WET News

4 WET NEWS DECEMBER 2015 News+ CONTRACT WINS Good monthT- Bad month Southern Water and contractors Clancy Docwra and Atkins triumphed at the recent NJUG awards, winning in recognition of their work on the sewer system in Ramsgate, Kent. For South West Water, which was fined £214K for breaching environmental controls at the Camels Head STW in 2013. And Thames Water had to delay installing a new water main at Abingdon, thanks to the rare Great Crested Newt. Rectiing barriers to supply chain innovation beyond procurement and contract execution • New research to be carried out over next 12 months to provide opportunities for testing theories of contract design in a commercial setting, and to understand behaviours that drive innovation. C ostain, international law firm Pinsent Masons and the University of Cambridge have embarked on a project to see how innovation can be harnessed more effectively and for longer having secured funding from Innovate UK. The research, which will take 12 months and examine how innovation can be promoted throughout the supply chain. Called 'Maximising Innova- tion Beyond Procurement and Contract Execution', the project reflects the fact that once a contract has been procured, the scope to accommodate innova- tion within the deal is governed by the contract itself and the nature of the contractual relationship. Adam Golden, legal executive at Costain, said: "Under many current industry models, the potential for innovation diminishes as a project develops. The aim of this research project is to identify the barriers to innovation and see what steps can be taken to reduce the uncertainty and risk related to innovation. We will then be able to ensure that innovation is maintained throughout the whole life of a project." The research will be split into five Work Plans: • It will devise a conceptual model to rectify the problems that currently exist within the current supply chain around contractual and comm- ercial processes • Behaviours will measure the strength of relation- ships within the supply chain • A case study will show how clients have encouraged innovation across their programmes • Commercial and legal guidelines will be adopted as recommendations for how to get more from the supply chain • A White Paper will be produced that will take the learning and dis- cussion points from the organisations involved to stimulate debate within the industry Mark Wray, lead technologist for the Built Environment at Innovation removes the need for hasty decision-making which can often result in errors Further benefits from innovation include improved asset lifecycle management, optimisation There are numerous obstacles – both organisational and contractual – which can work against participants harnessing and implementing innovation The potential for innovation diminishes as a project develops Infrastructure and major projects authorities to merge • New organisation to deliver expertise on delivering large scale projects such as London's 'super sewer'. T he government is bringing its expertise, knowledge and skills at managing and delivering major economic projects under one roof for the first time by merging Infrastructure UK (IUK) and the Major Projects Authority (MPA). The new organisation, called the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), will come into effect from January 1, 2016 and will bring together government expertise in the financing, delivery and assurance of these projects, ranging from large scale infrastructure projects such as Crossrail and the Thames Tideway Tunnel to major transformation programmes. It will report jointly to Chancellor George Osborne and the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Matt Hancock. Tony Meggs, the current Chief Executive of the MPA, will be chief executive of the IPA. Hancock said: "The new Infrastructure and Projects Authority is a further step forward in delivering what Britain needs to prosper in the 21st century. By combining projects expertise with funding authority we will improve the government's ability to deliver, and the economic security that comes with it. Tony Meggs has been a hugely respected chief executive of the MPA and has the leadership and capability to make the new organisation a great success." IUK was established in 2010 to support major infrastructure projects involving public sector capital, such as Crossrail. It also leads on PFI policy across government; and negotiates infrastructure guarantees, under which up to £40bn is available to support investment in UK infrastructure projects. It currently sits within HM Treasury and is staffed by around 70 civil servants and private sector commercial experts. The MPA was established in 2011 with a mandate to oversee and assure the largest government projects. It provides assurance of and support to those projects comprising the Government Major Projects Portfolio, some 200 projects totalling nearly £500bn in public spending. • Industrial Water Jetting Systems expects to create potentially 50 new jobs having won a £3M contract with Amey to provide reactive and planned desilting and CCTV surveys of Yorkshire Water's Southern drainage network. The deal includes robotic cutting, sewer rehabilitation and patch repairs. • Lanes Group has won a contract to deliver drainage survey and maintenance services to the Mersey Gateway Project. Drainage engineers based at Lanes' Chester depot are working for the Merseylink Civil Contractors Joint Venture, the design and construction contractor for the transport and regeneration project. • DrainsAid, Peter Duffy's specialist drainage and sewer rehabilitation division, is to manage the septic tank assets on the London North West (LNW) route having secured a two-year deal with Network Rail. The company will help the railway maintenance specialists with planned and reactive drainage services for Network Rail assets throughout the region. Innovate UK, said: "Within current contractual frameworks there is a degree of fear and uncertainty inside the supply chain with regard to innovation. Innovation by its very nature carries a degree of risk. Where collaborative innovations are undertaken and the desired result is not as expected, these relationships can become litigious. "What this project aims to do is essentially eradicate this reduction in the ability to innovate, ensuring that the opportunity is maintained throughout the whole life of the project." Simon Deakin, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Business Research, at the University of Cambridge, added: "This project provides an opportunity to test theories of contract design in a commercial setting and will generate new knowledge on the conditions for effective collaboration in complex The research will seek to establish how innovation can be promoted throughout the supply chain infrastructure projects." Shy Jackson, a partner with Pinsent Masons who is involved with the project, said: "Understanding the behaviour that drives innovation is critical, but if we are able to identify practical measures that encourage innovation and remove perceived barriers that could make a real difference. In a highly competitive market, this can demonstrate that innovation is more than just another buzz word." 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