M6 and A19 teams putting safety first

Helping us mark our 150th Anniversary, our road concession teams on the M6/A74(M) and the A19 have both celebrated a major milestone of their own this year.

In what is a fantastic achievement demonstrating our robust approach to safety, both teams have now recorded a full seven years without a RIDDOR reportable accident.

Our M6 ROM team are responsible for the operation and maintenance of 90km of the A74(M)/M74 from the border at Gretna to J12 Millbank. As well as inspecting and maintaining 137 structures along the route, including bridges, underpasses, culverts and rail bridges, the team undertake a wide range of maintenance and repair work as well as responding to traffic accidents and incidents 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are currently two months into the winter maintenance period.

With team members regularly working alongside live traffic, often at night, an uncompromising approach to safety is required at all times. The biggest risk they face is the travelling public, so a team effort is paramount when it comes to looking after their own and each other’s safety.

Trish Turner, Project Manager said:

“We are constantly looking at ways to improve safety and hold a weekly conference call to share innovation and good practice with our colleagues on the A19 DBFO contract in the North East. In July a team from the M6, including some of our frontline operatives, travelled to the A19 to take a look at their vehicles prior to writing the specification for our own new fleet."

Our A19 DBFO are responsible for a 120 km section of the A19/A168 road from Dishforth in North Yorkshire to the Tyne Tunnel.

Work involves everything from bridge inspection, maintenance and strengthening and parapet maintenance upgrades to incident attendance, road resurfacing/strengthening and routine/cyclic road maintenance and winter maintenance delivery.

A strong safety culture has been established including behavioural safety training and mental health training. This is complemented by innovative solutions such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) utility surveys along with the use of bespoke vehicles supplied by our Plant Department team to ensure “the right tool for the job”.

All of which helps keep our people safe and has been key to the team achieving this milestone.

Andy Sinclair, Project Manager added:

“Having achieved over seven years without a RIDDOR reportable accident, we need to work even harder as a project team, including our supply chain, to replicate this performance and see us through to the end of the contract in February 2027.”