Highways England Lean Benefits and

Efficiency Realisation Guide

Updated: 08/04/2019
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Decision Tree

Part 1 - Benefits
3. Benefits and Efficiencies Realisation SOP
4. Highways England Approach
5. Benefits Realisation Process
6. Types of Benefit

Part 2 - Efficiencies
7. Benefits vs Efficiencies
8. Efficiencies Reporting
9. Benefits and Efficiencies Reporting Roles
10.Roles and Responsibilities

Part 3 - Appendices
11. Top Tips
12.Worked Examples
13.Glossary of Terms
14.Benefits Definitions
15.Additional Documentation
Foreword
This guide gives an overview of the Lean Benefits realisation process and how
this links to the Highways England's Efficiency Process.
Your Lean Improvement projects deliver benefits in many areas including
safety, delivery and sustainability. We hope that this guide and the
worked examples will help you to demonstrate the results you
deliver using Lean thinking and techniques.
Your improvement projects that deliver cost savings or improve whole life costs
for Highways England could contribute to our Efficiency KPI. Good quality
Benefits Realisation Capture Forms and Knowledge Transfer Packs provide
a good starting point.

Sharon Banks, Head of Lean

Introduction
 Background
– Lean is required to realise £250m efficiencies by the end of Road
Period 1, against an overall target for the business of £1.2bn
 How does this guide fit in?
– This guide is to help Lean Practitioners capture benefits and
efficiencies resulting from the application of Lean tools and
techniques.
 Who is it for?
– Lean Practitioners, Project Managers and the Lean Group
Benefit vs Efficiency
 A benefit is:
– “A measurable
improvement as a  An efficiency is:
consequence of action – “A cost saving achieved
taken” for Highways England
and assured by Highways
England Commercial
Intelligence”
Where should I record my Lean improvement
project?
Opportunity
Identified Tip: You are not obliged to add
your improvement project to the
Lean Tracker, however it does
help us share knowledge and
report back to you

Will it provide a
quantifiable cost saving or
other benefit for Highways
England?
No

Yes Will it provide a cost

Tip: If this is a repeated
efficiency, there is no need to saving or other benefit to
add to the Lean Tracker a your own organisation?
second time No

Yes

Add to the
appropriate Add to the Lean No need to record on any HE
efficiency register & Tracker databases
the Lean Tracker
Benefits Reporting
Benefits and Efficiencies Realisation SOP
Identify Plan Measure Realise Report

Commence BRCF Get sign off from

Opportunity Refine baseline & Assess benefits Benefits reported
Parts A & B and add Lean Practitioner &
identified agree methodology realised by Lean PMO
to Lean Tracker champion

Update Efficiency Efficiencies

Baseline & estimate Begin KTP and add Complete BRCF part
Register & Lean reported centrally
benefits to Lean Tracker C & finalise KTP
Tracker and by Lean PMO

Reports circulated
Continuing review of baseline & planned benefits quarterly with Lean
Newsletter
 Tip: If you have already created a standard
efficiency form for your opportunity or have

Highways England Approach your own KTP template please feel free to
use these in place of a standard KTP or
BRCF form

 A Knowledge Transfer Pack (KTP) should be completed and added to the

Lean Tracker once the improvement project has been baselined and the
methodology agreed. The primary purpose of a KTP is knowledge share; it
uses a simple format (using DMAICT) to provide information allowing others
to understand and replicate your improvement project
 A Benefits Realisation Capture Form (BRCF) should be initiated and added
to the Lean Tracker once the opportunity has been identified and should
include the initial baseline and estimated benefits. The primary purpose of a
BRCF is to detail the benefit calculations to substantiate the efficiency claim

The standard template for each of these forms can be found here
 Realise
Plan Benefits Measure Analyse and
Opportunity Identified Benefits (BRCF
(BRCF Part B) Benefits Report Benefits
Part C)

Standard KTP Form

Benefits Realisation Process
Standard BRCF Form
 Realise
Plan Benefits Measure Analyse and
Opportunity Identified Benefits (BRCF
(BRCF Part B) Benefits Report Benefits
Part C)

