Amey

Project Location: National

“The £1.6m investment by A-Plant in our fleet will assist our highways team in improving the core maintenance service, as well as continue their excellent work in helping Staffordshire County Council to deliver a high quality and efficient customer-focused service.”

Steve Jones, Amey’s Account Director for Staffordshire

The company employs over 21,000 members of staff who are involved in nationwide contracts across several sectors, so it is essential that they are provided with reliable equipment. Amey is one of A-Plant’s largest customers and we supply a wide range of equipment on a sole supply basis.

The Challenge

Amey has been very successful in securing a number of multi-million pound contracts in recent years, so it is important that Amey staff have immediate access to some of the most productive and safest construction equipment available so they can service the contracts effectively and in a timely fashion. For instance, in early 2014 Amey was awarded a 10-year Infrastructure+ strategic partnership contract by Staffordshire County Council to help manage and maintain 6,000km of roads, including provision of winter maintenance services and highway improvement schemes.

With a workforce so widespread, it is also crucial that Amey operatives are kept up to speed with essential health and safety information to ensure the correct and safe operation of A-Plant equipment.

The Solution

To support and partner Amey on the Staffordshire County Council Infrastructure+ contract, we invested £1.6 million in brand new equipment, including Breakers, Vibration Plates, Rammers, Rollers, Dumpers, Telehandlers, Accommodation Units, Pumps, Traffic Lights and Confined Space Equipment. We also purchased equipment that had never formed part of the A-Plant fleet before, for instance a number of JCB Wheeled Loading Shovels valued at over £300,000. These meet demanding Stage IIIB/Tier 4 emission regulations without exhaust after-treatment.

To ensure that contracts are mobilised effectively and efficiently, we provide Amey with a dedicated team to support and organise the delivery of equipment and services. As well as investing in new equipment, we have carried out many initiatives to add value to our partnership with Amey. For instance, more than 400 people attended a Plant Safety Awareness event hosted by ourselves and Amey aimed at tackling occupational illness and maximising efficiencies.

Operational staff from Amey were able to try out almost 200 items of plant and equipment, including several innovations new to the market. The aim was for frontline staff to request new technologies on their contracts to maximise safety and efficiencies; there was a particular focus on new equipment designed to reduce or eliminate Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), a debilitating occupational health illness associated with the use of vibrating tools.

The Results

The KPI figures reveal the consistently high level of customer service provided by A-Plant. For instance, the latest figures reveal that 100% of all equipment supplied has been legally compliant with all relevant certificates and 100% of all collections have been made within 72 hours of the requested collection time.

“The Plant Safety Awareness event supported Amey’s health and safety campaign of Target Zero accidents every day. Often, the people with first-hand experience of using equipment are best placed to suggest health and safety innovations – and this event encouraged them to do just that.”

Keith Sexton, Amey’s Group HSEA Director for Amey