Traffic Scheme Delivery Training Course: Need Case, Traffic Data, Safety Review and Works Control

Programme Summary

This one-week traffic scheme delivery training course is for transport project directors, client-side engineers and consultant leads, and ends in a traffic scheme delivery pack for one junction or corridor. Schemes that start without a clear need case, sound traffic data or an early safety review are redesigned late and disrupt road users during works. The programme follows a scheme from need case through traffic data, impact studies, design and safety review to traffic control during construction, using prepared cases from urban and highway settings. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on traffic scheme delivery to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

Traffic schemes touch every road user, so weak preparation shows up as congestion, collisions and complaints long after opening. Owners who test the need case, check designs against safety findings and plan works traffic early can protect budgets and programme, and can show boards and communities why the chosen design was selected. Without that discipline, change arrives during construction, when it costs most.

• Design Change Cost: Falls when studies and safety findings are resolved before procurement.
• Road Safety Exposure: Reduces when audit findings are tracked to a documented response.
• Works Disruption: Eases when phasing and diversions are tested before the contractor starts.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ISO 21502: Guidance on project management, applied in Sessions 1 and 5 to stage gates and decision rights.
• ISO 39001: Requirements for a road traffic safety management system, applied in Session 3 to link safety findings to organisational action.
• ISO 31000: Guidelines for risk management, applied in Session 4 to rank risks during construction.

Intended Participants

• Transport project directors who sponsor schemes and answer for approval and delivery.
• Client-side engineers who review traffic studies, designs and audit responses.
• Consultant project leads who prepare studies and designs for a client.
• Municipal and road authority managers who oversee works on the live network.

Typical settings include urban road authorities, highway agencies, new developments and public transport corridors, with a grounding in traffic engineering for those new to it.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to construct a need case and scheme objectives for a traffic project.
2. Participants will be able to evaluate traffic data and a traffic impact study for gaps and weak assumptions.
3. Participants will be able to diagnose junction capacity and layout issues in a design review.
4. Participants will be able to prioritise road safety audit findings and justify the response to each.
5. Participants will be able to construct a works traffic plan with phasing, diversions and risk controls.
6. Participants will be able to justify a delivery pack that a programme board can approve.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Traffic Scheme Delivery Foundations

What problem must a traffic scheme solve, and who owns the decision?

• ISO 21502 Project Stage Map
• Problem and Need Statement
• Stakeholder and Agency Register
• Scheme Objective Table
• Option Long-List Screen

Day 2: Traffic Data and Impact Studies

Which counts, surveys and forecasts support the case for the scheme?

• Traffic Count and Survey Plan
• Demand Forecast Check
• Junction Capacity Review
• Traffic Impact Study Outline
• Data Quality Log

Day 3: Design Review and Road Safety

Does the design work for every road user and stay safe in use?

• Junction and Signal Design Check
• Pedestrian and Cyclist Provision Review
• Road Safety Audit Stages
• ISO 39001 Safety Management Link
• Safety Finding Response Table

Day 4: Works Traffic Control and Procurement

How does traffic keep moving safely while the scheme is built?

• Works Traffic Management Plan
• Phasing and Diversion Map
• ISO 31000 Risk Register
• Procurement Package Outline
• Site Supervision Checklist

Day 5: Traffic Scheme Delivery Pack

Do the earlier steps join into a pack that a programme board can approve?

• Applying the Session 1 Objective Table
• Testing the Session 2 Impact Study Outline
• Reviewing the Session 3 Safety Finding Response Table
• Applying the Session 4 Works Traffic Management Plan
• Completing the Traffic Scheme Delivery Pack

Methodology

The programme is a structured exercise built on prepared records for two schemes, one urban junction and one highway corridor, with count data, drawings, audit comments and works constraints. Participants test the need case, review capacity, answer safety findings and defend a works plan to peers acting as a programme board.

• Suggested activity: Checking a traffic count set and forecast for gaps and listing the questions for the consultant.
• Suggested activity: Ranking audit findings and drafting the response to the three most serious.
• Suggested activity: Phasing a junction rebuild so that one route stays open throughout.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a traffic scheme delivery pack for one junction or corridor. It holds a need case, an objective table, an impact study review, a safety finding response table, a works traffic management plan and a risk register. At work it goes to the programme board and sets the routine for later schemes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is traffic scheme delivery suitable for project leaders who are not traffic engineers?

Yes. Traffic scheme delivery is taught through prepared counts, drawings and audit records. You need responsibility for sponsoring, reviewing or overseeing a road scheme, but no earlier traffic modelling experience.

Which standards does traffic scheme delivery rest on in this programme?

Traffic scheme delivery rests on ISO 21502 for project management, ISO 39001 for road traffic safety management and ISO 31000 for risk, applied across need case, safety review and works control.

How is the pack from traffic scheme delivery used at work?

You put the delivery pack to the programme board, use its safety response table and works plan to justify decisions, and keep its structure as the routine for later schemes.

How does traffic scheme delivery differ from a programme on intelligent transport strategy?

Traffic scheme delivery concentrates on taking a physical scheme from need to construction, while an intelligent transport strategy programme concentrates on network technology, data and operations across agencies.