At XAIS-PTS, we help highway authorities unlock better service delivery through structured service reviews — identifying inefficiencies, reducing duplication, and aligning resources to support strategic objectives.
Whether applied to an entire highways service or specific functions, our reviews are grounded in the principles of the Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice, with a focus on risk-based, data-led and outcome-focused decision making. Services cover:
- LEAN Reviews
- GAP Analysis
- Performance Monitoring & Service Levels
- Benchmarking
- Risk Appraisal
- Asset Management Framework Documentation
- Funding Application Support
Expand the sections below to learn more about our asset management consultancy services
LEAN Reviews
XAIS-PTS work collaboratively with a variety of clients to examine their people, processes, systems, and service direction, delivering practical recommendations that improve value and effectiveness. We tailor reviews to suit the needs of each organisation, offering support across a wide range of core highway services, including:
- Highway service strategic review - Supporting senior leadership and service managers in examining team structures, delivery models, governance, budget alignment, and operational interfaces across the full highways service
- Highway maintenance (capital and revenue programmes) - Reviewing pavement and scheme design processes, optioneering stages, approvals, and delivery efficiency
- Streetworks and network management - Reviewing permit schemes, noticing processes, Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), coordination of statutory undertakers, enforcement models, and customer interfaces
- Highway drainage and flood management - Assessing the end-to-end asset lifecycle from asset identification to inspection, maintenance, and capital improvement, and identifying opportunities to improve coordination between highways and flood risk functions
- Structures and bridge management - Focusing on inspection regimes, prioritisation processes, lifecycle planning, and the integration of structural condition data into wider asset management systems
- Customer service and reactive maintenance - Reviewing call handling, fault reporting, response workflows, inspection triggers, and hand-offs between teams. Opportunities often exist to streamline response categorisation and improve audit trails
- Asset management planning and data systems - Ensuring the right systems and data are being used effectively to inform prioritisation, investment decisions, and forward works planning. Includes integration of condition data, lifecycle plans, and performance monitoring
Each LEAN review is designed with the client’s goals in mind — whether to reduce cost, improve response times, unlock funding opportunities, or embed a more joined-up way of working. Our experienced team combines operational know-how with data and process expertise to deliver clear, actionable recommendations that make a difference.
Gap Analysis
At XAIS-PTS, we conduct structured assessments to compare your existing highway asset management approach against recognised standards, such as ISO 55001 and the UK Roads Liaison Group’s Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice documentation. This process identifies strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities across all key asset management areas - from policy and planning, to lifecycle management and risk assessment.
Our approach goes beyond simple checklist reviews. We assess operational data, interview key personnel, review decision-making frameworks, and compare them with industry exemplars and previous DfT Incentive Fund expectations. The outcome is a comprehensive review that highlights:
- Gaps in compliance or delivery
- Recommendations for improvement
- A prioritised action plan aligned to your service objectives and KPIs
- Support with future audit readiness or funding bids
Whether you're preparing for an external audit, re-aligning your strategies, or targeting performance uplift, our gap analysis service gives you a solid foundation for improvement.
Performance Monitoring & Service Levels
XAIS-PTS supports highway authorities in establishing and refining their performance monitoring frameworks to meet both local priorities and national standards. Effective performance monitoring ensures accountability, identifies operational risks, and enables proactive service management. Our approach is to work collaboratively with clients to:
- Define service level expectations
- Develop and refine performance indicators
- Establish data collection and validation processes
- Implement regular review cycles and governance controls
We use tools like PowerBI to visualise performance management data and build interactive KPI dashboards. These can be used by senior leadership, engineering teams, and finance officers alike to track and optimise:
- Network condition and maintenance responsiveness
- Financial performance and value-for-money metrics
- Sustainability and climate resilience goals
- User satisfaction and customer complaints
Our team can also align performance metrics with those required by the DfT Incentive Fund and Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice, helping you evidence or support internal reporting requirements. Ultimately, our goal is to help you turn performance data into operational insight - building a system that is both measurable and manageable.
