HIGHWAYS ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
REPORT TO:
Karl Battersby, Corporate Director - Business & Environmental Services
DECISION DATE:
18 November 2021
SUPPORTING ANNEX:
None
PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Council directly award a contract for the provision of a Highways Asset Management System to Symology Ltd, via the G-Cloud 12 Framework Agreement. The contract will be for an initial period of 2 years, up until the 30th November 2023, with the option to extend by two further periods of 12 months each, up to the 30th November 2025 (2+1+1).
This will ensure that a key line of business system is available to both the Council and its wholly owned teckal company, NY Highways to support critical service delivery.
BACKGROUND TO SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATION:
The Council originally implemented the Symology product ‘Insight’ as its Highways Asset Management System in 2011 and it is used by a number of teams within the Highways & Transportation department. Following a contract variation, signed in May 2021, Insight was also adopted as the works ordering / completion solution (works management module) for the wholly-owned Council ‘Teckal’ company, NY Highways.
The current contract, which commenced in 2017 has no further scope to extend it further. Insight is an aging product, circa 10+ years old, and does have some functional limitations for the Council. Through discussions with the supplier, there is now the potential to move to Symology’s new ‘Aurora’ product, with the Council working with the supplier as an ‘early adopter’.
A PMO Project (‘3175 - Highways Asset Management System Future Roadmap’), has been established to review the potential transition to the new product, or another third-party solution if this approach is not commercially viable, as this would provide the opportunity for improved efficiency, quality of service and performance.
It has been identified that there is a need to enter into a contract with Symology for the existing product for a further period to give sufficient time for the review to take place.
There are a number of integrations with other key line of business systems. These will need to be factored in to any move away from Insight, and include Oracle EBS, Sage Finance and the Verint (Lagan) Customer Relationship Management System.
Migrating to the Symology Aurora product, or another third party solution, represents significant opportunity for improving operational efficiency and service delivery, but also represents a risk of disruption if not managed effectively. Consequently the migration needs to be managed as a major project with appropriate governance and project management. Any migration to Aurora or another third party solution could be done on a phased basis, with some teams / functions moving across and others remaining on Insight for slightly longer.
The migration would impact upon Highways Operations, Network Strategy, Financial Management, Street Lighting, UKPMS, Asset Register, Customer Services and Street Gazetteer. The project will also require resources from multiple teams within BES, Technology & Change, Legal, Procurement and Finance.
The inclusion of the extension option of two further periods of 12 months each, until the 30th November 2025, mitigates any delay in the discussions, which may arise as a result of the Local Government Reorganisation work which is currently underway.
Whether the Council subsequently moves to the new Symology product, or to another third party solution will be the subject of a separate Key Decision process.
LEGAL AND GOVERNANCE COMPLIANCE
The contract will be awarded via a direct award from the ‘G-Cloud 12 Framework Agreement (RM1557.12). The framework enables customers in the UK public sector to source and buy cloud-based computing services, such as hosting, software and cloud support, including many ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions and permits a direct award to Symology Ltd. This framework is run by the Crown Commercial Service and is a compliant route to market and complies with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council award a contract for the provision of a Highways Asset Management System to the incumbent supplier, Symology Ltd. via the G-Cloud 12 Framework Agreement, for a maximum of four years.