Collaborative Partnership in Action Open Day

The three organisations, together with representatives from Local Authority Highways teams, met on Wednesday 2 October 2019 at an Open Day event hosted at Highways England’s National Transport Logistics Centre (NTLC), in West Hallam, Derbyshire to celebrate the Collaborative Partnership in Action. The three organisations work together to provide a joint solution that supports Highways England’s roadside technology assets across the strategic road network. 

XPO Logistics’ relationship with Highways England began in 2010 and has developed from being a NDC (National Distribution Centre) to the NTLC (National Technology and Logistics Centre), representing a focal point for suppliers to test and develop future innovations.

Celebrating collaborative working

The event was designed to showcase not only the effective collaborative partnership between the three organisations, but also to demonstrate a developing trial site facility and the home of Colas’s Technology Innovation centre. Welcomes were given by Faical Lahmamsi, (Executive Director, Colas National and Regional Operations ) and Gavin Williams (Managing Director, UK and Ireland at XPO Logistics for Supply Chain – Europe). Details were shared about the innovation of a safety transit frame for AMIs, which have reduced risk of injury whilst working on the equipment.

The Colas team gave an outline of the history of Colas’s investment in its repairs facility on the site and explained how working with XPO has enabled Colas to enhance its service to Highways England and trial innovative products easily. The Highways England team spoke about the development of the NTLC site from its early support for core technology logistics and providing indoor test areas for roadside products, to the planned test road facilities and their part in supporting delivery of current and future technologies.

An opportunity to see innovations being tested

In a tour of the site, Colas showed the route to the future at the dedicated demonstration installation which has been created for Highways England to trial some of Colas’s technical innovations and pioneering capabilities. These new ‘intelligent’ products, originating at the research and design campus of the French-owned group include:

• Wattway, a unique photovoltaic road surface, an autonomous generator of electricity from solar source;
• Colas MS4 Version 3, smart signs which revolutionise highways messaging.
• Aluminium gantry, widely used across Europe and offer reduced long term maintenance

Advanced plans for a new test road installation were outlined by the Highways England team and highlighted the strategic value of the NTLC as a location for developing and trialling evolving infrastructure scenarios innovation was highlighted.

Faical Lahmamis from Colas says: ‘’It was an informative day. There is a natural synergy to our businesses and we had the chance to explore the thinking on innovative solutions for highways infrastructure, and to collaborate with partners on the option of trialling concepts at our Technology Innovation Centre.”

The event culminated with a networking session and the cutting of a celebration cake to mark the clear collaboration of colleagues from all three businesses with their shared association to support the UK highways industry.