Chris Britton Consultancy Ltd specialises in providing multidisciplinary solutions for highways and infrastructure maintenance management practitioners in both the public and private sectors. Our expertise is based on a unique blend of Highway and Pavement Engineering knowledge with Management and IT systems consultancy skills. We are equally at home, for example, carrying out business systems analysis as providing a design check on a major motorway rehabilitation scheme. Our involvement with projects at a national and international level gives clients the reassurance that our advice is indeed state-of-the art. Our trainers are attuned to the needs of an engineering audience and can provide courses and seminars tailored to your needs. Our Engineers have a high level of IT knowledge and we have advised many clients on the specification and implementation of information systems to improve the efficiency of their business. We do not act as agent for particular software or hardware suppliers, thus maintaining the independence of view expected of us by our clients. We are able to bring an extensive range of skills within our team to bear, and offer support, assistance and solutions in the following areas.

Highway Asset Management
Highways Management
Pavement Engineering
Operations and Management
Information Systems
Data Management
Visual Condition Survey Services

Highway Asset Management

The particular challenges will vary, but are likely to include:

• Network model building
                 
• Inventory and condition assessment surveys
                 
• Maintenance needs assessment & identification of backlog
                 
• Data management
                 
• System development including pavement management systems
                 
• Life-cycle cost modelling
                 
• Asset valuation and the application of accounting principles
               

Through our flexible approach, based on working in partnership,we are able to provide a range of Highway Asset Management services that can be tailored to meet the individual needs of Local Highway Authorities, helping them to embrace an Asset Management approach. These include:           

• Assistance in the production of Asset Management Plans
                 
• Assistance in establishing good practice in the management of data
                 
• Gap analysis (identifying and evaluating assets, processes, systems and data)
                 
• Definition of business and systems requirements
                 
• Definition of local standards and targets
                 
• Implementation plans and assistance during implementation
                 
• Post implementation reviews
                 
• Procurement, management and auditing of inventory and condition assessment surveys
                 
• Training, education and facilitation
                 
• System design and implementation
                 

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Highways Management

Our experience in finding innovative and appropriate solutions to a wide range of issues encountered by Highway Maintenance Management practitioners, whether in the Public or Private sector, is proven by our 13-year trackrecord. In an age where Best Value is paramount in maintainingtransport infrastructure, more and more organisations are seeking ways to improve the technical solutions to maintenance that they adopt. Because our professional team understands your problems and will work alongside your staff, we can truly be seen as part of your organisation's efforts to improve effectiveness and efficiency. Highway Maintenance Management is a skill which blends Engineering, planning and economics with an awareness  of political necessities and practical realities. In a changing world, maintenance responsibilities and strategies have to be re-evaluated, and this requires clear thinking and often radical new approaches. With an increasing emphasis on whole-life costing of roads, those responsible for their design, construction and maintenance need to consider all options and strategies carefully before committing the substantial budgets now required.

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Pavement Engineering

Although apparently simple in both formand function, pavements are among the most complex of engineering
structures. Many years of research have been devoted to understanding the structural behaviour, material properties, service loads and environmental effects that fundamentally affect pavement design and performance. Pavement Engineering is a discipline that has come into its own over the past decade as major changes in approach to the design, specification and procurement of works, together with an increased emphasis on network maintenance management, have opened up opportunities for innovation and development. As a result the level of technical input has increased to deliver effective solutions, considering factors such as whole-life costing, sustainability and traffic management across the range of Pavement Engineering processes:

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Operations and Management

If highway networks are to be operated so that they deliver a high-quality, safe, cost-effective service, specialist skills and services required. CBC is able to provide these skills and services. We have extensive experience in the development and implementation of maintenance and programming strategies, with projects that include: 
               

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Information Systems

CBC can provide advice that bridges the gap between Engineering and IT. Our knowledge of the Engineering industry, and especially the Highways sector, enables us to appreciate quickly the needs and problems facing our clients. Our experience of analysing business and system requirements help clients to establisha project in the right way. Our involvement may then include assistance with contract documents, selection procedures and implementation. CBC has also carried out post-implementation reviews to ensure that value for money has been obtained and that technical lessons have been learned for future benefit and have developed specific experience in highways-related Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We pride ourselves on our independence and our ability to work closely alongside our clients in order to understand fully their business, and their requirements from a particular project so that we can develop appropriate solutions.

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Data Management

Throughout the highways sector there is a move towards an integrated approach to Asset Management. Organisations are recognising the key role of information in this process. Good information is based on good data, and so those seeking to get better value from their management information need to ensure that they are managing their data effectively. This is likely to include:

• Developing a strategic approach to Information and Data Management
                 
• Ensuring corporate support for Data Management
                 
• Matching data with business needs and identifying any gaps
                 
• Establishing data quality requirements and ensuring they are achieved
                 
• Reducing data duplication and redundancy
                 
• Establishing data as a corporate resource and breaking down organisational and functional boundaries
                 
• Specifying and procuring new systems
                 
• Managing the implementation of new systems and business processes
                 
• Ongoing review and improvement
               

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Visual Condition Survey Services

CBC has a team of consultants with extensive experience in specifying, procuring, training, supervising, and making use of visual surveys in both the public and private sector. We have been closely involved in the development and implementation of UKPMS (the United Kingdom Pavement Management System) from its inception and are currently the DfT’s UKPMS support contractor, in addition to being responsible for administering the UKPMS Owners Forum, and for developing and operating the UKPMS web site (www.ukpms.com). We pride ourselves on our independence. We do not carry out visual surveys commercially and we do not supply UKPMS software. In this way we are able to offer a fair and independent perspective.

Visual Condition Surveys of road pavement are known to be inherently subjective and considerable effort is needed in Training, QA and Audit to eliminate systematic errors. Visual Surveys are affected by: 
               

• Deterioration being recorded to the incorrect defect
                 
• Defects being missed
                 
• Incorrect defect lengths or areas
                 
• Defects being recorded in an incorrect cross-sectional position
                 
• Surveys being carried out in the wrong location 
                
  

Good practice dictates that inspectors receive high quality training and that effective survey quality procedures are in place in order to ensure the credibility of visual survey results. CBC offers a range of complementary services that can be tailored to your needs, to help you ensure that your visual surveys are of the highest quality and consistency and to enable you to maximise the benefit from your data collection investment. These services
include: 
               

• Survey Audits and Quality Assessment
                 
• Assistance in producing survey and documents
                 
• Training for surveyors, survey trainers and auditors, and for managers and engineers who make use of visual survey data
                 
• Preparatory training for UKPMS Inspector Accreditation candidates
                 
• Assistance with Survey Specification and Procurement
                 
• An audit software program, to check the format of survey  data and produce audit reports for use in on-site audits and  to record and report on audit survey results (Windows 2000 compliant)
                 
• BVPI QA and Audits
                 
• Assistance in survey processing and interpretation
                 
• Advice on the development of custom local UKPMS Rule Sets
                 
• Assistance in producing local manuals
                 
• Data Management Services
                 
• General UKPMS and PMS advice
                 
• Consultancy
                 
• Workshops 
                 

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