May Gurney has a 10-year partnership contract with Norfolk County Council (NCC), and Cartledge took on the lighting contract with NCC as a 'schedule of rates'.

The relationship with the previous contractor had been very confrontational, with performance not reaching the required standard. To break away from the old style of working it was paramount that Cartledge delivered on its promises.

The company's senior management identified a the following key areas for improvement:-

Establishing a shared vision
Graham Cartledge (MD) and the county's lighting engineer agreed the priorities to be achieved.

Reorganising staff
Operatives were not working effectively or efficiently. The crews were restructured and reorganised and given a new bonus structure to work to.

Cartledge's special operations manager spent time in Norfolk with the crews to demonstrate best practice and improve performance - and as a result the level of work increased.

Improving management
An assistant manager was brought in to strengthen the management team, and make the teams work together to achieve the customer's goals

Upgrading materials
The quality of the materials used was improved to increase the longevity of equipment.

Improving relationships
A series of workshops were held to develop relationships. Following on from this, structured meetings were established at all levels - from supervisors to management - to facilitate improved communications.

Improving budget control
Managers in the depot were taught to recognise that the customer has a limited budget - and that it was Cartledge's responsibility to help them spend that budget effectively.


With the first year complete, and the 'lights on' performance improved, Cartledge suggested to NCC that the contract be amended from a schedule of rates to a lump sum contract. This allowed some of the contract risk to be transferred to the contractor.

This proved very successful and in the third year it was agreed that even more risk would be born by the contractor - for example, vandalism was moved into the lump sum.

Overall, the contract has been very successful. Lights on performance is approaching 99%, and the BV215A has dropped from over 15 to below 10 days.