Strictly Highways 2022

#strictlyhighways was a great opportunity for the local roads sector to get together this week in Blackpool.?It brought together policy holders, clients and supply chain all under the grand roof of the Winter Gardens Empress Ballroom.

Firstly, you could see what impact Covid has had on us all with regards to the inability to meet in person.? Even though Covid is still present and will be for the foreseeable future the vibe during the networking event drew parallel with the pre-Covid events.? It was a pleasure to see some familiar faces and some new ones and to check whether Teams/Zoom attire made it outside of the ‘home’ offices.? This was a super time to generally catch up with some good stories and also some not so pleasant ones as over 2 years had meant a lot has happened.? It also enabled us to talk ‘shop’ which as an industry we do well however we sometimes don’t implement these discussions to the full potential.

?This therefore led nicely onto the 4 themes of this year’s event.? #Innovation, #Skills, #NetZero and #Collaboration.? As stated, as an industry we all understand these areas well and can talk about them from a wide variety of perspectives but applying them is where we sometimes struggle. This was evident throughout the presentations where there was knowledge, support, opportunities, passion and at times frustration all on show. We know that we have many challenges that require solutions to be sought to enable us to overcome them and getting all the relevant organisations together to work in true collaboration. Each one of those organisations brings something to the table whether it be direction, funding, governance, professional skills, products or delivery but fundamentally we must do it together.

?The innovation was clear to see on show as I was fortunate to spend some time with the suppliers at the event who showcased what the private sector offers but get frustrated with how at times, we are a risk-averse industry always seeking data to support the alternative solution when we know that in reality they will work. Speaking with those from the local authorities they are just as frustrated, so we need to work out how to speed this process up and mitigate some of the risks and concerns in these areas of opportunities.

Innovation is a key element to supporting the #sustainability agenda but is not the only one. We know what benefits the likes of warm asphalt can give us with regards to a direct reduction of carbon emissions, but we also need to look at how we can improve the way we work specifically in efficiencies in the way we design, plan and deliver solutions on our networks. Again, as a group through #collaboration we should be able to deliver feasible solutions using digital tools, time management, and hybrid working. More importantly it showed what an essential service we provide to the customers and how they fundamentally use the assets we look after.

?We spoke about skills and the problem that the industry has in trying to develop and retain our existing staff but also how to attract the next generation and what age we should start working with them. This problem is exacerbated when it comes to the public sector trying to compete with the private sector, however each has their ‘pros and cons’ so we need to be able to complement each other. Having worked on both sides I can see the opportunities that exist, and this was definitely shown during the presentation by Bethany Holroyd CMIOSH of her own experiences which resonated with myself and many others in the room.

So, in summary of the context of the event I think it is an exciting time to be in our industry, yes, we certainly have some big challenges, and these four themes captured a lot of them. But where challenges exist so do opportunities and to me that’s the great bit and why I have enjoyed working in the industry for 25 years.

The second evening was another great opportunity to get together and catch up and was grateful to co-host a table with Anthony Kirby on behalf of #localgovernment at WSP in the UK . Never did I think I would be involved in a random conversation with two other guests where they had stayed in the identical room at a hotel in Scotland 4 years apart (they had pictures to prove it).

The awards evening was a great opportunity to recognise those who have dedicated and delivered services to the industry as well as remember those that are no longer with us. I would however like to see some additional categories in next year’s awards specifically around some of the themes of this year’s conference and ones that look at apprentices, graduates and early career professionals. As the evening went so did the conversations on the conference structure and content which showed its value based on how many were present for the whole duration.

I would personally like to give thanks to all at Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) for organising and running the event, all the supply chain for the support of the event, WSP in the UK for enabling me to attend with my colleagues Matthew Lugg OBE , Anthony Kirby and Bethany Holroyd CMIOSH .

Finally, I would like to say thanks to all those that spared their time to chat with me, it was good to be able to do it face to face. Roll on to Strictly Highways 2023.