Hatton Traffic Management – case study
Hatton Traffic Management Ltd is an SME based in Newcastle Upon Tyne. The firm has been working on HS2 since 2017 after successfully tendering for a contract with Costain-Skanska Joint Venture (CSJV), to undertake traffic management around work sites in the southern section of the project.
Alastair Smith, Hatton’s UK Operations Manager, provides some tips:
A year before the tender was released, we attended a HS2 supply chain roadshow in Sunderland. We pulled the key deliverables out of the supply chain pack to determine our strength in each critical area. We are experts in traffic management but needed to focus on how our business addressed two key areas – innovation and the environment. This was the first point that HS2 started to mould our business strategy.
Hatton were able to demonstrate their environmental credentials – they were already recycling 97% of materials at their depots, for instance. They adapted their processes, methods of work and investment strategy to respond to HS2 requirements.
Having secured the contract, they established a new depot location in West London and have recruited 17 people from the local area, near Wembley.
HS2’s exacting standards have been challenging but it has driven our business towards even higher levels of quality. We are now a very different company compared to when we started this journey.
Low carbon mission
Carrying out their work means frequent vehicle and equipment movements. As a result, and encouraged by HS2’s drive to minimise carbon emissions, Hatton has focused on innovation to improve its performance.
Vehicle tracking devices, connected to an operational field system, have been installed across the fleet. Each vehicle is fitted with a tablet device and vehicle movement, driver behaviour, idling and route management is monitored via this system. Alerts are sent if any of the standards are breached, with the installation of cab heaters eliminating the need for idling in cold weather.
All vehicles working on the project achieve the ‘Euro 6’ emissions standard, while company vehicles for managers are hybrid or plug-in hybrid. Careful pre-planning of routes helps to optimise vehicle movements, with all vehicles tracked in real-time to ensure no deviation to the agreed mapping. Hatton has also gained silver accreditation in the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS), a requirement of the HS2 contract. This has given Hatton’s drivers a greater awareness of other road users and improved vehicle safety measures.
Despite a growing fleet, this has enabled Hatton to reduce its carbon emissions by 35% between 2017 and 2019. Alastair Smith adds:
Without the legacy agenda of HS2, we as a company would not be at the standards and levels of quality and carbon reduction we have achieved so far.
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