Ahead of this year’s Strictly Highways event, the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) will be highlighting some of our speakers. This week, Kully Boden – Streetpride Service Manager for Highways Maintenance at Derby City Council – talks to LCRIG.
Q. Why is innovation so important?
A. “We cant afford to stand still. As most authorities are being tasked to work more and more efficiently and future proof services, working more innovatively allows us to be more creative and think outside of the box on how we deliver services. There are always improvements to be made and finding ways to do things better, smoother, quicker and cheaper will make a service more sustainable and should be welcomed. Innovation ultimately adds value to the services we provide our communities.”
Q. What are the biggest challenges facing the highways sector?
A. “For local authorities, for me, it’s two things: recruiting and retaining a front line workforce (providing an attractive enough package to entice younger agile operatives to work (and learn) on highway maintenance projects); and b) changing hearts and minds to attaining net zero on highway maintenance operations (challenging mindsets, both internally and in the supply chain, to think differently about how we operate, the public purse and the future for the next generation of highway maintenance practitioners).”
Q. How much importance is put on innovation within your council and in what ways can it enable change?
A. “Derby are at the forefront of embracing new ways of learning and in particular applying asset management principles in how we deliver improvements to the network. By making the case for investment and receiving additional funding, we have not only been able to see visible improvements to the network, but we have purchased new plant and upskilled our workforce to complete more resurfacing inhouse over Framework Contractors. It enabled a change in morale too with operatives wanting more challenging sites to test their new skills.”
Q. What actions need to be taken to ensure the industry attracts a younger and more diverse workforce?
A. “Providing a clear succession plan with development opportunities, possibly even attached to an accelerated salary progression. Giving taster opportunities across the service including highway inspections, asset management, scheme design and front line delivery.”
Q. Why is it important to make the case for local roads?
A. “For me at Derby, we have already been able to demonstrate that if you have identified the correct level of funding you need each year to tackle the deterioration and are fortunate enough to have any kind of cash injection, you can achieve visible improvements, both in the network, staff skillsets and use of innovation. Just imagine what we could achieve year on year with the same momentum?”