West Midlands, UK
M42 SMART MOTORWAY
This was a smart motorway highway roll out replacing HID luminaires on the Area 9 network. These included 180W Sox, 150/250/400 and 600W Son T luminaires. The King of the Road P860 Highways luminaire was selected for the main carriageway works in conjunction with the P862 smaller road luminaire for the slip road requirements. Upon completion of the lighting designs by Kier Highways, CU Phosco were engaged in determining a rollout program for luminaire deliveries to coincide with the complex traffic management program, required for such a busy stretch of motorway network in the region. As with all major projects CU Phosco appointed a project manager to co-ordinate all aspects of the program and provide a single point of contact throughout the development.
As part of the product approval process Kier Highways visited our manufacturing facility in Hertfordshire to carry out a FAT’s test (Factory Acceptance Test). This allowed them to assess our production processes, quality procedures and discuss delivery logistics of the program. All parameters were surpassed in this evaluation.
The program forecast was structured for weekly deliveries stretching over 19 weeks. These were carefully managed and delivered into the appointed Carnell depot in Redditch. Due to the size of the program and the variants involved in terms of power levels and optics of the luminaires, CU Phosco created specific identification types for the luminaires for ease of product selection from the lighting design. These types ranged from A-I and gave a quick reference point for the installation teams picking product for the given section of the installation program.
RESULTS AND BENEFITS
The LED scheme has provided a white light solution increasing visibility on the road and therefore improving road user’s awareness and subsequent safety. By selecting the latest technology Kier Highways have provided a huge energy saving to Highways England whilst improving the network asset and reducing the required maintenance regime on the network.
Working in collaboration CU Phosco, Kier Highways and Carnell Group delivered a well-structured and smooth transition of change with minimum disruption to Highways England customers. As part of this working collaboration new product features such as orientation levels, tool box talk videos and further optic developments have now been included into the CU Phosco King of the Road range. Striving to improve our customers experience and responding to feedback is a key part of the collaboration process. This project is a testament to the value that working partnerships can provide.
For the installation stage of the project Carnell Support Services worked closely in conjunction with Kier Services (Highways) and CU Phosco to manage the site works in accordance with the phased traffic management programme. CU Phosco delivered lanterns on a Thursday of each week just in time for installation on the network the following week. This phased approach meant that the number of luminaires needed to be stored on-site was kept to a minimum which reduced storage costs and security requirements.
The luminaires themselves came prewired and have been very reliable and easy to install. Our electricians expressed their preference for fitting these luminaires above the other types we have previously installed. The Tool Box Talk videos are a useful aid to training and the recently added orientation level ensures the luminaires are installed in a consistent manner.
Steve Jones
Carnell Group
