WET News

ALLIANCES 2015 5 the 4D contract is a ten-year contract for AMP4 and AMP5, and there will be some work that runs on aer March 2015. "4D will complete any work that they've got." Dickinson says that as far as MWH goes, MWH will redeploy the staff that were in 4D into the new AMP6 contracts. "It's not an issue for us, it's just getting the transition and making sure we com- plete obligations on the AMP5 contract and ramp up for AMP6." Drive Laing O'Rourke and Imtech joint venture Tamesis is another collaboration that is due to disband once its AMP5 projects for Thames Water are complete. How- ever, Duncan Wildgoose, business devel- opment manager at Imtech, comments: "Tamesis was a special JV for Thames Water and will be used in association with any future projects from Thames Water where Laing O'Rourke / Imtech decide to JV. At the conclusion of the existing major projects at Beckton & Crossness, staff will move back into par- ent structures as appropriate." There certainly does seem to have been a drive from the water companies in this procurement process to procure organisations that have breadth and depth in terms of their particular skill basis. But what makes the ideal partner? According to Duncan Atkins, manag- ing director at Imtech Water, Waste and Energy, says: "Principally it's around two things – complementary skills and the strengths of the relationships within the organisations in terms of their ability to work together and ultimately cope with the ups and downs that inevitably There has been a drive from the water companies in this procurement process to procure organisations that have breadth and depth in terms of their particular skill basis happens in a contracting environment. "I think alliances work best where you've got partners who bring different things. "It's about being able to have a kind of maturity in those relationships to deal with the rough and smooth." Thomas Faulkner, managing director, civil engineering at Skanska UK, adds: "It's very important each partner in a collaborative environment has the abil- ity to listen, and that's something you have to work at. You have to listen actively to understand what the underly- ing needs are for the client and their cus- tomers, but then to understand and then challenge it in a positive way. "If you get people challenging it by building on ideas that each other have, then that's the foundation for a really strong team."

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