one magazine - December 2010
Transcription
one magazine - December 2010
T h e a w a r d w i n n i n g m a g a z i n e f r o m t h e A n g l i a n Wa t e r @ o n e A l l i a n c e 03 UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL With our standard products 04 A FLYING START AMP5’s fast-track success 08 ARE YOU FIGHTING FIT? Board’s rallying call I s s u e 1 0 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0 LEAN ON us To help identify, measure and remove waste. Page 5 One_winter2010.indd 1 3/12/10 12:55:07 safety first 02 If you have a story or project that you would like to see in magazine, please contact Managing Editor, Grant Tuffs, tel: 01733 414108, or email [email protected]. Alternatively, please contact one of our correspondents below: Grant Tuffs Tel no: 01733 414108 [email protected] Rebecca Simpson Tel no: 0114 232 9614 [email protected] AN ENCOuRAGING sTART Safety continues to be, and will always be top of our agenda. See story page 10. By now everyone in the @one Alliance should be aware of the challenges we’re tackling in the AMP5 period ahead, not least the 20 per cent affordability challenge, the drive to reduce embodied carbon by 50 per cent and operational carbon by 20 per cent. But I’m confident that we can achieve success because we have a robust business plan in place and a strong, integrated management team. It’s early days, but we’ve made an encouraging start. Teams are already coming forward with solutions that respond to both the carbon challenge and the affordability challenge. What’s being demonstrated in these solutions is that people are already thinking about carbon and sustainability in design and construction, which is great to see. now the challenge is to ramp that effort up because we have to deliver more than £100 million of work before the end of our first year. We also need to deliver a consistent and reliable performance across the gateways in our Capital Delivery Process. I’m sure we’ll achieve these challenges as we continue our quest to be a leader in capital delivery across any sector. Read more about what the Alliance Board members have to say about our journey into AMP5 on pages 8 and 9. Dale Evans, Director @one Alliance. Contents Jeremy James Tel no: 01733 414156 [email protected] 04 Top class Grant’s mentoring work 06 Love every drop! Water at the heart of living Vicky Gillibrand Tel no: 01706 626333 [email protected] 04 Julie O’Fee Tel no: 01737 856553 [email protected] 10 Passport please Work Safely induction 12 Here to assist Meet the Enabling Team Pamela Weeks Tel no: 0113 307 3073 [email protected] 15 Let’s keep talking Communication is key 07 Sue Ledgerwood Tel no: 01642 334263 susan.ledgerwood@ akersolutions.com 07 Sustainability in design Challenging carbon output Produced by 12 Cover picture: lean Engineers Dodie Grant and lynne Hamilton. Read their story on page 5. Publications - 01904 479500 December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 2 3/12/10 12:55:40 News STAnDARD PRODUCTS ‘LEAD’ THE WAY Teams take a tour of the unit when it was delivered to Thorpe Wood House in September. We all understand the need to consider standard products wherever possible, but it’s always nice to get up close and personal with them every now and then, and to see how they can save you time and money. That’s why the new Orthophosphoric Acid Dosing standard product was brought to Thorpe Wood House on the back of a lorry and craned into position for teams to touch and feel, and to see what it looks like and how it works. In AMP5 the @one Alliance is expecting to deliver 24 Ortho Dosing unit schemes. Buying this standard product in bulk will save almost £1 million and because it’s manufactured off site, there’s no waste and every unit is the same. “This is an excellent example of how giving a supplier commitment to a known demand across projects and early visibility of the programme enables them to pass efficiencies back to Anglian Water,” said Warren Bigwood, Senior Buyer IProcT. Inside, all was explained. Product Development Manager, lindsey Taylor, said: “This is also a great example of Alliance teams working together. From start to finish, Product Development and Integrated Procurement have worked closely with the project team to bring this Ortho Dosing standard product to a smooth, successful conclusion. It’s a really good example of how a project should work.” If you use a standard product on your project – make sure you claim the efficiencies! Simply claim the product on your scheme efficiency log. For more information, call Lindsey on 01733 414451. HIGH LEVEL TRIO GIVE NOD OF APPROVAL The Non-Executive Directors of Anglian Water were impressed by the @one Alliance during their visit to Thorpe Wood House in early September. Robert napier, John Watkinson and Christopher Garnett spent time with various teams to see how the Alliance is delivering against the AMP5 Capital Delivery business plan. With many schemes underway and some already completed for year one, the visitors were very impressed with progress so far. John Watkinson said: “Building on ‘best in class’ isn’t easy, but everyone seems very clear and very united in how it’s going to be done, in terms of efficiency and affordability. “I noted a few areas of opportunity, so it will be good to see how things progress,” he added. It’s hoped the three will return for a follow-up visit next year. 03 Pictured during the high level visit are, from left: Christopher Garnett, Chris newsome, Director Asset Management (and Chairman of the Alliance Board), John Watkinson, Dale Evans, Director - @one Alliance and James Hampson, Waste Water non Infrastructure Programme Area Manager. AWARD REWARD FOR INNOVATION Installing the diffusers at Basildon and Chelmsford Wastewater Treatment Works. Mark is pictured with the award, surrounded by Daniel Simpson, AW Process Controller, Basildon, Ian Hammond, Hydrok UK, Area Manager, Roger Babington, AW Treatment Manager, Southend, Peter