WET News

WET NEWS WATER AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT NEWS News+ AMP6 is less than a month away, and its arrival will herald a new era in project costing – total expendi- ture (totex) approach. But is the water industry ready? p7 Onsite: Onsite Sewer renovation Ramsgate's Victorian sewers are undergoing 21st century makeover in Southern Water's 'complex but exciting scheme p8, 10, 11 Insight: Insight Flood risk manage- ment New planning rules come into play next month but are drivers for retro† t- ting SuDS any clearer? p19, 20 "...totex is a chal- lenge that I think we haven't cracked" Thomas Faulkner, Skanska, p7 Infrastructure group launches 'Build to Last' programme, as it moves to put six pro† t warnings behind it by transforming itself and through concentrating on four key areas. key employees and sub-con- tractors by investing in train- ing and talent to enhance engi- neering, project management and delivery capability (met- ric: engagement survey) • Trusted – Strengthen the suc- cessful execution of projects and services through disci- plined stage-gated bidding, contracting and risk review processes (metric: customer satisfaction) • Safe• – Prioritise safety at all levels and for all employees, sub-contractors, customers I nfrastructure group Balfour Beatty has embarked on a transformation programme to drive continual improvement across all its businesses. The transformation programme, which comes a‚ er the group delivered its sixth proƒ t warning in two years, will be key in Balfour Be- atty making a turnaround. The Build to Last programme will target bringing each busi- ness unit to industry-standard performance levels by focusing on four key areas: • Lean – Deliver rapid perfor- mance improvement by strengthening ƒ nancial con- trols and transparency and simplifying the organisation with detailed indirect cost re- duction plans, plus the launch of the My Contribution produc- tivity initiative (metric: operat- ing proƒ t and operating cash generation) • Expert– Ensure the attraction, retention and development of Balfour Beatty aims to transform itself the independent KPMG review a‚ er repeated poor perfor- mance, and cut its UK construc- tion forecasts by another £70M. he £200M share buy-back, to be funded by its £753M sale of Par- sons Brinkerho• , was also can- celled and its dividend policy bought under review. and communities (metric: zero harm) New group chief executive Leo Quinn said:• "The group's recent trading makes it impera- tive to gain early momentum in our transformation plans. Whilst further challenges re- main, there are clear opportuni- ties to achieve improvements in cash generation and proƒ tabili- ty in the near term. "Balfour Beatty has great strengths across its portfolio – not least in its Investments divi- sion, where recent transactions underline the ongoing ability of this business to create value." Quinn said that in the longer term, the aim is to shape a group with leadership in key markets, driving best-in-class performance from a platform of strong capability, leaner pro- cesses and robust execution. In January, Balfour Beatty announced the conclusion of MARCH 2015 Volume 21 • Issue 03 Pump Hire, Sales & Service Selwood has been manufacturing, hiring and selling pumps for over 60 years. Please call for expert advice on all pumping applications. Models From 50mm To 300mm Selprime Auto Self-Priming Super Silent From 58db(A) Hydraulic Submersibles Electric Submersibles 24/7 Callout Branches Nationwide 08450 733835 www.selwood.co.uk Pump Hire, Sales & Service Selwood has been manufacturing, hiring and selling pumps for over 60 years. Please call for expert advice on all pumping applications. NEED TO KNOW Balfour Beatty rejected Carillion's merger advances back in the summer Balfour Beatty has warned shareholders that it could breach banking covenants if the £820M sale of Parsons Brinckerho– to WSP Global is not approved Parsons Brinckerho– is one of Balfour Beatty's few pro† table units KPMG carried out a detailed independent review of the CSUK contract portfolio Leo Quinn Coal Authority deals for JN Bentley and STS S evern Trent Services (STS) and JN Bentley have both picked up multimillion- pound contracts with the Coal Authority. The contracts are to protect environment from pol- luted water from disused coal and metal mines. STS' ten-year deal, worth a minimum of £25M with a likely overall contract spend in excess of £50M, will see the company operate and maintain the Coal Authority's 82 mine water treat- ment schemes, pumping sta- tions and mine gas facilities in Britain, as well as new schemes to be built in the future. Civil engineering company JN Bentley has a four-year framework agreement, with an expected value of between £2.5M-£4M a year, to design and construct new mine water treat- ment schemes. The Coal Authority's existing schemes prevent more than 4,000 tonnes of iron solids from entering Britain's watercourses every year. They also protect a number of drinking water aqui- fers from pollution from rising mine waters. T he EC's forthcoming re- view concerning imple- mentation of the WFD could "be taken as an opportu- nity" to seek tighter restrictions on water quality without sup- porting evidence of the econom- ic and social consequences of such decisions , Water UK has warned. The commission is to carry out the review because it is look- ing increasingly uncertain that any member state will be able to achieve good status in all water bodies by the 2015 deadline and signiƒ cant use of exemptions and changes to other measures are required. Water UK said that while protecting vulnerable ecosys- tems is vitally important, a bal- ance needs to be struck between environmental costs and extra charges to water customers, par- ticularly where proposed meas- ures are not backed by compre- hensive data. Water companies have very detailed information about cus- tomers' priorities for the envi- ronment. "Conceptually, it's very easy to under- stand totex..." Duncan Atkins, Imtech, p7 WFD review could mean tighter restrictions

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