Enhancing Birmingham City Council’s infrastructure through LED upgrades to 3,100 Non-PFI Street Lighting assets

In 2018, McCann was awarded a £4.8 million contract by Birmingham City Council (BCC) to replace, upgrade, and maintain 3,100 non-PFI street lighting assets to LED. Spread across housing land throughout the city, the contract played a key role in enhancing public safety, improving energy efficiency through LED conversions, and supporting the long-term sustainability of Birmingham’s infrastructure.

This contract is delivered in conjunction with our Term Service Maintenance Works, which consists of asset management, emergency response, routine and reactive maintenance, project management and programming of works, painting of street furniture, and ICP (DNO) connections.

Undertaking this lighting replacement and maintenance activity simultaneously ensured that additional permits and closures weren’t needed, minimised disturbance to the local area and maximised use of network availability. Our team reviewed and clustered work orders closely to provide efficient work schedules for the individual gangs. This not only considered the location and types of repairs required but also the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) which formed part of the contractual arrangement.

Emergency callouts and programme optimisation

During the contract, we aimed to complete emergency callouts within the 1-hour timescale. Our emergency callouts ranged from lampposts being knocked over, door latches falling off, to lampshades hanging off in car parks. Our team ensured that we had the necessary staff available to carry out any immediate repairs. Our team held a range of replacement equipment in our depot to ensure that materials were always available. This played a significant role in our ability to exceed the contractual requirements, such as the reduction of outage times and maximising lighting performance.

McCann’s team developed a cyclic maintenance programme to help prevent the performance of the installation falling below the designed level; we identified any mechanical, structural, electrical or optical work necessary to maintain or increase the life of the installation; reduced the incidence of faults by preventative maintenance; and checked that the installation was safe. Our cyclical maintenance programmes considered all variables, including lamp type, luminaire sealing, age and type of equipment and statutory requirements such as electrical testing.

The routine maintenance inspection and test regime for dual carriageways followed the same principles as all other maintenance, but we coordinated the works by taking advantage of any closures planned by the Council’s highways department or their contractors. This approach ensured that the Council was not exposed to significant unplanned costs with future annual maintenance, inspection or testing programmes.

Traffic Management Compliance

As Principal Contractor, we oversaw all traffic management, fully compliant with the Traffic Management Act, NRSWA 1991, and Birmingham City Council’s Traffic Management Protocol. We coordinated with Transport for West Midlands and bus operators, providing a week’s notice for any timings of changes to traffic phasing and diversion routes. Where bus stops were affected, safe temporary alternatives were put in place.

Independent Connections Provider (ICP) support

Our team provided ICP support across the contract on an ad-hoc basis. As part of the work, our team completed a series of pole-mounted connection replacements. All DNO service applications were dealt with by our on-site team, and works were programmed and delivered through our NERS-accredited workforce, ensuring efficiency in delivery and minimal disruption through the coordination of the installation with connection work on the network cable infrastructure.

McCann’s successful delivery of this contract showcases our ability to manage complex infrastructure projects efficiently, safely, and with a strong focus on long-term value. By integrating the LED upgrades with routine and reactive maintenance, we enhanced public safety, reduced energy consumption, and extended the lifespan of Birmingham’s Street Lighting assets. Our proactive planning, from clustering work orders to aligning with scheduled road closures, minimised disruption for residents and road users while ensuring cost-effective delivery for the Council. Through close coordination, skilled resource management, and a commitment to exceeding performance targets, McCann has contributed meaningfully to the sustainability and reliability of Birmingham’s lighting infrastructure.