Caldwell, Alliance, Process Design Engineer, Gary Wakley, AW, M&E Asset Engineer at Basildon Wastewater Treatment Works. Alliance teams are bubbling with pride after winning a much sought after global accolade – the Skanska Green Award – for their high efficiency aeration process development work. The entry focused on the Basildon aeration scheme, which has now been extended for use at Witham and Chelmsford sites by the Alliance and Anglian Water. It’s also been built up into a standard product. Mark Humphries, Production Manager for Wastewater non Infrastructure, said: “Oxygen transfer from air into fluids is an essential process in waste water treatment. Smaller air bubbles increase transfer efficiency. “We’ve introduced a system for high efficiency aeration new to the UK, with diffusers and efficient blowers in several projects. The result is an astonishing capacity increase of 15 to 20 per cent, while reducing energy needs by about 20 to 30 per cent and consequently CO2 emissions. “For a client like Anglian Water (AW) this generates substantial savings as well as increased water quality. And this solution is transferable to other water and wastewater projects.” >> >> FAST FACT - £10 million below affordability One_winter2010.indd 3 December 2010 3/12/10 12:56:04 News AMP5 OFF TO A FLIER 04 The @one Alliance made a fantastic start to AMP5, setting a terrific benchmark for others to follow. And it wasn’t easy. The first Wastewater non Infrastructure project of AMP5 was a fast-track challenge at Witcham Wastewater Treatment Works near Ely in Cambridgeshire. The site needed upgrading to meet new Environment Agency compliance consents and to cope with additional housing growth in the area. With a short design time and a construction window of just 12 weeks, teams also had to provide a small footprint solution at the lowest cost. Project Manager, Paul Green, said: “We installed four lamellas* which had been recycled from another site; refurbished two pumping stations and fitted various flow and return pipelines underground. We also added two new control panels and upgraded the telemetry. “The highlight of the scheme was the installation of four, small-footprint reed beds. Traditionally reed beds are the size of a football pitch, but we were able to reduce that size by two-thirds using an innovative approach.” Using technology new to the Alliance, the small reed beds were made from baskets filled with different sized pebbles in two different zones with an array of reeds in each of the baskets. This allows water to flow through the pebbles more naturally with the reeds doing their work on the solids capture more than the traditional ‘hole in the ground’ artificial reed beds. Said Paul: “There was success at every stage of this project. The business plan cost for Witcham was near to £1.4 million and we delivered, on time, for £960,000, saving more than £400,000. “Using less space also saved a lengthy procurement process for buying the land and applying for permissions and land change notices which in turn could Above – the lamella tanks. * A lamella – is a water treatment process that features a rack of inclined metal plates to separate solids from liquids in effluent streams. Below – the small footprint reed beds. have proved detrimental to the delivery programme and environment. We also saved embedded and operational carbon.” Grant’s a class act The talk is all about technology and innovation, but this time it’s not coming from an @one Alliance meeting room. Instead it’s coming from a classroom, and the fresh thinking and new ideas about engineering are being discussed by 12 and 13-year-old pupils. Helping to encourage this next generation of engineers is Alliance Principal Electrical & ICA Design Engineer Grant Smith (pictured left) who has been mentoring pre-GCSE students in his own time since 2002. “I got involved in mentoring through my role as Chairman of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (Peterborough branch)” said Grant. “Over the years I’ve worked with children at the Thomas Deacon Academy and the King’s School in Peterborough. Personally the students never fail to impress me with how much they learn and how much they retain from what I’ve said in previous meetings. “From a business point of view, I’ve taken the teenage pupils on a tour around Wing Water Treatment Works and we’ve undertaken a project to examine water usage in schools. You never know, these students could be our next generation of Alliance engineers.” As part of its Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability strategy, the Alliance invites engineers to subscribe to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Ambassadors’ initiative. The programme aims to enable young people to develop their creativity, problem-solving and employability skills on STEM subjects. If you’d like to become a STEM Ambassador, please email Alliance Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Manager, Davide Stronati, on [email protected] December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 4 >> FAST FACT - 11 projects through Gateway 5 at the end of October. 