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Managing the technology aspects of the Regional Control Centre (RCC) roll-out programme

The challenge

The Highways Agency maintains, operates and improves the network of trunk roads and motorways in England. Recent policy decisions have resulted in the on-going transformation of the control of the network from the 30 Police Control Offices (PCOs) to a regime of 7 Regional Control Centres (RCCs). This change is accompanied by the transfer of the majority of operational responsibilities from the Police to the staff of the Highways Agency.

A major consequence of this national programme is the need to merge a large number of systems and associated data stores, together with the introduction of new systems.

The solution

In order to achieve the aims of this programme the Highways Agency appointed a consortium of consultants, with the requisite skills and experience, to work closely with the Highways Agency staff, stakeholders and other consultancies in a partnership capacity.

The consortium, known as TANDEM, is responsible for the technology aspects of the overall programme and is led by Atkins Transport Systems and supported by IPL, Cambridge Consultants and Hyder.

The objective of TANDEM is to ensure that the integration of existing systems and the introduction of new systems is effectively planned and executed.

IPL has played an important role in the overall project, including:

• Provision of technical advice/reports on subjects such as Requirements Traceability and Resilience/Risk
• Technical support for the design, documentation, planning, data configurations, change control, and testing of the Highways Agency Traffic Management Systems (HATMS) technology
• Technical support on the new Command and Control system.

The highlights

The Highways Agency's road network provides a vital service to commerce and industry and has a huge impact on the lives of individuals and communities.

The RCCs will eventually control 2750 Km of motorway in England (approx 1800 miles), with more than 151 billion vehicle kilometers of journeys taking place on the network every year.

The success of this contract has recently been evidenced by the first RCC going live in April 2005 only one year after the appointment of TANDEM.

IPL has several consultants with long term specialist knowledge in the road transport sector whose expertise continues to be made available to assist the Highways Agency and their partners at both a strategic and at a tactical technical level.