Kent County Council is moving from SCANNER and coarse visual inspection (CVI) surveys to the PAS 2161 specification for road condition monitoring.
The council has awarded a £666,906 excluding VAT contract to Metricell Limited, a Horsham-based SME. The contract is scheduled to run from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2030, with an option to extend by up to two years.
End-to-end road condition surveys
Metricell will provide an end-to-end service using its own equipment, vehicles and staff. The firm will carry out PAS 2161 compliant Road Condition Monitoring (RCM) surveys across Kent’s entire highway network and deliver all resulting data and outputs to the council.
Alongside RCM surveys, Metricell will conduct skid resistance surveys to the BS 7941-1 standard using SCRIM (Sideway-force Coefficient Routine Investigation Machine) assessments. Skid resistance measures how well a wet road surface grips a tyre, a key safety factor for vehicle braking and control.
Replacing SCANNER and CVI with PAS 2161
SCANNER surveys use instrumented vehicles to collect data on road surface condition, while CVI surveys rely on visual inspection. Kent is switching to PAS 2161, a newer and more comprehensive standard for network-wide road condition monitoring.
This change aligns Kent with updated industry standards and allows more consistent, data-rich condition assessments that can improve maintenance planning and safety management.
Contract details and procurement
The contract award followed a competitive flexible procedure, with three SMEs submitting tenders. All bids reached the final evaluation stage.
Kent has not disclosed annual survey lengths, the frequency of surveys by road type, or the identity of previous survey providers. The contract, valued at just under £667,000 excluding VAT (£800,287 including VAT), may be extended to run until 31 October 2032.
Broader context in the UK
Kent’s move to PAS 2161 reflects a wider trend among local authorities seeking more detailed and accurate road condition data. Other councils, such as Ealing, have adopted similar approaches but with significantly different budgets.
The transition supports compliance with regulations such as the Traffic Management Act and the Sector Schemes, enabling local authorities to prioritise maintenance efficiently on A-roads, B-roads and minor routes affected by UK weather and traffic patterns.