3/12/10 12:56:21 Waste CUTTInG OUT WASTE The @one Alliance is committed to identifying and measuring waste, then systematically working to remove it to become more efficient and effective in the delivery of capital projects. Waste, put simply, is any activity that doesn’t add value, including construction materials going into a skip, repeating an activity that wasn’t right first time and ‘wasted time’ when a task can’t be carried out because a previous task hasn’t been completed or an unforeseen blocker becomes apparent. The Alliance reports its high level waste performance through the Waste Index, this is split into three key measures – re-work, materials management and reliability – which are tangible indicators of its performance. The Alliance has targets for each of these three areas which the lean Engineers (see below) are working to and developing tools and techniques to achieve. The Alliance is also pioneering in the construction industry because it has developed and modified tools (like Plantrac and Punchlists) and metrics (such as rework) that are aligned to the principles of lean. lean is all about doing more for less, by eliminating non value adding activities and waste. Spearheading the waste initiative for the Alliance are lean Engineers Dodie Grant and lynne Hamilton. “We’re moving into AMP5 with lots of new people, some of whom might not be too clear about the detail of the waste initiative, so we’re spreading the word that we’re here to help,” said Dodie. “Waste has an impact on almost every project, and we have the tools and technology to help people improve their work processes, so please involve us as quickly as possible.” lynne said: “To help share ideas and generate some joined up thinking, we’re creating a Waste Reduction Group in each of the four programme areas. “We’re also setting up pilot projects in each of the programme areas working with project teams to help develop their use of Plantrac. We will also be undertaking similar work to help develop the ‘Designing out Waste’ tools. By working with these smaller groups we hope that people can get a thorough understanding of what it is we do and why.” But process improvement isn’t a quick fix. Dodie and lynne need the teams to give them data from which to work. Once they have that data, they can then identify the process improvements to make your job easier. er. Waste is one of the six key initiatives being applied across all of Anglian Water’s capital delivery routes, but what does it mean and what’s expected of you to make it a success? Read on to find out more. 05 Case study delays due to In AMP4, projects experienced g signed off. bein the acceptance criteria not -in to what buy ted limi in This also resulted ction by stru con for ed pos pro g was bein Operations. ign Team To improve the situation, the Des I) (WN re uctu astr Infr Non er for the Wat me sche Barrow Pathogen Intervention , the Supply spent half a day with Kevin Fish lained exp y The me. sche the Manager for (ACD) and nt ume Doc eria Crit nce epta the Acc ction process talked him through the constru d. use be to that was going th from the This half day exercise cut a mon getting the of hod project timeline, so this met other on ed tinu con g ACD signed off is bein . WNI schemes Lean Engineers Dodie and Lynne - waiting for your call to eliminate waste. For more information, call Dodie on 01733 414114 or Lynne on 07971 333700. December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 5 3/12/10 12:56:47 News On the hunt for new talent 06 Job opportunities are opening all the time within the @one Alliance and the organisation is keen to hear from anyone who knows of a good candidate, including friends and family. People Development Manager, Ann Jones, said: “The Alliance is a great way for someone to develop their career. As well as being at the forefront of our industry, we have seven partner companies offering even more exciting opportunities. “Once employed, individuals will find themselves gaining experience and knowledge from colleagues who work in a whole host of industries, not just water.” A recruitment bulletin is circulated regularly within the Alliance and to partner companies. Jobs are also advertised on www.onealliance.co.uk/opps.aspx FAST FACT >> 481 people are working in the Alliance. let’s love every drop Anglian Water has launched an ambitious and visionary campaign to encourage its customers, and those who work with the company, to put water at the heart of a whole new way of living. The novel campaign is called love Every Drop and it’s about helping people to understand the realities of water use and climate change in the region where, in the future, more people and even less rain could make filling the kettle and doing the washing a real challenge. Managing Director, Peter Simpson, said: “As a company we need to act today, while thinking 25 years ahead, so we need to find the solutions that will keep the taps running and our customers satisfied. “Our aim is to encourage people to realise just how precious water really is, so we’re working with everyone who influences water use in our region – housing developers, retailers, manufacturers, government and customers.” love Every Drop is going to transform the way Anglian Water does business. More information about the campaign and how colleagues, including those in the Alliance can get involved will be revealed soon. “Our aim is to encourage people to realise just how precious water really is, so we’re working with everyone who influences water use in our region – housing developers, retailers, manufacturers, government and customers.” For more information, read (or download) the manifesto from www.anglianwater.co.uk Quality of customer service has to rise Water companies in England and Wales have to further improve the quality of service they provide to customers. In April 2010 the water regulator Ofwat introduced a new Service Incentive Mechanism (SIM) to replace the Overall Performance Assessment (OPA) which had reached its limit. The SIM will now form one element of the package of incentives that comprise the determination of price limits for companies for 2010 to 2015. From now on, water companies will have to indentify their customers’ needs, deliver services designed to meet them and continually try to improve those services within the price limits it sets. The SIM is based on two customer measures – quantitative, the number of unwanted customer contacts and qualitative, December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 6 a customer survey run four times per year. Water companies will be rewarded for providing ‘good customer service’ by being allowed to raise prices and penalised for ‘bad customer service’ by being forced to reduce prices. In the Alliance, you may think that direct customer contact is not that common, but we do meet customers all the time, particularly on first time sewer schemes. It’s important we maintain our already high standards as any customer could be surveyed under this new measure. For more information, telephone Communications and Customer Manager, Grant Tuffs, on 01733 414108 and go to www.ofwat.gov.uk >> >> FAST FACT - 15 kilometres of sewer rehabilitation completed. 