As Maple Consulting celebrates its 9th anniversary, 2024 has yet again been full of interesting projects and events.
From consulting activities on pioneering advancements in sustainable construction and climate resilience to shaping the future of European transport research, Maple has consistently demonstrated its commitment to innovation and collaboration. Martin Lamb reflects on the key achievements of 3 projects throughout 2024 and other notable highlights.
Advancing Connected and Autonomous Plant and Technology for a Safer and Greener Construction Future
Along with ITEN colleague Vijay Ramdas, Maple partnered on a Department for Transport (DfT)-funded project led by Costain. This project explored the market potential of Connected and Autonomous Plant (CAP) to boost construction efficiency, safety, and export prospects for the UK. If CAP was implemented fully in the UK, cumulative benefits by 2050 include:
- £417bn GVA boost to the UK construction sector
- 28,000 fewer non-fatal injuries and 31 fewer deaths
- 19,300kt CO₂e reduction in carbon emissions
- £10bn in fuel cost savings
- 29,000 net workforce growth and a 12% average wage increase. The report was released in October and is available here: CAP Market Assessment Report.
ICARUS Project: Pioneering Climate Resilience
2024 marked the completion of the ICARUS project, a 2-year undertaking funded by CEDR and coordinated by Deltares (NL), with other partners Tecanlia (ES), RDS (IE) and Ramboll (DK). The project aimed to progress the state of the art around climate resilience assessment and adaptation measures, focusing on implementation in practice. It defined minimum service levels for climate resilience, identified barriers, and developed practical resources, including training seminars, guidance materials and online materials for managers and practitioners.
Key moments:
- Results showcased at the TRA Conference in April
- Final workshop held with national road administration leaders in Delft in September
One of the important aspects of the project was the involvement of the Project Executive Board (PEB), who participated in workshops at project meetings in Bilbao and Cardiff as well as the final event. The PEB comprised the funding road administrations including Transport Infrastructure Ireland, National Highways, Trafikverket, Norwegian National Road Administration, Rijkswaterstaat, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the Danish Road Directorate.
The deliverables developed during the project are presented here: ICARUS Resources.
Shaping Future Research with SERRP VIII
Finally, Maple’s Programme Management activities for FEHRL were ongoing, with 2024 concentrating on preparing FEHRL’s 8th Strategic European Road and cross-modal Research and implementation Plan (SERRP VII) covering the 3-year period from 2025 – 2027.
This strategic document addresses:
- Top-down challenges (e.g., decarbonisation, climate adaptation)
- Bottom-up insights covering FEHRL member institutes’ research priorities, collected via a series of workshops.
Structured around 3 research priorities: Built, Natural, and Social Environments, SERRP VIII details 13 research topics aimed at guiding European infrastructure research from 2025 to 2027.
The documents are available here: SERRP and FEHRL Research Strategy.
Additional Highlights:
- April: FEHRL Research Committee Meeting, Ljubljana. TRA Conference, Dublin – ICARUS presentations and PEB training session.
- May: Traffex Conference – where a pink gingham shirt & blue blazer “uniform” emerged for ITEN colleagues Martin and Nick Reed
- May: Radyr Rangers under 15s, who have Maple as shirt sponsors, won their league, and with-it promotion. They were undefeated all season, winning all games bar one draw – coincidence? Congratulations to Radyr Rangers U15s.
- June: Maple joined ITEN colleagues Nick Reed and Iain Knight at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence near Swansea.
- September: Apart from the final ICARUS event (and final team night out), September also saw new beginnings as Maple moved to a more eco-friendly office space with ICE. This has meant that Bondi has had to find somewhere different to sleep on his office visits, which he settled into very quickly.
- October: CAP report publication, Highways UK conference attendance, and the arrival of a much-celebrated bean-to-cup coffee machine delivering flat whites on demand – game-changer!
- November: Maple attended the Build UK event, along with industry professionals, an Elton John tribute act, Mad Hatter, Charlie Chaplin and a Mexican Band amongst others for reasons that remain unclear.
- December: 3rd December marks Maple’s 9th birthday!
2024 was an impactful year for Maple Consulting, from influencing sustainable transport research to cheering on our sponsored youth sports team. Looking forward to more milestones in 2025.
What will year 10 bring?
