Skewb and Cadent Win Innovation Excellence Award at the Street Works Awards 2026
From industry-wide challenges to award-winning innovation, a collaboration between Skewb and Cadent is setting a new standard for digital transformation in utilities.
The partnership was crowned winner of the Innovation Excellence Award at the Street Works Awards 2026 for From Protocol to Practice: Material Classification at Industry Scale. Presented in the House of Commons Terrace Pavilion, the award recognises the project’s success in helping utilities tackle one of the most significant regulatory changes of recent years while demonstrating the power of practical, scalable digital innovation.
The evening brought further recognition for Skewb, which was also shortlisted for Training Scheme of the Year for its pioneering Skewb Climate work and Street Works Organisation of the Year, highlighting the breadth of the company’s contribution to workforce development, operational excellence and innovation across the utilities sector.
Sponsored by Virgin Media O2, the Street Works Awards celebrate the projects, organisations and individuals making a meaningful impact across the street works industry.
Transforming Compliance Across the Utilities Sector
The award-winning solution was developed in response to the introduction of the Material Classification Protocol which became mandatory on 1 October 2025.
The new requirements introduced a comprehensive framework for assessing, classifying, sampling, segregating and tracking excavated materials.
For utilities and contractors, this represented a significant operational challenge, with no existing solution capable of managing compliance at scale.
Rather than relying on manual processes, spreadsheets and additional administration, Cadent and Skewb set out to develop a smarter approach.
Working together, they created a platform that embeds compliance directly into operational workflows. From the moment a permit is received, risk assessments, material classification, sampling requirements and reporting activities are managed automatically, enabling teams to focus on delivering work while maintaining full compliance.
The result is a seamless, scalable solution that transforms a complex regulatory obligation into an efficient business process.
Delivering Measurable Results
Since its launch, the platform has already delivered significant benefits across the industry, helping utilities respond more efficiently to evolving regulatory requirements.
To date, the solution has automatically classified more than 150,000 permit records directly from Street Manager. By automating what was previously a time-consuming and resource-intensive process, the platform has enabled organisations to meet compliance requirements without the need for additional headcount.
The project has also provided enhanced operational oversight through proactive jeopardy management, giving teams greater visibility of potential risks and issues before they become problems. This has strengthened decision-making and improved confidence in compliance processes across participating organisations.
The platform has also delivered several industry firsts. These include the creation of the sector’s first shared geospatial view of the national sample register, providing a powerful new way to analyse and manage data at scale.
Together, these innovations demonstrate how practical digital solutions can drive efficiency, improve regulatory compliance and create lasting value for the utilities sector.
The platform is now live with 11 organisations spanning gas, water, electricity and power.
Vince Nwana, Director of Digital Products and Solutions at Skewb, said:
“What makes this achievement particularly special is that we didn’t set out to build a compliance tool, we set out to solve a real operational challenge for our client and the wider industry. Together with Cadent, we transformed a complex new regulatory requirement into a solution that works at scale, reduces operational burden and helps organisations focus on what they do best. To see the platform already adopted across multiple utility sectors and recognised by our peers at the Street Works Awards is something the entire team is incredibly proud of.
“This award reflects the power of collaboration between forward-thinking clients and technology partners. By combining Cadent’s operational expertise with Skewb’s digital engineering capability, we’ve created a solution that not only addresses today’s challenges but helps prepare the industry for the future.”
Mark Whittaker, head of works quality and management systems operational performance said:
“Working collaboratively with Skewb, we have developed a platform that simplifies what could otherwise be a highly complex process. The results we’ve seen so far have been extremely encouraging and it’s fantastic to see the solution recognised through this award.”
Innovation Built for the Future
The judges recognised not only the technical achievement behind the platform but also its wider value to the industry.
By combining operational expertise with digital engineering, Cadent and Skewb have delivered a practical solution to a complex challenge, helping organisations improve efficiency, strengthen compliance and prepare for future regulatory change.
Powering Better Outcomes Through Partnership
At its heart, this success is a story of collaboration.
Cadent’s operational insight and willingness to act as an early adopter, combined with Skewb’s expertise in solving complex industry challenges through technology, created a solution that is delivering value far beyond a single organisation.
As the utilities sector continues to face increasing environmental, regulatory and operational pressures, innovation will play a critical role in shaping the future. This award is recognition of what can be achieved when organisations work together to solve shared challenges and create solutions that benefit an entire industry.
For Skewb, it represents another step in our mission to deliver technology that creates lasting value for our clients, their customers and the communities they serve.