3/12/10 12:57:04 Sustainability IT’S TIME TO THINK DIFFERENTLY AMP4 thinking just isn’t going to be enough to succeed in reducing carbon to the levels that are targeted for AMP5, so @one Alliance teams are going to have to think differently, innovate and apply knowledge even better at the start of each project. It’s called sustainability in design. Read on to learn more. In the last edition of one magazine, we told you how the Alliance Board had signed up to a Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Policy Commitment to deliver sustainable assets for Anglian Water. Part of that commitment is reducing embodied carbon by 50 per cent. Embodied carbon is the carbon that is used in creating the things we build. So the challenge is to build less and select materials with lower embodied carbon. The second challenge is to reduce operational carbon by 20 per cent (this is the carbon that is used in power, chemicals and vehicle movements as a consequence of operating the assets). This needs the Alliance to develop designs that really drive down operational and maintenance requirements. “Both of those carbon targets are tough so we’re developing an approach to sustainability that starts to address the issues,” said Peter Caldwell, Lead Sustainability Champion. “To achieve our carbon targets, we have to challenge the need for a project from the outset, because that’s where we can make the biggest impact, we have to “unleash” innovation and we have to accelerate the application of best practice from lessons learnt. In AMP4 we typically waited until the end of a project before we got any technical feedback.” He added: “Our aim is to increase the challenge at the start of every project and speed up innovation and technical knowledge transfer within the organisation. “So we’ve created a Sustainability in Design Group, with Sustainability Champions who are going to work in each area of the Alliance. Their job is to act like human knowledge hubs, so they provide a focus for driving sustainability in their programme 07 area. They will search out innovation through whatever sources they can, internally or externally, before spreading that learning around the design teams. “The Champions will track good practice and great challenges and make sure they are circulated around the design teams so that everyone can find out about them much quicker.” Peter added: “This work will then build on other sustainability developments and innovations that are coming through Anglian Water and the Alliance. We’re working closely with all the other teams to create a new culture for capital delivery, with people communicating all the time.” Case study up was The Sustainability in Design Gro launch the At r. obe Oct launched in early presentation a n give e wer ues eag meeting, coll . ject about the Bedford Growth Pro lane and tion aera Rather than build a new ater stew Wa ford Bed at associated tanks to ng goi is nce Allia the rks, Wo Treatment efficiency, her hig a refurbish two existing lanes to ead of inst ks tan r fou ld refurbish filters, and bui more by on carb ied bod em six. This will reduce will l, ona operati than 60 per cent and, when the site. of n ptio sum reduce the overall energy con the uce red h bot to ing Peter said: “We’re aim increase as l wel as , site a of n ptio energy consum flows from a its capacity to treat wastewater 30,000 population increase.” The sustainability champions – getting people to think differently from left: Tichatonga (Tich) Mhlanga – WI, Peter Caldwell – WWNI, Terry Parsons – PADM managing sustainability in design and Ant Hobbs – WNI. Shown inset is Pragni Parmar – WWI. For more information about sustainability in design, contact your champion, or telephone Peter on 01733 414495. . December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 7 3/12/10 13:08:47 AMP5 Getting closer to our fighting weight In our last edition we told you about the challenges facing the @one Alliance in AMP5. We also reported in detail on the plan to achieve success. Here we reveal the thoughts, expectations, challenges and priorities of the Alliance Board members as we approach the end of year one. 08 If we can continue delivering on our promises, including the enhanced efficiency challenges, whilst working safely, the future of the Alliance is strong. The foundation is fantastic and we have the right people in place. It’s clear from what I’ve seen already, that teams have taken a step shift from where we were in AMP4, to what’s needed to meet the challenges in AMP5. We must continue to make the right whole life cost decisions, because the assets we’re creating are going to be around for between 15 and 60 years. The challenge now is to increase the rate of flow through the system to get to our fighting weight. We’ve delivered around £30 million of approved work so far which is good, but we have to deliver more than £110 million before the end of year one. But the story is positive and we’re doing lots of things differently, not least reducing embodied carbon and operational carbon, which is something the other water companies aren’t focusing on so much. Chris Newsome, Chairman of the Alliance Board. The commercial alignment between the seven principle organisations and our supply chain partners is unique. Our aim now is to further unlock the potential that this collaboration offers to secure an industry-leading frontier status. It won’t be easy, leading never is, but as with all teams, it’s the contribution, commitment, discipline and professionalism