2005-11-16 - ABB’s ‘Lighting for Staffordshire’ PFI initiative with Staffordshire County Council is already paying-off, just two and a half years into the 25-year contract
ABB’s ‘Lighting for Staffordshire’ team celebrated the delivery of its distinctive new liveried fleet of mobile elevated work platforms (better known as ‘cherry pickers’) by releasing figures showing that the County’s highway lighting has never been in better condition. With the innovative 25-year PFI (Private Finance Initiative) now halfway through its first five-year phase, ABB is comfortably ahead of its target of ensuring that a minimum of 98 percent of all highway lighting is working correctly at any one time. At the same time fault repairs and emergency call-outs are also down on previous years.
In May 2003, ABB was selected as Staffordshire County Council’s private sector partner for the multi-million pound ‘Lighting for Staffordshire’ PFI project for the asset management of around 106,000 items of apparatus, including highway lighting and illuminated traffic sign equipment. One of ABB’s key tasks is to renew all items of apparatus which is in poor condition, or which has exceeded its anticipated life-span. This renewal programme is being planned in five-year phases, and the main focus during the first five years is the replacement of approximately 20,000 street lights. Figures up to the end of August show that ABB is well under way with this programme, having replaced 7,576 lighting columns, 764 illuminated signs and 232 bollards
In addition to the renewal programme, ABB is also responsible for the maintenance and repair of Staffordshire’s entire lighting stock, with a target of ensuring that a minimum of 98 percent of all lights are working correctly at any one time. Each item is inspected at night, once a month in the summer and twice a month in winter. As a result the company is currently well ahead of target, keeping over 99 percent of the stock in full working order. The emphasis on inspection, combined with the renewal programme, has seen a considerable drop in the level of routine fault repairs, from a typical 2,500 to 3,000 per month at the start of the project to just over 2,000 per month. At the same time emergency call-outs, where there is a perceived risk to life or property are also well down - from an initial level of 200 per month to around 100 per month.
Staffordshire County Council's Deputy Corporate Director David Wilson said the County Council was absolutely committed to revolutionising the way it delivered public services. "The partnership with ABB is a model for how we want to work with the private sector in delivering innovation, efficiency and quality in public service provision on the ground for the people of Staffordshire. The partnership is ensuring that we get the highest standards of maintenance and the latest developments in technology, while ensuring value for money for the tax payer," he said.
New cherry pickers
ABB has upgraded its vehicle fleet with 20 new mobile elevated vehicles. They are liveried with both ABB and Staffordshire County Council logos, as well as bearing the legend ‘Lighting for Staffordshire’. They also invite the public to report lighting faults and damage via the Council’s dedicated freephone number - 0800 23 23 23 - for its ‘Clarence’ call centre, which is open from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Editors notes
A lighting column has a life expectancy of between 40 and 45 years.
Modern fluorescent lighting, operating from dusk to dawn, can last up to four years.
ABB Background
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 103,000 people.