In 2005 WSP was commissioned to produce a Control Room Operational Model for a Highways Agency Project.
The Eastern Regional Control Centre is one of six nationwide Highways Agency network management centres located on the M25, Junction 23/A1M interchange. Using a phased approach (Oct 2005 – August 2006), seven existing Control Rooms were consolidated into a single site: the ERCC. The control centre is part of the Highways Agency’s breakthrough in traffic management; a new service on England’s motorways using a national traffic management and information system for the 21st century.
Client requirements
The purpose of the assignment was twofold:
- to verify that the existing setup was appropriate in terms of staff numbers and shift patterns;
- to provide a tool that could be used for ongoing management of the Control Centre.
The scope included the following:
- Devise an initial operating model for ERCC;
- Present the initial model and gather feedback;
- Devise a detailed Operating Model for ERCC based on live operational data provided by ERCC
- Present the detailed Operating Model (including handover and provision of advice on implementation).
The verification of the existing setup was accomplished by gathering operational data (number of calls, call profile, durations) and producing an estimated staffing profile. The “first pass” was inevitably based on a set of assumptions derived from available data (average call duration, average after work times etc.) All assumptions were discussed with the client and documented. The initial assessment confirmed that the existing setup was adequate for the number of interactions.
Following on from the initial assessment, a simple “Excel – based” tool to facilitate ongoing management of shifts and shift patterns was developed. The tool was presented to the client’s management team and it was adopted as “the tool” for scheduling in ERCC.
In August 2006 WSP were invited to take part in a roll-out of the operating model to all Regional Control Centres in the UK.
Project information
Client: Highways Agency
Project size: N/A
Project value: N/A
Status: Complete August 2006