WET News

6 Leaders 2016 The LeADeRS 2016 Build to Last "a positive step' Balfour Beatty puts problems behind it, and moves its water business up to boardroom level. Turnover £M Balfour Beatty 7,264.0 Amec 3,993.0 Kier Group 3,275.9 Morgan Sindall 2,219.8 Amey 2,167.9 Mace 1,486.5 Skanska UK 1,260.5 Costain 1,071.8 Laing O'Rourke 1,024.3 Vinci Construction 999.0 "We're certainly covering the clients that we would like to work for given we need to work at scale" " It's been a really positive step forward for us. Water as a market place has a very clear seat at the top table as opposed to being a divisional function underneath," says Craig McGilvray, managing director, Gas & Water at Balfour Beatty, explaining that he now reports to the chief executive and is part of the group's executive committee. This move up the corporate business ladder is a result of group chief executive Leo Quinn's Build to Last programme, which has created a more unified UK business with the US business alongside. The programme was introduced to help turn Balfour Beatty's fortunes around having endured heavy losses in the past couple of years or so. To cut a long story short, the cause of Balfour Beatty's poor group results was laid firmly at the door of its UK construction business, where there had been a number of problem contracts. The practical and financial completion for more than 90% of these is expected by the end of 2016. Action was swiŒly taken to refocus Construction Services UK and improve efficiency, including eliminating a layer of the management structure as part of simplifying the business, and targeting an increase in the average contract size in regional construction, with bidding activity being tightly controlled across the division. Collaboration The group is gradually putting that behind it. This has been helped by the Build to Last programme which has encouraged building collaboration across the UK part of the group, as well as optimising additional skillsets and products that the group has and which could serve different markets. McGilvray explains: "We've got knowledge and expertise in other markets that we haven't perhaps used strongly enough and are bringing them back to the water sector. We're very focused on where we have a production facility possibly making electrical switchgear, and we're building a water treatment works and we'll have more of that supply chain in-house." He says Balfour Beatty is building the infrastructure to achieve the transfer of ability of contract and project management as they come off projects across the group. The aim is to create the platform in the busy times to give Balfour's water sector access to the skills and resources it needs. "Clearly it will be cyclical so it's making sure Balfour Beatty doesn't lose those people from water if there is a downturn towards the end or at Balfour Beatty Park Square, Newton Chambers Road, Thorncliffe Park, Chapeltown, Sheffield S35 2PH www.balfourbeatty.com Craig McGilvray

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