Open search form NORTHERN GAS NETWORKS Automation driving safety and efficiency in essential streetworks for Northern Gas Networks Challenge Whether responding to emergencies or maintaining underground pipes, excavating roads to access underground assets is often unavoidable, inconvenient and can lead to fines if work unexpectedly overruns. In the UK, there are approximately four million street excavations every year. Each one must be meticulously planned, and many require an approved, standards-compliant traffic management plan. These plans are currently guided by the Chapter 8 Health and Safety Regulation. Its interpretation however is subjective both in terms of design and construction and this can lead to delays in approval and heavy fines if constructed incorrectly. Solution As the gas distributor for the North, NGN’s top priority after safety is to minimise disruption for customers in their homes and highways. NGN wanted to make the current process for completing traffic management plans more efficient, consistent and cost-effective, while capable of identifying potential customer and stakeholder impacts. After releasing a Call for Innovation, 1Spatial were selected due to their expertise in automating data-driven business processes through advanced rules engine technology. 1Spatial worked with NGN and the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) to build a prototype system combining OS data and 1Spatial’s automation technology. The system reduced the time taken to create a compliant traffic management plan down from days to minutes. Award-winning and Innovative The innovative prototype system was nominated for multiple awards and won ‘Best Digital Application’ at the UK Society of Trench-less Technology Awards 2019 and was a finalist for ‘Social Impact’ at the UK Energy Innovation Awards 2019. 1Spatial is currently refining the prototype system so that it can be adopted by other utilities, local authorities or any company engaged in streetwork excavation. FIND OUT MORE CASE STUDY Automation driving safety and efficiency in essential streetworks for Northern Gas Networks “The ability for our own designers, planners and engineers to generate traffic management plans, at the click of a button, is a potential game-changer for the industry. Working together, Northern Gas Networks combined their technical expertise with 1Spatial’s automation technology to produce this award-winning and innovative system.” Richard Hynes-Cooper Head of Innovation, Northern Gas Networks READ MORE Image Find out more 1Integrate Automated data validation, cleansing, transformation and enhancement for your data. Read more Solutions 1Spatial recognise that location data is ubiquitous and the potential innovations with it are limitless. Read more eNewsletter Stay up to date with all the latest 1Spatial news and events through our eNewsletter. ENEWSLETTER About Us Products Solutions Support & Services News & Events Investors Careers Contact Us Subscribe to our eNewsletter REGISTER NOW Legal Privacy Cookie Policy Sitemap Accessibility © Copyright 1Spatial 2021. Cookie Control Your choice regarding cookies on this site We use cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience ACCEPT I DO NOT ACCEPT SETTINGS