Telent wins Cumbria traffic signals maintenance contract

Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009

Telent today announces that it has been selected by Cumbria County Council to maintain the traffic signals and electronic message sign systems under the control of the county council.

This is a significant win for the company with the business retained, even after a 15-year tenure, after a mandatory competitive tender process through the Official Journal of the European Union.

Under the terms of the new contract, telent will provide routine and non-routine maintenance services to all electronic signs and traffic signalling for the next five years, extendable for an additional year, along with 24/7/365 monitoring and response. 

The scope of the maintenance required is broad.  telent will look after traffic signals at 82 junctions and at 108 pedestrian crossings , along with 22 Remote Monitoring Systems (RMS) – telemetry equipment which allows dial-up access to key signal sites.  In addition, 78 Vehicle Actuated Signs (VAS) will be maintained – digital displays which warn road users to slow down for hazards - and 22 Variable Message Signs (VMS) which, for example, show when car parks are closed or full. 

Peter Eccleson, General Manager Traffic Technology at telent, says “Given Cumbria is a relativity rural county, where call outs can be up to 80 miles in distance, the importance of having a local depot with the right spares is key.  No other signal company has this and was one of reasons why we were chosen, along with the quality of our staff and our ability to be price competitive.”

Local support to Cumbria Country Council was an important factor when deciding which traffic signal and electronic sign maintenance contractor to select as responding quickly where a road collisions damages signals or where there is a total signal failure at a major junction was crucial.  Self evidently this avoids traffic delays, unnecessary risk to road users and enhances public safety. 

With its depot in Carlisle, telent has agreed various service level agreements with Capita Symonds, who administer the maintenance contract on Cumbria County Council’s behalf, which covers urgent, non urgent and night time (out-of-hours) support, and ensures the 24 hour cover required.

Doug Coyle, Cumbria County Council’s traffic manager, says, “telent provides a first class service and we’re delighted with the way its team has worked over the years to maximise what we get from the budget we have available to spend on signals. We’re very happy they’ve won.”

Shamus Giles, Capita Symond’s principal signal engineer, says, “telent’s staff are extremely knowledgeable and flexible, providing innovative solutions and excellent response in dealing with faults.  There is a true partnership approach between the County, Capita Symonds and telent and we are keen to develop this including, for the first time, incorporating the VMS and VAS as part of the signals maintenance contract, plus the joint development of a new centralised fault handling & inspection database.