of every one of our people that will make the difference. We’ve set ourselves some important challenges, particularly on affordability and carbon. Meeting these challenges, securing our year one expenditure of £116 million and doing it all safely will require everyone’s continued focus and commitment over the next few months. Dale Evans, Director - @one Alliance. Although we’re moving into AMP5 with our existing partners, it’s clear we’re going to need a step change to not only do things better, but also to do things differently if we’re going to meet the affordability challenge. We also need to sharpen up on control, and by that I mean doing things consistently and in a measured way. We need to ensure we achieve the planned gateways of our Capital Delivery Process to prevent compressing the commissioning at the back-end of a project, which was a feature of AMP4. Managing within governance is also key to our success, for example operating within approvals by the Capital Investment Groups. We need to be planning to deliver within approvals, or where we are forecasting to go over, then we need to go back to the Group for further approval in advance of the spend to enable choices to be made. Better still, we should be looking to contain costs within the original approval. John Karolski, Head of Finance and Performance. The Alliance proved in AMP4 that it had the ability to adapt and develop to meet the challenges set back then. I think it’s important for us to maintain that mindset and to continue confronting challenges early on so that we’re best positioned to move forward with Anglian Water into AMP6 and beyond. In the future Anglian Water may be forced by European regulations to source suppliers by competitive tender, which is fair enough. Our response to that should be to keep developing, continue thinking differently and continue delivering success so that we put ourselves in the best possible position to be Anglian Water’s supplier of choice in the future. Roger Pyle, Executive Director Grontmij. The exciting thing about the Alliance is the alignment, openness and honesty that exists from all sides. Anglian Water has set us a tough challenge, but it’s very clear and everyone in the Alliance knows exactly what they have to do to achieve success. My ambition for the Alliance is for a game-changing environment that would allow people, individuals and companies to succeed and rise to the challenges that we all face in today’s society of doing more for less. It’s a big ask and will require new ways of thinking and working. It will also require people to perform at the highest level throughout the organisation, but I believe fundamentally that the Alliance is full of talented and clever people who should be able to rise to the challenge. Ian Kirkaldy, East Region Managing Director, Black & Veatch. December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 8 3/12/10 12:57:56 The approach pioneered by the Alliance is not the easy option. All our teams have to totally outperform the programme to be successful and operate in complete partnership. It’s extremely challenging to plan, manage and implement a successful culture, but that’s what’s needed if we are to unlock the business efficiencies. People will have to go the extra mile and continue to be provided with strong leadership, which it has in the form of the Alliance Management Team (AMT). Dale Evans and his hand-picked team will have to put in maximum effort if they are to meet their strategic objectives. I’m confident they will. The Alliance Board sets the vision and challenge however it’s the members of AMT who are the true leaders and it’s what they are doing in terms of business and strategic planning that will make the difference. John Abraham, Managing Director, Biwater. It’s taken as a given that we need to achieve the bread and butter challenges such as outputs, affordability and expenditure, but we also need to think about the whole life cost and how any solution relates to our AMP5 goals. I have just spent two days with our top 100 partners at a specially-organised event, talking about our AMP5 goals for Anglian Water and, in particular, identifying those things that are good for us, good for our customers and good for our partners. We invited a complete cross section of partners to the event, and we were careful to select the companies that are best-placed to influence our AMP5 goals. No matter how big or small, each partner has an opportunity to help deliver our AMP5 goals, whether it’s cutting the grass or building a treatment works. 09 Matt Stafford, Head of Capital Delivery and Supply Chain. The AMP4 experience has taught us as much about what we can improve upon as what we are great at. That is why I am certain we can rise to ever greater levels of challenge in AMP5. And the challenge? To be acknowledged as without equal in the industry delivering for Anglian Water. To work in line with our Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability agenda, creating an injury free environment and delivering true operational excellence. That will take leadership, teamwork and problem solving to energise continuous improvement throughout the organisation and we need to be focussing on the needs of our customer, empowering our people and driving out waste with zeal. Jason Tucker, Operations Director, Skanska Aker Solutions Joint Venture. The @one Alliance is without doubt one of the most exciting delivery vehicles currently operating in the water industry. Taking the Alliance from a ‘good’ performance in AMP4 to what promises to be a ‘great’ performance in AMP5 is well within our grasp. The size of the challenge is beyond what we originally expected, and that’s led to a slower than wished for start in year one, however, it’s more than matched by the size of the prize up for grabs in the longer term. As with any lean winning team, it’s important to recognise that every single person can make a difference in