Highways Agency awards major testing and
development contract to Cambridge Consultants

Cambridge Consultants has won a prestigious 5-year contract, worth over £3million, with the UK government’s Highways Agency against competition from three other UK companies. The contract will see the company develop the next generation of the Portable Standard platform, dubbed ‘PSv2’, and carry out the compatibility testing and analysis of all electronic roadside equipment, such as variable message signs, traffic measurement equipment, fog detection systems and their infrastructure. The PSv2 platform will be used primarily by Cambridge Consultants for formal compatibility testing, ensuring that all new products work with the existing National Motorway Communications System (NMCS). It will also be used by Highways Agency contractors to test roadside equipment in the field, and by manufacturers during the product development process.

The Highways Agency, which maintains a public asset worth £65 billion and 10,500km of trunk roads and motorways throughout England, is increasingly reliant on roadside communications to improve the reliability of road travel. The NMCS network is made up of thousands of km of cable and fibres, connecting roadside devices used to detect road conditions and to communicate a range of data from variable speed limits through to route and traffic information. The equipment is supplied by multiple manufacturers and communicates using diverse technologies. To overcome this issue, the PSv2 platform has to receive, analyse, create and transmit messages using many different protocols and variants, including HDLC-B, HDLC-M, RS485 and TCP/IP. It then has to display all of this information in a single format for the operator to interpret easily.

The complete PSv2 platform will comprise two parts:
• A software suite that will record all the information received from the NMCS network, provides initial analysis of the raw data and presents it in an easy to read format to the operator, for further in-depth analysis and diagnosis. The software will be designed to run on a standard laptop using the Windows™ operating system, enabling complete flexibility and scalability in the future.
• An interface unit, featuring a large number of external ports supporting the multiple protocols being used and the physical difference between cabling types. Inside, it will use custom-logic circuitry and real time, multi-tasking software, running on a single digital signal processor (DSP), to process the differing inputs and convert them from signals based on sometimes obsolescent standards, into a signal that can be transferred to the laptop.

As part of the agreement, Cambridge Consultants will also provide each of the regional control centres with a fixed PSv2 testing platform, enabling engineers and operators to analyse live network behaviour and identify problems pro-actively.

"We buy our roadside and control centre equipment from a number of suppliers to keep prices competitive," commented Frank Craven, head of Traffic Technology Equipment Procurement at the Highways Agency. "A key part of this strategy is the compatibility testing equipment and the testing service provided by Cambridge Consultants. This makes sure equipment works together and helps resolve any problems in the field. Cambridge Consultants are independent of our existing suppliers, but work well with them and they have demonstrated an in-depth knowledge and clear leadership in software, communications and electronics. Together we are working on systems that help make journeys more reliable and save lives."

Philip Howarth, Programme Manager at Cambridge Consultants said, "We have been providing our testing expertise on roadside communications to the Highways Agency on a continuous basis since 1992. This latest win will enable us to take a massive step forward in terms of using the latest software and electronics technology to provide the best in portability, hardware performance and software flexibility."

 

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Notes for editors:

About the NMCS

The National Motorways Communication System (NMCS) is a computer-controlled network operating the motorway signals, telephones and other devices.

Signals are positioned at regular intervals along the motorways and trunk roads of the country. If a hazard should arise, these signals display appropriate warnings to slow down and/or divert traffic. An operator from a Police control office initiates the restrictions/settings. These are usually situated within the Force Control Room but can be located in a separate control room close to the motorway.

Telephones positioned at regular intervals alongside the motorway are also connected into the system, and are used by drivers to report emergencies, breakdowns and accidents. Some sections of motorways are equipped with closed circuit television (CCTV) to monitor traffic at vulnerable sections such as motorway interchanges, bridge and tunnel approaches. Other equipment includes underground loop detectors for traffic monitoring or incident detection, Variable Message Signs (VMS) and fog warning devices. These are also connected to the local control office.

About the Highways Agency

The Highways Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport (DfT), and is responsible for operating, maintaining and improving the strategic road network in England on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. It has a major role in delivering the Government's Ten Year Plan for Transport.

It also fulfils an international role by building good working relationships and sharing experience and expertise with other overseas road administrations. This helps promote the value of UK knowledge, expertise and best practice across the world to support UK industry.

The Agency's aim is "Safe Roads, Reliable Journeys, Informed Travellers".

For more information, visit www.highways.gov.uk

About Cambridge Consultants

Cambridge Consultants has, for over 40 years, enabled its clients to turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of over 200 engineers, scientists and consultants, in offices in Cambridge (UK) and Boston (USA), we are able to offer solutions across a diverse range of industries including healthcare, industrial and consumer products, automotive, transport, energy and wireless communications.