Talks at this year’s RSMA Annual Conference & Dinner (6 February) will renew focus on innovation in road marking and cover topics ranging from calculating carbon to the continuing issue of recruitment.  

This event encourages discussion and collaboration to tackle industry challenges head on, and some of the highlights from the agenda include:  

‘The challenges we face and the importance of collaboration’

Sean Rooney, president of LGTAG, will encourage the strengthening of line marking’s links with academia. He wants the industry to be more forward thinking, to tackle problems before they come up, and to be more aware of the research projects happening across the country. This will make sure that the limited available funding goes to the most important endeavours.

‘Live Labs 2 decarbonising local roads’

Giles Perkins, head of future mobility at WSP, will share updates on the Live Labs 2 initiative: the three-year, £30 million, UK-wide programme aiming to decarbonise local highways infrastructure and assets. Live Labs 2 explores smaller innovations that can make a huge impact when applied across the country – from managing green spaces to decarbonising lighting via line-marking innovations and improved signage. This talk should cover real-world applications and case studies of some of the industry’s best projects.

‘Securing competence for the highways workforce’

CECA chief executive Alasdair Reisner will explore concerns from CECA members about the competence of the workforce by delving into the impacts of skills shortages and the effect of losing experienced operatives to retirement.

Marking Re-flow’s official endorsement by the RSMA

Following on from the company’s RSMA endorsement, Re-flow’s CMO, Ashley Wing, is drawing on his years working alongside highways companies in his talk ‘Navigating the road ahead: driving change in field operations’.

With insights and examples, his talk will focus on current industry challenges, delving into data around compliance, efficiency, and safety standards. He’ll discuss how the sector is driving change, and how digital transformation can help. The presentation will finish with a practical framework that attendees can apply to their own operations or processes.

This follows Ashley’s Highways UK talk from October, titled ‘The challenges of digitally transforming field operations’, which was done incollaboration with Jointline’s head of QSHE, Julie Davidson. Julie discussed the challenges and concerns that came up during Jointline’s digital transformation and the positive result they have experienced since taking on field management software.

92% of companies cite compliance as one of their biggest challenges, and Ashley’s semi-interactive talk at the RSMA Annual Conference will provide strategies for leveraging digital tools and actioning real change.

With Re-flow, companies like Jointline, Roadgrip, and QMS have streamlined every aspect of fieldwork, from job scheduling and resource allocation, to compliance, work evidencing, and real-time reporting. Their worksites are now safer, more compliant, and more productive.