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Research at Heriot-Watt University led to the development of a Knowledge Transfer Project (CALM) between the University and Caledonian Aerotech, known as Caledonian Alloys (CA). The KTP enabled CA to deliver material on-time and provide real-time information on the progress of shipments which led to existing customers purchasing greater proportion of their material requirements from CA over competitors. Customers Rolls Royce in the UK and Allvac in US awarded new long term processing contracts in 2009 worth $4m annually in which the CALM capability had a major influence. The company increased from 119 employees in 2004 to 309 in 2009 and currently employs 280 worldwide, reflecting the impact of the research on the company's performance.
Research on sustainable transport conducted by Hickman et al at UCL has contributed significantly to a major shift in UK and international transport policy during the last decade. Whereas such policy previously included little, if any, consideration of climate change, the desire to reduce transport CO2 emissions is now often its primary objective. Findings from and methods developed through the research have been used at city, regional, national and international to support and implement revised strategies and investment programmes promoting sustainable transport. As such, they contributed to increased use of public transport, walking and cycling, and reduced dependence on car usage. The methods have also been widely used by international consultancies and other researchers.
The case study captures and describes the outputs and impacts arising from cumulative research on the theme of accessibility in transport and urban design. Impacts are evidenced both through the research process in terms of end-user engagement, collaborative research and real world test bed research (local communities and neighbourhoods); and through intermediary and professional/ practitioner body validation, policy-making and take up of research findings and guidance/toolkits arising. Impacts have also occurred through wider dissemination, follow-up research and collaboration both nationally and internationally.
This research by the University's Transportation Research Group (TRG) has contributed to the development of sustainable road transport networks both in the UK and other leading cities worldwide. In summary:
Peter Jones' research developed new principles for urban street planning and design, which have been incorporated into Department for Transport (DfT) and Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) national guidelines. The methodology has been used in the Mayor of London's Roads Task Force report; Transport for London (TfL) now requires boroughs to use the classification for all new submissions for funding for street schemes. It underpins the specification of an £650m PFI highway maintenance contract with LB Hounslow, and has been used by other UK local authorities. Internationally, the approach has been applied in Australia and included in draft regulations for urban planning in Beijing.
A key element of the Plymouth Centre for Sustainable Transport's (CST) work since 2007 has been leadership of a major project to introduce and roll out smart card ticketing technology across South West England. Such technology brings significant sustainability benefits, but is extremely difficult to deploy in the UK's deregulated public transport operating environment. Professor Jon Shaw and Dr Andrew Seedhouse created with colleagues South West Smart Applications Ltd (SWSAL), a region-wide public / private not-for-profit company launched by Transport Minister Norman Baker in October 2010. The company is supporting the delivery of new smartcard ticket machines on all registered local buses in the South West. This has delivered significant improvements to public transport service delivery, shaped the roll-out of government transport policy and produced direct stimulus for the development of new public transport ticketing products and practices.
The Transport Research Institute at Edinburgh Napier University (TRI) recognises the importance of taxi research, developing a series of models since 2002. Parallel pressures within the regulation of the mode, and disruptive forms of access, necessitate measurable and repeatable analysis. Beneficiaries include the travelling public, as regulations are developed and applied, regulators, informing policy direction; operators and drivers as the market for services changes.
TRI models provide detailed analysis of the market. The market-model, with its economic, cost and operational sub-models, has developed to support live issues, and is applied in the UK, EU and North America.
Research by UCL's Centre for Transport Studies using PAMELA, a real-world-scale facility for conducting experiments into pedestrian movement, has improved transport services for customers on Thameslink trains and the London Underground, including increasing accessibility to London's transport for people with barriers to mobility, who make 7.1 million journeys each day. The work has led to multimillion-pound savings for Transport for London by reducing the cost of Underground platform humps. It has also informed government advice on procurement and enabled the resolution of concerns raised by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association about the safety of the Exhibition Road redevelopment in South Kensington.
Design has research programmes on designing for sustainability in transport, housing, energy systems and waste management. The resulting research has changed government policies, and benefited the practices of public and private sector organisations in engaging domestic and business user groups with sustainability issues. These organisations include several agencies concerned with energy, built environment, transport and waste, businesses, councils, trade associations, schools and universities.
Vehicle and mobility design research carried out at the Royal College of Art (RCA) since 1993 has resulted in industrial innovation in vehicles and transport, both nationally and internationally, enhancing industry's ability to provide commercial, societal and environmental benefits between 2008 and 2013. The areas in which we are claiming impact include accessible, user-centred transport (Impact 1); future visions of public service vehicles and systems (Impact 2); and innovation in vehicle design for changing technologies (Impact 3). These impacts are produced through design and consultancy. Corroboration of impact takes the form of public records of achievements, and authentication by manufacturers.