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is a powerful performance improvement tool that enables highway authorities to compare their highways and asset management functions against others - regionally or nationally - and our benchmarking services are designed to support a culture of transparency, learning, and service optimisation. We help local authority clients engage in collaborative benchmarking exercises, examining performance across a range of criteria such as:
- Network condition monitoring and lifecycle planning
- Safety inspections and intervention regimes
- Reactive and planned maintenance performance
- Use of innovation and technology
- Environmental and social value outcomes (e.g., carbon reduction, biodiversity)
- User satisfaction and accessibility
Our support includes:
- Designing and managing surveys and bespoke service packages for participating authorities
- Facilitating workshops to interpret results and encourage peer learning
- Producing data visualisations to identify trends and anomalies
- Developing evidence to feed into audits, performance reviews, or funding cases
By identifying ‘what good looks like’ in practice, authorities can gain valuable insight into how to adjust their own strategies. Benchmarking underpins better decision-making and allows asset managers to justify improvements in service delivery and investment levels with credible, comparative evidence.
Risk Appraisal
Robust risk appraisal is central to contemporary asset management practices as exemplified within the Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice guidance. At XAIS-PTS, we help authorities embed risk-based approaches across policy, planning, and delivery levels to ensure services are resilient, defensible, and responsive to uncertainty.
We support clients in:
- Identifying strategic and operational risks across all assets
- Developing risk registers tailored to each asset type (e.g., carriageways, bridges, drainage)
- Applying consistent risk scoring based on likelihood and impact
- Linking risk to maintenance interventions and investment planning
- Developing governance frameworks for reviewing and updating risk management processes
Risk appraisals can be standalone or integrated into other processes such as lifecycle planning, performance monitoring, or funding submissions. We also provide training and templates to help embed risk-management thinking within day-to-day operational practices. Our approach gives authorities confidence that they can make well-reasoned decisions—backed by evidence, aligned to best practice, and ready for challenge or audit.
Asset Management Framework Documentation
The foundation of any successful asset management approach lies in the quality and coherence of its supporting documentation. XAIS-PTS helps authorities develop a full suite of asset management documents that align with ISO 55001, the Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice, and DfT Incentive Fund expectations. We support the creation and review of:
- Asset management policies
- Strategy and objectives
- Levels of service documentation
- Lifecycle and financial plans
- Risk and performance frameworks
- Operational manuals and inspection protocols
Our team brings over 200 years of combined experience and has authored documents for a wide variety of clients. We don’t just draft – we workshop content with your teams, tailor frameworks to your local risk context, and help ensure governance structures are embedded.
By aligning documentation with national expectations and internal structures, we ensure you are well-placed to demonstrate transparency, efficiency, and strategic alignment across your organisation.
Funding Application Support
XAIS-PTS has a strong track record in supporting highway authorities to develop successful funding applications. Whether you’re seeking additional internal capital, submitting bids for Live Labs, the Local Transport Fund, or other innovation-led pots, our approach helps you build compelling, data-driven cases. We provide:
- Data audits and asset condition analysis
- Lifecycle cost modelling and forecasting
- Scenario-based impact assessments (e.g., what-if funding is reduced or increased)
- Business case support
- Mapping of application benefits to corporate objectives
Our funding application support services often begin with us understanding and workshopping the problem. Is a specific asset type underperforming? Is climate resilience becoming a pressure point? Is your current funding allocation insufficient to meet statutory obligations?
We then guide clients through data preparation, narrative development, and technical document production. The result is a credible and persuasive funding case that can be used for internal budget setting or external bid submission.
Why Choose XAIS-PTS?
At XAIS-PTS our team has a wealth of experience, and we deliver comprehensive asset management consultancy services in support of our surveying, software, materials testing, certification, and design services.
If you have any questions or queries about our services, please contact us today – our team will be more than happy to have a conversation with you regarding your project requirements!