Connected and autonomous plant scoring system launched

National Highways has unveiled a new industry-wide scoring system for connected and autonomous plant (CAP) to construction industry leaders.

Visitors to last week’s Plantworx 2022 event in Peterborough were given “a first look” at the new CAP Levels, which will score machinery according to its level of automation.

“This standardised measure, the first of its kind, will offer clarity and a clear way to compare different types of machinery to suit different tasks,” said National Highways.

“The system is the latest development in the CAP Roadmap launched by National Highways and i3P jointly in June 2020 which identified challenges and workstreams to support a goal of making automation business as usual in construction by 2035.”

According to the organisation, establishing CAP Levels as a common framework will enable construction clients to communicate “clear expectations to suppliers”, and allow manufacturers to accurately describe the capability of their products “using the same language”.

Annette Pass, National Highways Head of Innovation, said, “Connected and autonomous plant offers a real opportunity to revolutionise the construction sector by making work safer, quicker and brings significant benefits for the environment.

“Futureworx is the perfect platform to showcase our new CAP levels which will further our ambitious plans to introduce more connected and autonomous plant onto sites as we continue to develop the roads of the future.”

Pass added, “CAP has the potential to improve productivity by more than £200bn by 2040 in the construction sector and we are committed to making it standard industry practice.

“By establishing more collaborative relationships with innovators and academics we hope to continue to lead in this field.”