Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/670657
Book your free ckets today www.u lityweeklive.co.uk | 27 Streetworks are undertaken for four main reasons: safety; security of supply; to connect new customers or enhance exis ng customers' supplies; or to divert underground equipment to allow major transport or regenera on projects to take place. Put simply, without streetworks the UK would not have access to the safe and reliable essen al u lity services that underpin so much of 21st century life. Clearly, this creates disrup on and we need to ask ourselves whether the industry is doing enough to communicate to the public why these works are needed, and whether we are doing enough to minimise the impact of these works on the na on's produc vity. These are just two of the key ques ons I have been grappling with since becoming chief execu ve of the Na onal Joint U li es Group. Based on data gathered from a cross-sec on of u lity companies opera ng on diff erent scales, within a mix of urban and rural areas across England and Wales and across the four major u lity sectors (electricity, gas, water and telecommunica ons), the cost of streetworks in the fi nancial year 2014/15 is es mated to be between £1.5-2 billion, with 1.5 million works and six million days of road occupa on. I fundamentally believe that the most signifi cant step we can take to deliver on our objec ves is fi nding innova ve ways of delivering streetworks and ensuring that u li es and highway authori es collaborate and co-operate more eff ec vely. Teamwork to tackle disrup on Streetworks Talking points Day1 Seminar List 1. Incen ves: New regulatory frameworks are driving changes in u li es' behaviour on streetworks. 2. Collabora on: U li es must work with other stakeholders to minimise the impact of unavoidable streetworks. 3. Keep in touch: Customers must be kept informed about what is happening and when 4. Mul -channel communica ons: Everything from pad and paper to social media is relevant. 5. Innova on: U li es must innovate so they can fi x problems without digging up the roads. In the mean me, they must fi nd ways of lessening the impact of road works on the public. 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Delivering the vision – a no dig network 2:45 pm - 3:45 pm Facilita ng successful Infrastructure growth 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Skills for the future For full seminar lis ngs visit u lityweeklive/streetworks Bob Gallienne, Chief execu ve, Na onal Joint U li es Group Book your free §ckets today www.u§lityweeklive.co.uk