getting it right first time – whether it’s our front line people, our supply chain or our management teams. In our relentless pursuit aimed beyond ‘zero harm’ to our people and our environment, our number one priority is ‘work safe - home safe’ all of the time. Andy Flowerday, Director, Barhale Construction plc. In AMP4 we laid a strong foundation and enjoyed lots of success, of which we should all be proud. However for AMP5 the bar has been raised further and future achievement lies in the continued investment and adoption of innovation. By focusing on the three levels of innovation – Technical, Process and Cultural – we will not only develop more efficient whole life solutions, but remove the risk of building and maintaining assets over their life. As well as health and safety, we need to improve health and wellbeing, creating a positive environment where people feel engaged and able to operate in a stress-free way with a healthy work-life balance. This is critical if we’re to attract and retain the best people in the industry. We also need to understand how we impact on the new SIM measures (see story page 6), making sure that both our external and internal customers are treated with respect and are very satisfied with what we’re doing. Colin Kelly Director Gas & Water, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions. We believe that the @one Alliance is the most effective alliancing arrangement in the industry. People rarely believe that seven different organisations can come together and collaborate without falling into major contractual disputes on a frequent basis. What impresses me most about the Alliance is the collaboration between the partner companies and the vast amount of shared learning that goes on to get better and better solutions to our challenges in the water industry. There’s a tough commercial heart at the centre of the Alliance, but the great people make it a very constructive and progressive environment in which to work. Jonathan Forster, Head of Investment Programme Management. December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 9 3/12/10 13:12:22 Health and safety PASSPORT TO BETT E 10 The @one Alliance has an unwavering quest to lead the construction industry with regard to safety, and it reminds people all the time “that there is nothing more important than taking time to work safely.” Now, to bring about a step change in behavioural safety, people working on site must carry a valid health and safety passport to show that they’ve attended a two-day ‘Work Safely’ induction. The majority of Alliance employees have completed their two-day induction and received their passport. Direct labour employed by Barhale and Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions have also completed their course, along with other suppliers. Alliance Management Team member Chris Smith (Wastewater Infrastructure Programme Area Delivery) said: “We have carried out more than 500 inductions already and improvements will be made based on the feedback we’ve received. “Phase two of the programme started in December when we invited the workforce of our key suppliers. The aim is for everyone in the Alliance to hold a passport by March 2011. After that we will hold monthly sessions to cater for new starters.” The passport rules about working on site are as follows: 1) Everyone working on site must hold a passport. 2) Visitors must be escorted on site by a passport holder. 3) Short term suppliers / sub contractors / plant drivers will be allowed on site to work up to a maximum of one week, provided the area Operations Manager has vetted their competence. 4) Delivery drivers must be escorted by a passport holder ie banksman. 5) Drivers (eg earthmoving) working for more than one week on site must hold a passport. Chris said: “We will not tolerate those people who do not live our values. We seriously hope that people taking the induction found it interesting and took away their own mental commitment to our Alliance values.” December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 10 Chris Smith talks ‘safety’ with delegates on the induction. Learning points from safety session Importance of correct PPE 10% Learnt something new 5% from each session Raised 55% awareness of H&S Learning points from health session 39% Considering safety of self and others 1% Construction issues Need for proper lifting equipment 2% Long term illness 6% effects Effect of 6% Weil’s disease Learn Importance 16% of teamwork T requi fo 18% Be more aware of surroundings Learnt new 42% information on health issues >> >> FAST FACT - Zero AFR for the year to date. 3/12/10 13:19:22 Contam l DON’T MISS THE NEW CARD T ER SAFETY Here’s a snapshot of quotes from some people who have taken the induction: “Informative and refreshing.” “Good overview - from the Statement of Intent to practical tips useful for field workforce.” Andy Flowerday, Alliance Board Director. “As this was my first day with Balfour Beatty, and the Alliance it gave me an understanding of the Alliance stand and vision regarding Health, Safety and the Environment.” “Excellent good learning all round.” You saw them at the ‘Work Safely’ induction. Now it’s time to start using them. After a successful trial across four sites, the @one Alliance is rolling out a new-look Near Miss card. Now – as well as ‘safety’ – people are being asked to report on ‘environment’ and ‘efficiency’ near misses as well. A health and safety-related near miss is defined as an unplanned event that did not result in injury or illness, but had the potential to do so. An environmental near miss is an event which didn’t cause harm or damage to an environmental receptor (such as air, water and land) but which had the potential to cause harm or damage. And an efficiency near miss is an event that’s affected the smooth running of a project. So how does it work? 11 Case studoryking on a filter w An Alliance team ater heme at Wing W sc t en m ish rb fu re Near