WET News

4 WET NEWS AUGUST 2015 NEWS+ CONTRACT WINS GOOD MONTH BAD MONTH Skanska UK has received £700K-plus funding from Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to develop robots for onsite and offsite construction. Southern Water remains the UK's best performing water and wastewater company for leakage, having plugged more than 22,000 leaks in 2014-15. A disinfection problem at UU's' Sweetloves WTW left 18,000 properties without their water supply. The AD sector will be £11M/ yr worse off due to the Climate Change Levy exemption for renewables. REALITY CHECK EU Skills statistics reveal that 139,500 people work in the water industry in England, 28,500 of which are employed by the regulated water companies and utilities The industry has an aging workforce, with the age profile expected to worsen over the next 15 years Skills are integrally linked to innovation Historic investment in skills in the industry has remained relatively low British Water says at least 40,000 staff are laid off as a result of the troughs in the five-yearly AMP cycles Engineering retention gap will cost billions in lost productivity • A new report recommends a three-point plan to reduce the productivity cost of recruiting, as estimates suggest there will be 1.8 million roles to fill over the next ten years. Engineering talent is responsible for delivering much of UK's economy T he engineering sector could face up to a £9.5bn retention gap over the next decade, new analysis by the Association for Consultancy & Engineering (ACE) and EngTechNow has warned. According to the study, called The Retention Gap: What It Is and How to Tackle It, productivity lost through handover activities and new staff getting up to speed amounts to £5,128 for engineers, and £4,908 for senior technicians. The gap is lower when replacement happens at a more junior level. For junior and graduate engineers it is £2,912 and for technicians and trainees it amounts to £2,820, providing a route to cutting the productivity loss by promoting from within. Combined, this loss in productivity across all levels of the engineering sector could Siemens claims that engineering employers have the ability to generate a further £27bn a year from 2022 New employees in small and medium-sized enterprises take 24 weeks to reach optimum productivity, compared to 28 weeks for large firms with 250-plus worker By replacing an engineer internally rather than externally a productivity saving of £2,216 can be made 73% of staff in this industry will never serve a period of more than five years at a company Reducing the need to replace staff by just 1% a year throughout this decade would amount to a productivity saving of at least £520M per annum across the industry HS2 Chiltern tunnel could damage water supply • Geologist tells Commons Select Committee that regional water could be damaged by drilling just one hole. C urrent plans for the HS2's Chiltern tunnel could damage water supply in Buckinghamshire if given the go ahead, the High-Speed Rail Commons Select Committee has heard. Giving evidence to the committee last month, geologist Dr Haydon Bailey said that a major regional water supply could be damaged by drilling just one hole. Dr Bailey said HS2's plans to bore through the Misbourne Valley are worrying because the tunnel crown will be at a level with less than 6m "of competent chalk above it. Above this will be gravel and weathered rubbly chalk and there is certainly the threat of ground failure at the valley crossing point close to Chalfont St Giles". He proposed that a three- layer tunnel would be better, protecting the water supply and allowing emergency access. "The proposed route crosses the Misbourne Valley where the tunnel crown will be at a level with less than 6m of competent chalk above it. Above this will be gravel and weathered rubbly chalk and there is certainly the threat of ground failure at the valley crossing point close to Chalfont St Giles," said Dr Bailey. He said: "The chalk aquifer below the Misbourne valley is a major regional water supply, with numerous public water sources/boreholes in proximity to the proposed route. The public water supply at Chalfont St. Giles will certainly be jeopardised by the tunnel construction, and several other boreholes along the Misbourne valley at Amersham and Great Missenden will be threatened. "In addition to this, 22% of London's water supply is at risk should there be any damage to or pollution of the chalk aquifer in this and the adjacent Colne valleys." The HS2 is the proposed high speed link between London and the Midlands. • Black & Veatch has won a £56M contract with United Utilities to deliver upgrades at its Oldham and Royton wastewater treatment works. Procured as a single deal, the project comprises the design, procurement, construction, commissioning and operation / optimisation of the new facilities, together with transfer pipeline and pumping stations. • Cappagh Contractors has been awarded an AMP6 infrastructure contract by Portsmouth Water worth more than £24M. The contract covers the planned mains replacement and other work on the utility company's water supply network for the AMP6 period. • Doosan Enpure has been appointed as the main contractor for a £50M project to replace the Bellozanne sewage treatment works (STW) in St Helier, which serves Jersey. The framework contract comprises two distinct packages of work – Early Contractor Involvement to develop the concept design, and to design and build the replacement STW. amount to a loss of £9.5bn over the next ten years. The report includes a three-point plan aimed at reducing the productivity cost of recruitment. The recommendations are: • Have staff in place who are already prepared for promotion so the need for recruitment can be pushed down to more junior positions • By hiring proven professionals who fit their corporate culture, companies can reduce the risk of hiring someone who does not work out • The ability to move technicians and engineers seamlessly between parts of the business can put significant control of replacement in the hands of an employer Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE, chief executive officer of ACE, said: "There are an estimated 1.8 million engineering roles to fill over a ten-year period and our figures demonstrate why industry must benchmark itself and adopt best practice. Engineering talent is responsible for delivering so much of our economy, and for achieving so much of government ambitions for the future, that we need to find every opportunity to improve the way we work. Government's recent publication on the UK's productivity rate confirms an urgent need to match, or improve on, our European and USA colleagues in order to maintain UK international competitiveness. Industry's positive response to mitigate or minimise the cost of retention gap will go a long way towards improving productivity." Blane Judd, chief executive of EngTechNow, said: "The case for preparing a bank of promotion-ready staff – not just within specialisms but for promotions that cross into new disciplines, is unambiguous. Our report highlights some of the best practice underway at industry-leading employers. Applying those lessons across engineering has the potential to save taxpayers and clients billions of pounds, making the UK more globally competitive." Take the advantages of owning your own high quality water meter box and supply Water Utility Companies to expand your business. 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