Plan Benefits
 Commence BRCF parts A+B using baseline data as
soon as possible after an opportunity is identified –
always create and agree a baseline with the
Create Baseline project champion in order to help measure benefits
on project completion!
Estimate Benefits
 Consider and quantify a realistic initial estimate of
planned benefits
 Take into account all benefits, financial and non-
financial
 It is important that these targets are real and that the
key players accountable for delivery are committed
Types of Benefit

Safety Quality Cost Time

Other (if none

Sustainability Culture Customer of the previous
apply)

For more detail see here

 Realise
Plan Benefits Measure Analyse and
Opportunity Identified
(BRCF Part B) Benefits
Benefits (BRCF
Part C)
Report Benefits Tip: Review the Lean Tracker regularly and
keep all the information for your improvement
projects up to date. This will keep us informed

Measure
as to how you are progressing!

 Ongoing review of the baseline and

planned benefits through the period of
the Lean intervention
Refine Baseline
 Practitioner should review and update
Agree Methodology
the status over the course of the
intervention
 The practitioner should continue to
capture evidence to support the benefits
claimed
 Tip: Shout about your successes; whether
Realise
Opportunity Identified
Plan Benefits Measure
Benefits (BRCF
Analyse and cost savings or, for example, safety benefits.
(BRCF Part B) Benefits Report Benefits
Part C) The best ones will be publicised and may
make the monthly CEO report. That means
the CEO might even see the great work
Realise you’ve been doing!

 At the end of the improvement project (i.e. at the

date identified in section B of the BRCF) the actual
benefits realised should be assessed in each of the
Realise Benefit categories set out in section B of the BRCF
 The actual benefits achieved are recorded in
(BRCF Part B) Section C of the BRCF and signed off by the Lean
Practitioner and the Lean Champion/Sponsor who
has commercial knowledge of your improvement
project
 Evidence trail should be kept by the Practitioner to
substantiate the information presented in the BRCF
 Tip: When adding your improvement projects
Realise
Opportunity Identified
Plan Benefits
(BRCF Part B)
Measure
Benefits
Benefits (BRCF
Analyse and
Report Benefits
to efficiency registers make sure you mark
Part C)
them as Lean Techniques. If you don’t we
won’t know about them so they won’t feature
in these reports!
Report
 The objective of Steps 1 to 3 is to capture real benefits
in a structured and auditable way
 The Lean Group will ensure that the benefits process
Analyse and Report has been followed, they will review the BRCFs and
KTPs and if necessary will be in touch to clarify details
Benefits  Reports on benefits achieved will be circulated
quarterly with the Lean Newsletter
 The Lean Group will also report on efficiency data
given to us by the Commercial Efficiency Group

Tip: Remember; reporting efficiencies will also

result in a positive contribution to your CPF
score
Efficiency Reporting
Benefit vs Efficiency
 A benefit is:
– “A measurable
improvement as a  An efficiency is:
consequence of action – “A cost saving achieved
taken” for Highways England
and assured by
Highways England
Commercial Intelligence”
Efficiencies Reporting
Log on Reported by
PMO approves Commercial
appropriate Lean PMO and
Opportunity identified (level 1 approves (level 2
efficiency register against £250m
assurance) assurance)
and Lean Tracker target

• On • If your improvement • At this point it will • Once approved by • After commercial

commencement of project may have a be reviewed by the the PM, assurance, the
your improvement cost benefit, as well Project Manager. If commercial will efficiency will be
project, identify as adding this to the they are happy with review it and, if reported to ORR
and quantify the Lean Tracker, you the evidence you they are happy with as part of our
benefits you intend should add it to the provide, they will the evidence, they overall efficiency
to achieve appropriate approve it will assure it contribution
efficiency register

Remember to retain all documentation

compiled during these first two stages (i.e.
KTPs/BRCFs) as this will help when it comes
to providing evidence in the assurance phases
Benefits and Efficiency Reporting Roles
 Lean Practitioner – The individual responsible for carrying out the
improvement project
 Lean Champion/Sponsor – Agrees and understands the benefits
to be realised
 Highways England Project Manager – The Highways England
PM or their nominee responsible for the relevant scheme/area
efficiency register
 Lean Regional Lead – The Highways England lean lead for the
region the work is being carried out in, responsible for providing
guidance and assistance
Benefits and Efficiency Reporting Roles and
Responsibilities
Highways England
Lean Project Manager Lean Regional
Lean Practitioner
Champion/Sponsor (where applicable regarding Lead
efficiencies)

