Telent will conduct routine, preventative maintenance and make urgent repairs to faulty equipment – iStock
Critical digital infrastructure specialist Telent will carry out signal maintenance on more than 160 highways assets including junctions, pedestrian crossings, and car park guidance signs for Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
The contract begins on 1st April and will be run from Telent’s Wednesbury service centre.
The technology company will use its intelligent asset management techniques to conduct routine, preventative maintenance and make urgent repairs to faulty equipment. It will also provide a suite of fault management and asset management systems and deliver new and refurbished traffic signal installations.
A key to Telent’s contract win was its commitment to delivering social value in the area. Telent’s STEM ambassadors will devote 100 staffing hours each year to offer careers advice and workshops to local Solihull students. The company said it would also be rolling out its dedicated staff wellbeing courses and diversity training for all contractors and subcontractors “to preserve Solihull council’s social values during the partnership and to help foster a healthy and inclusive environment”.
Nigel Weldon, Telent’s business development director for highways, said: “As a national organisation with years of regional and local operational experience, we’re well positioned to provide support to local communities and economies. As well as supporting the council’s vital highways technologies and keeping Solihull residents safe, we’re committed to bringing social value into the local areas in which we operate”
Telent will use local suppliers, and its procurement team will offer business advice to Voluntary Community Social Enterprises (VCSEs) and local small businesses. As part of the agreement, 100 per cent of its procurement contracts will include commitments to ethical procurement.
A Solihull council spokesperson said: “As well as maintaining and improving a traffic network to ensure our residents and visitors enjoy safe and efficient travel, we always want to make sure our partners can help us provide a wider benefit to the area. With Telent, we’ve procured the services of a provider with a keen sense of social responsibility that is in alignment with the council’s own values and objectives.”
The contract is Telent’s 24th traffic maintenance contract in the UK.
Image credit | iStock