Success Story
National Highways
National Highways’ Road
to Success Through Cost
Certainty and Accountability
National Highways, formerly Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. The government agency oversees completing commitments given from the DfT (Department for Transport).
Industry
Infrastructure
Headquarters
Birmingham, West Midlands
Results
- Cost savings and efficiency
- Improvement in P3M3 maturity model
- Increased visibility and control of costs and budgets
- Full financial audit trail
- Accurate reporting of project status
The Challenge
In 2021, DfT required changes related to budget and schedule accountability, which led to the company pursuing a more
modern cost control and project management processes.
Dft was also looking to ensure financial accountability for National Highways multi-billion-pound portfolio. The goal was to reach the P3M3 maturity level, a best practice in project management.
Spreadsheets were integral but lacked granularity for accurate cost management in over 100 projects. The company’s processes relied heavily on them for tracking value, costs and forecasts. Decentralized and inconsistent data arose from various software, necessitating centralized reporting.
In addition, project managers lacked ownership and accountability, prompting a cultural shift to make them responsible
for financial figures and baseline explanations.
National Highways digital transformation goal was to streamline project, program and portfolio reporting for dependable
forecasts, cost control and performance metrics.
The Solution
National Highways sought a software solution that would help them achieve a standardized approach and centralized data for better reporting. The company was also looking for seamless integration with Oracle Fusion, CEMAR, Xactium, Primavera P6, and Power BI. They selected Contruent, starting a transformative journey to improve project controls.
Chosen for its successful track record in rail and infrastructure, Contruent offered National Highways seamless integration and an efficient workflow, replacing manual processes. It standardized project performance measurement, aiding program and portfolio roll-ups, enhancing visibility into project execution and enabling accurate forecasting.
Contruent also ensured consistent project-level costs, aligning with planning, risk management, contract changes and finance, which enhanced project management behaviors and performance measurement.
National Highways also adopted Contruent Cost Management and Contruent Connect, standardizing its cost management processes. The implementation included tailored training for different user roles. Contruent’s integration aligns with the the company’s goal of delivering projects on time and on budget, automating data input
and improving cost control and efficiency for successful project delivery.
“Contruent was chosen over other cost systems for its proven track record with rail and infrastructure programmes as well as the following essential attributes and qualities.”
The Results
Implementing Contruent has brought significant improvements to National Highways in the following areas.
Efficiency and Cost Savings. Contruent has consolidated performance data, risk and change register information into one
system, minimizing manual efforts and redundancy. With a single source of truth, the company is seeing a percentage reduction in the number of hours booked for projects.
P3M3 Maturity Improvement. Contruent elevated National Highways’ P3M3 maturity level from 2 to 3 in 2019. This model uniquely evaluates the entire system, enhancing processes continually.
Increased Visibility and Cost Control. With Contruent, National Highways has a cost management system that provides a project controls mechanism that links finance and commercial.
Accountability and Financial Audit Trail. Project reporting now includes a comprehensive financial audit trail, fostering accountability among project managers who take ownership, analyze reports and provide meaningful narratives on variances and changes.
Accurate Reporting and Informed Decision Making. The adoption of Contruent has standardized reporting, reduced variation reports and improved data analysis, forecasting and informed decision-making across all levels.
National Highways is planning a phased rollout of Contruent, integrating its cost management process throughout their entire operations and business to ensure sustained benefits and operational excellence.