Agrees and Supports

Checks and
Generates understands Practitioner in
agrees on
BRCF the efficiency completing BRCF
BRCF
to be realised where necessary

Ensures
Signs off Part Signs off Part
efficiency is
C on C on
commercially
completion completion
assured

Ensures
efficiency is
on register
under Lean
Techniques
Appendices
Appendix A - Top Tips
1. For access to the Practitioner Area of the Lean Tracker, contact ian.cook@balfourbeatty.com
2. Add your BRCF on initiation of your improvement project (i.e. the Recognise/Define stage), and;
3. Always baseline; this will allow you to accurately report on benefits on completion
4. Don’t just focus on cost savings, we want to hear about all improvements. Examples of other kinds of benefits are
here
5. Review the Lean Tracker before beginning a new improvement project to see if a similar piece of work has
already been undertaken in the past – you may be able to reap the benefits of others’ experience, and, importantly;
6. Remember that knowledge share is a two way process, so make sure you also add your improvement projects to
the Lean Tracker so that others can benefit from your experience, as well as adding them to the appropriate
efficiency register!
7. Keep your improvement project up to date with relevant documentation; after 6 months we will contact you
about any improvement projects without a BRCF or KTP attached to see if it should be deleted
8. Don’t forget, you can always use the same documentation for both databases (efficiency assurance & knowledge
transfer), so no duplication is required
9. For any further assistance contact, the Management Delivery Team (MDT) at
LeanImprovement@highwaysengland.co.uk, or your regional Lean contact
Appendix B - Worked Examples
KTPs BRCFs

Optimising the Working Window

 Reducing Travel Time to Workplace
 1000 Tonne Project  Alternative Ultigrip Pavement Material
 Reducing travel time to workplace
 EZiCat Cable Detection System
 1000 Tonne Project
Collaborative Planning

 Lean collaborative planning to mitigate impacts of 3rd party delays A556 Knutsford to Bowdon

Other Lean Projects

 M5 Oldbury Viaduct – Digital Information Quality Control

 A1D2B Earthworks transfer pack CH oct 10
 6S Stores
 Use of technology for scaffold inspections
 The Use of QR codes for deliveries to site
 Traffic Management attendance
 A3 Piling Project
 Digital Comm Cell to improve Project Delivery
 A590 Lindal in Furness Drainage
 Formwork Reinforced Concrete [FRC]
 Pre-cast Pre-cored Concrete Catchpit Manholes
Appendix C - Glossary of Terms
 Improvement project – This refers to a Lean improvement
project and does not refer to the scheme as a whole
 Lean Tracker – The online tracker used to record and
update the progress of benefit capture.
 Planned Benefit – The benefit that is anticipated at the
start of the lean improvement project
 Realised Benefit – The benefit that has been captured and
measured
Appendix D - Benefits Definitions (1)
1. Cost – E.g. an activity previously requiring a gang of 6 workers which
now can be done by a gang of 5 in the same or less time, or a Whole Life
Cost (WLC) i.e. an improvement resulting in a piece of equipment lasting
longer than it otherwise would have
2. Time – E.g. an activity which previously required a gang of 6 workers
over a 6 week period now reduced to a gang of 6 over a 5 week period
It may be that this may also lead to an overall reduction in scheme duration
i.e. a reduction of time on critical path activity creating a reduction in
scheme cost. This should be identified as both a Time and a Cost benefit
3. Quality – E.g. a reduction in reported defects
Appendix D - Benefits Definitions (2)
4. Safety – Typically measured by reduction in lost time accidents
and reduction in incidents and near misses or reduction in exposure
to risk such as reduced roadside working hours
5. Sustainability – Typically measured where operations such as
lorry movements can be reduced with a corresponding reduction in
carbon footprint
6. Culture – Creating a collaborative environment where all members
of the team are committed to delivering continuous improvement is a
cultural benefit. Cultural benefits are typically measured by employee
and workforce satisfaction or engagement surveys.
Appendix D - Benefits Definitions (3)
7. Customer – A tangible benefit delivered to the relevant customer or
customers

Any other benefits that do not fit into one of the above should be
categorised as “Other”
Additional Documentation
 BRCF and KTP forms
 Lean Tracker
 Knowledge Bank
 Lean Tracker Guidance (link coming soon…)