Safe Path - Road Transport Authority

The Situation

A local transport authority, part of a city undergoing extensive redevelopment and frequent road changes, was responsible for the traffic movement across the city, managing disruptions, and approving traffic management plans submitted by contracting organisations who required road closures or temporary works.  

The authority was formed by staff seconded from three different organisations, including the local government and the national roading agency. Following recent changes in legislation, the executive of the authority was concerned that there was insufficient rigour being applied to potential safety implications of traffic changes implemented or approved by the authority.

Approach

Safety performance cannot be sustainably improved in an organisation that is fractured. Our initial approach focused on understanding the organisational structure, and how the three parent bodies combined to provide coherence to the approach. We established that they required specific policies and goals rather than rely on the application of those from the organisation individuals were seconded from.

Once the specific policies and goals were outlined, we reviewed their key risks and provided a gap analysis against good-practice tools and performance. As a result, an improvement plan for the Authority was developed.

We established that they required specific policies and goals rather than rely on the application of those from the organisation individuals were seconded from.

Results 

A clear understanding of the role the authority played in managing risks was achieved and a single, unified approach to managing safety implications was created. 

Specific policies and objectives were developed as an individual organisation that allowed legislative compliance, and optimal safety performance, to be achieved.