrative waste and ensuring the team is able to take a long-term holistic approach to delivering best value services. To date the partnership has undertaken over £200m of work ranging from the implementation of Real Time Passenger Information Systems, delivery of the LTP programme and the design and construction of new bypasses, to the provision of routine highway and winter maintenance works.

Flexible, collaborative working and the implementation of innovative ideas and solutions have maximised benefits to people in Northamptonshire, for example, through the introduction of the Street Doctor call centre and significant improvements in local bus services.

Independent reviews of the success of the Partnership

The early success of the partnership was recognised in the Charter Mark Award report received by NCC in 2002:

‘You have strong links with the private sector through your contracting out of services. You can provide many examples of the success of these relationships but most especially the success of the highways partnership with Atkins that has become a national flagship for joint working’

We are extremely proud that the partnership has also been recognised as a beacon of excellence by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister:

‘This ground breaking partnership with Atkins, for the maintenance of highways in the county has delivered additional capacity, flexibility and efficiency gains’

(Delivering Efficiency in Local Services, ODPM, January 2005).

This a real credit to the people who work across the partnership in NCC, Atkins and our supply chain partners and underlines the continuing ability of the partnership to meet the changing needs of the people of Northamptonshire.

Planning and shared goals (robustness of research and consultation)

During the first six months of the partnership, workshops were held and consultation groups formed to establish a joint vision and shared core values as a foundation for a successful partnership. The workshops and groups were attended by key people from across the partnership and the supply chain.

The following partnership Mission Statement was agreed:

‘Working together enthusiastically to manage, maintain and improve the highway network and services in an integrated manner, for the benefit of everyone in Northamptonshire’

The Mission Statement was communicated through team meetings and a joint partnership newsletter. As the partnership has evolved, shared goals have been reviewed within the context of the changing needs of the Council including the Growth Agenda, Local Transport Plan, Local Area Agreement and the broadening objectives of the Sustainable Transport service within NCC.

Following the election of a new Council administration in May 2005, workshops were held to re-examine the purpose and objectives of the partnership. A Sustainable Transport Service Plan was jointly developed covering all of the services provided by the partnership. The Plan sets out the vision of Sustainable Transport to: ‘create and maintain top quality transport systems that are safe, reliable, well-maintained and environmentally friendly, creating and maintaining networks to meet the needs of all those who need to use them, now and in the future’.

The refreshed vision and the goals of Sustainable Transport remain aligned with the vision and original Mission Statement of the partnership agreed in 2001. Details of the Service Plan have been communicated to our people and our supply chain partners through the partnership’s communication strategy and monthly cascade process.

Implementation (management, operation, communications)*

The partnership is driven by a Partnership Strategic Board comprised of the county’s Cabinet Member for Transport together with Directors and senior managers from both organisations. The Board meets quarterly to review the strategic direction of the partnership and monitor the achievement of high level performance outcomes. The Board also focuses on driving continuous improvement and prioritising investment in innovations identified at operational level.

During the second year of the partnership the services were extended to include the highway network in Northampton Borough. These services had previously been delivered by the Borough under an Agency Agreement with NCC. The Board played a pivotal role in negotiating the successful transfer of services including the TUPE transfer of staff from the Borough. Over 400 people are now employed across the partnership in delivering sustainable transport services across the whole of the county.

The partnership’s Senior Management Team meet monthly to review performance against the outcomes set out in the Sustainable Transport Service Plan and ensure the strategic objectives defined by the Board are achieved. Operational Teams led by Budget Holders and Project Managers based in co-located offices and depots across the county are at the heart of the partnership. Joint ownership of service outcomes is driven through implementation of the Sustainable Transport Service Plan which identifies performance targets for each of the teams.

A joint communication strategy has been developed to improve communication with all stakeholders both inside and outside of the partnership. The primary objective of the strategy is to ensure that we listen to and learn from elected members and the communities that they represent. Regular meetings are held with elected members to identify areas for improvement and ensure that the partnership delivers a flexible and responsive service that meets the needs of local people. Teams of Community Engineers have been established to improve links with local people and provide a dedicated point of contact within the partnership.

A Highway Representatives Scheme has also been established to engage with local communities. 160 parishes are now involved in the scheme which includes regular evening meetings and workshops to discuss the issues that are most important to local people. A quarterly newsletter is published to make sure parishes are kept up to date with sustainable transport issues. An annual Highway Representatives Survey is used to identify local perceptions of the quality of service delivery. Each survey is followed by a workshop attended by Highway Representatives to priorities areas for improvement.

A Partnership Open Day is held every summer in our main operational depot in Brixworth. Elected members, Highway Representatives, the public and other stakeholders are able to meet with our staff, ask questions and learn more about how we deliver the services.

Teams across the partnership provide presentational displays of their work and have the opportunity to receive feedback and discuss transport related issues directly with stakeholders.

To further improve stakeholder communication the Street Doctor call centre was introduced in 2005. The call centre allows stakeholders to contact the partnership over the web (24/7) or by telephone, with enquiries, requests for information or reports of highway defects. A Management System is used to forward reports and enquiries to the team who is best placed to provide a response. The system also allows enquiries and responses to be tracked over the web by the original enquirer significantly improving the quality of real-time information provided to stakeholders.