Miss w ne e th trialled Treatment Works low). card (pictured be the 12 Rapid replace eight of to Their job was access the site. In order to Gravity Filters on g carbon from to remove existin works, they had . Shovelling the ge ra e it into sto ac pl d g an rs lte fi the method for doin is the standard carbon by hand k. our-intensive wor this is and it’s lab Team member t en em ag an M When Alliance mid-October, visited the site in James Crompton y on the Near tential inefficienc he noted this po Miss card. eir effort to team doubled th As a result, the d they did. They ctive system, an find a more effe p the carbon i educter to pum trialled a ventur partially flooded e th ure out of ixt m er at w iaed m area. into the storage filter and directly would have e pro-active team It’s likely that th eventually, lem ob pr tion to this lu so e th at ed arriv focused their e Near Miss card but the use of th acutely. attention more Ian Kirkaldy, Alliance Board Director. Learning points from environmental session Waste Management 13% and cost Trees and requirements 5% for lopping Section 61 out of hours 4% Remember! More 38% awareness of legislation Contaminated 5% land Wildlife 30% protection 5% Types of regulators • Always ta ke the time to work safely • Never wal k by an unsa fe condition • Be prepar ed to challeng e anyone, rega rd relative status less of the , we all go ho to ensure me safely. If you need any of the new near miss cards, or some more Am I Safe cards, please contact Chris Smith on 01733 414184 or email [email protected] December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 11 3/12/10 13:19:52 Focus on Enabling success 12 They’re here to assist in identifying and mitigating the impact of long leadin times so that project construction can start at the programmed time. They also make sure @one Alliance teams are legally compliant…and their service is included within the overhead fee. We look here at the role of the Enabling Team. Members of the Enabling Team – here to assist. Pictured sat at the front is Guy and then, from left Robert, Bob, Jon, Angela, Gary, Kirsty and Emma. December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 12 The Enabling Team was created in year four of AMP4 to help Alliance teams get to site on time and in an effective manner. It provides assistance by identifying issues such as land purchase, ecology, environmental and town and country planning. It also puts together the processes and procedures for project teams to readily identify the timescales needed and the likely activities they are going to encounter. Mark Enzer, who represents Technical Delivery on the Alliance Management Team (AMT) said: “Compared to other water companies, we are leading the way in terms of understanding the need for enabling work. “If a project is delayed because we can’t get on site, it generally means that the programme has to be accelerated when we eventually do get on site, and that costs money, so I would encourage everyone to use our enabling team to save time and money. And it’s classed as an overhead, so you won’t see any additional charges on your scheme.” The Enabling Team has 11 members and comprises three areas:- Construction Design and Management (CDM), town and country planning and environmental. >> >> FAST FACT - 25 kilometres of renewed or new mains laid. 3/12/10 12:59:46 s Here’s what some of the team members had to say. Guy Gregory Guy Gregory, Enabling Programme Manager Guy said: “The Enabling team has a big part to play in driving efficiencies. It’s not always about doing things cheaper, you have to do them differently. To this end, we have riskassessed all activities that we, and our third parties undertake. A paper has been approved by AMT approving our strategy to create £775,000 of savings in AMP5 by managing activities in a more risk conscious manner. A further £600,000 of savings have also been identified for further business case development. “It’s an exciting time for our team at the moment, as we’re now clearly able to demonstrate the benefits that a centralised enabling team has for delivering efficiencies with managed risk.” Emma Brigginshaw In her role as Enabling Manager, Emma is particularly focused on developing a strategic approach to key environmental activities in a bid to drive efficiencies. For example, she has managed to reduce the average cost of a preliminary ecology survey by 22 per cent. Emma said: “I achieved this by challenging the current approach to procuring ecology surveys and ground investigations, and then working with Alliance design teams and contractors to develop standard procedures to enable decisions to be made on analysis of risk whilst ensuring regulatory compliance. “ Emma also manages the area of ecology, assessing, challenging and arranging ecological surveys for the Alliance, as well as driving forward process changes to ensure that the contractors used are of a standard set by the Alliance and working in a way that will drive efficiencies whilst maintaining legal compliance. She said: “As part of the 20 per cent efficiency drive, we have been challenging and obtaining ecologists’ opinions as to whether or not a preliminary ecological assessment (previously known as a phase 1) is required for the scope of works defined. This has proved very successful and we have already identified over 30 schemes where we have reduced the cost of ecological works to the project, and at an average cost of £400 this has already generated a saving of £12,000 in AMP5. Robert Dyer In his role as Enabling Coordinator, Rob ensures that the impact of enabling activities for all Alliance schemes is captured and tracked, allowing ad-hoc reporting to the AMT. He said: “One of my key roles is to ensure that the Anglian Water environmental screening process – ensuring statutory third party liaison with bodies such as Natural England and archaeological bodies – is undertaken for all Alliance schemes. “I also liaise with