M Group Highways has been using KaarbonTech for over a decade to manage highway drainage across Devon.
What began as a move away from paper-based maps and manual reporting has grown into a fully digital approach that enables live visibility, accurate reporting, and smarter environmental planning.
Cyclical Maintenance Manager Chris Brown reflected on the change:
“If we didn’t have KaarbonTech, I’m not 100% sure where we’d be. GullySMART has massively improved the way we work. At the touch of a button we know where we are on programme, can package up work, and have crews on site within minutes.”
A shift in day-to-day delivery
Devon’s drainage network covers everything from rural lanes to busy coastal roads. For years, crews relied on paper maps and manual notes to manage the workload; an approach that made planning slow and responding to change even harder.
Now, live data gives Devon Highways a clear picture of progress across the programme and the ability to issue jobs directly to crews in the field. The result is less time spent searching for instructions, and more time spent tackling the work on the ground.
Building trust with data
Cyclical Agent Josh Hutchins described how that visibility has shaped both client and public engagement:
“Our client absolutely love KaarbonTech — they love the fact that we can report very quickly on it. If they come back to us and ask how we’re getting on, we can instantly show them. And when the public ask why one gully is being done and not another, our crews can explain and show the priorities. That transparency just wasn’t possible before.”
Protecting the environment
Alongside efficiency, environmental protection is a central part of the job. Devon’s coastal setting makes the management of sensitive outfalls (assets that discharge into rivers or the sea) particularly important.
Hutchins highlighted the difference this has made:
“Within GullySMART, the sensitive outfalls feature has had a big impact. The last thing we want is discharging into the sea, so being able to programme those out during bathing season is a big benefit.”
Moving forward
For M Group Highways, the benefits of the system come through in everyday practice: visibility of where work stands, confidence in the data being shared, and the ability to deliver drainage programmes in a way that balances efficiency with environmental responsibility.