At Highway Care, we deliver innovative solutions for a safer future, but what do we really mean when we talk about innovation?
April 21st marked World Creativity and Innovation Day; an annual celebration placed in the calendar by the United Nations to explore the role of creativity and innovation in problem solving. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the role of creativity and innovation in all aspects of human development; from artistic expression and the creative economy, through to tackling the world’s challenging issues, such as climate change, healthcare….and road safety!
As the UN marks the day for another year, we thought we’d share with you three ways in which Highway Care is driving creativity and innovation across everything we do to deliver both a safer future, and a more engaging, supportive environment for our team, our customers and our partners.
- We put partnership at the heart of our business
Innovation and collaboration go hand-in-hand, and part of our enduring success in bringing innovative solutions to market in the UK is our unwavering commitment to seeking out and refining best practice and fresh ideas from around the world.
It’s an approach that has led us to achieve several ‘firsts’ for the UK highways industry, including the first lorry-mounted crash cushion, the first mobile light arrow and mobile red X for traffic management vehicles, and the first P4 end terminal. By working in partnership with both our upstream and downstream delivery chain, we can use the creativity within our business to understand the challenges faced by our customers and develop practical, deliverable solutions drawing on existing knowledge and fresh thinking. In that way, we amplify the creativity within our own business and deliver even more impact.
- We apply creativity to a specific problem to deliver meaningful innovation
Creativity for its own sake may be a noble aim in the arts, but in our industry, where we are focused on making sure that every worker and the occupants of every vehicle get home safe, creativity has to have a purpose.
That’s why we start with the problem and apply creative thinking to develop a solution. If the problem doesn’t exist, we don’t need to fix it. Our approach to innovation means focusing on hazard and risk, and developing solutions that help our customers avoid or mitigate it. For example, we know that cone laying operations are essential for lane closures so that drivers can be diverted away from the work area. But we also know that the practice of laying cones is inherently dangerous, putting operatives close to live lanes of traffic, and exposing them to musculoskeletal strain. Our Falcon ACLM removes the need for operatives to work on the back of a vehicle or lift heavy cones, taking away hazards to reduce risk. And with the addition of SwiftGate, which avoids the need to lay cones for tapers, we can provide a complete lane closure solution that protects operatives from harm through innovation.
- We take a creative approach to engaging and motivating our team
Our mission to deliver innovative solutions for a safer future can only be achieved if our team is motivated and inspired to deliver it. That’s why we not only determined to attract the best talent, but also keen to embed a creative approach across the business that ensures our team members feel valued, supported, and listened to.
For example, this year we have introduced volunteering days to enable every person across our business to take time out of their job to make a difference, while still getting paid (by us) for their time.
We also launched our distance challenge, motivating people from across the team to record their steps and go the extra mile for charity with a fundraising initiative that has so far seen the team cover more than 1000 miles and raise over £700 for Macmillan. Initiatives like this will continue throughout the year, with Mental Health Awareness Week next month, for example, providing another catalyst for the team to channel their creativity into building a better workplace for our colleagues.
Creativity and innovation are important in every workplace, and cultivating a culture where new ideas are welcomed and collaboration helps problem-solving thrive is a great starting point for any successful business. At Highway Care, we are proud that those principles enable us to contribute to safety on the roads, and they will help us continue to drive innovative solutions for a safer future.
