EM recommended for BS11000 certification on council contract

EnterpriseMouchel (EM) has been recommended for BS11000 certification on one of its local authority contracts.

The highways maintenance service provider has already achieved this standard for collaborative business relationships for its Highways Agency Area 3 contract. It is now believed to be the first company in highways maintenance to attain the certification with a local authority partner. In this case Croydon Council.

The certification covers EM, Croydon Council and EM’s supply chain partners: Flowline, RTP, Marshalls Surfacing and Aggregate Industries.

Working towards the certification has already reaped benefits such as improving the way carriageway resurfacing patching is instructed by involving Croydon Council’s highways inspectors and the supply chain partner from the outset.

Improved collaboration has also allowed for a more proactive approach to gully cleaning programmes.

Dave Wright, EM’s managing director, said: “It is our opinion that this approach of truly integrating all parties involved in the end to end delivery of public services is the only way to drive the innovation required to achieve the necessary cost reductions and enhanced quality of service.”

Councillor Phil Thomas, Croydon Council’s cabinet member for highways and environmental services, added: “Behind BS11000 is a really simple principle - partnerships work better if the partners work together. Croydon has already benefited from EM embracing this idea, with one simple example being our direct involvement in conversations between them and their supply chain. This gives officers from the council a far greater insight into operational issues and allows us to explore new ways of employing technology or of adopting working practices that will save everyone both time and money.”