the Environment Agency and prepare flood risk assessments when required for planning applications.” Gary Meades, Jon Emmony, Bob Green and Brian O’Hanlon Gary (WWNI), Jon (WNI), Bob (WWI) and Brian (WI) make up the Construction Design and Management Coordinators (CDMC) team. Building on their successful delivery of AMP4 CDM compliance, the CDM team continues to fulfil its roles and responsibilities of ensuring client and Alliance compliance with CDM and to offer professional health and safety advice. The team applies a wealth of experience and knowledge relating to capital asset creation including, design, construction techniques and supervision. In addition the team has extensive knowledge of Anglian Water specifications and procedures such as Safe and Well. The team members are also qualified health and safety practitioners, offering practical advice to project teams on the application of Safe and Well and health and safety legislation. They also continue to drive health and safety improvements by developing and delivering technical and behavioural safety training packages for both the design and construction communities as part of the Alliance achieving its stretching target to reduce its Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) to less than 0.1. Speaking for the team, Gary said: “In addition we have identified more than £60,000 of efficiency savings through a more focused approach to CDM documentation compliance and aim to significantly increase this figure going forward.” Kirsty Cairns In her role as Enabling Coordinator, Kirsty ensures that project teams are assisted in the areas of New Roads and Street Works Act and power supplies. A key requirement for Health Safety and Environment Training The Enabling Team has helped to develop a half-day training package to promote environmental awareness. Aimed at a broad range of roles from discipline engineers, procurement and construction teams, the intention is to encourage all participants to consider the environmental implications of the work they undertake as part of the Alliance, and understand that compliance with legislation and protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility. Anglian Water is to ensure that the local and regional Highways Authorities and Utilities Committees have all of the Alliance planned road interfaces. Kirsty also liaises between the Alliance and the district network operators (power supply companies) and the Alliance power consultant, coordinating procurement, planning and the installation of new power supplies. More recently Kirsty has driven additional efficiency savings by applying directly to the power companies for 19 of our supplies, saving the Alliance £14,000 having learnt this skill herself over the last two years. Kirsty said: “If you require assistance for road notices or power supplies come and see a friendly face, I’m here to help.” 13 Angela Richardson, Darren Burbeary, Colin Clarke Angela, Darren and Colin are Town and Country Planners, responsible for ensuring that the Alliance legally complies with the Town and Country Planning Act. Work involves liaising with Local Planning Authorities (LPA) to define the needs surrounding planning applications and environmental impact assessments. Colin said: “We need to make sure that we address all of their [LPA] concerns before we submit a planning application, ensuring that all supplementary information, such as ecology surveys and flood risk assessments have been carried out.” Darren said: “Our daily tasks involve preparing enabling gateway plans for all Alliance schemes and ensuring that we discharge any planning conditions required by the LPA.” Angela said: “Our strategy ensures that we maximise our permitted development rights in all our temporary and permanent works.” AMP5 numbers so far • 363 enabling plans com pleted to date • 265 environmental scr eening questionnaires processed • 62 ecology surveys com pleted and mitigations complete • 28 planning applicatio ns approved • EDF quotations and wa yleave clearance reduced by 21 days average from AMP4 to 5 days. The Enabling team has also developed a guidance document which is being distributed soon. For more information, give Guy a call on 01733 414292. December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 13 3/12/10 12:59:47 News MEET THE YOuNG GuNs, ENGAGING THE AMP5 suPPLIERs 14 A drive by the @one Alliance to harness the power of our most strategic suppliers has shifted up a gear. In mid-november, we invited almost 100 delegates from more than 70 companies to a special ‘Supplier Event’ at the KingsGate Conference Centre in Peterborough. The aim was to collaboratively engage with the suppliers on the set-up for AMP5 and to discuss ways in which we can work with them to out-perform Anglian Water’s efficiency challenge. Delegates ranged from process plant suppliers and sub-contractors, to infrastructure and construction material suppliers and specialist survey companies. During the event, presentations were made by key people in the Alliance. Dale Evans, Director - @one Alliance gave an induction to AMP5, and each of the Programme Area Managers (James Hampson, Steve Moffat, Chris Smith and James Crompton) gave an overview of their programme area. Suppliers were briefed on the Alliance health and safety action plan (see story page 10) and Sustainability in Design (see story page 7). Davide Stronati then talked about the Alliance’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability commitment and looked forward to the development of sustainable procurement, which relies heavily on supplier engagement for success. Delegates also heard from Mark Williams, Integrated Procurement Team Manager, about the new structure of his department and the way it’s integrated with the new purchase to pay system (CCMS). He reminded delegates about his team’s key deliverables, including the importance of a procurement plan which sequences the award of framework agreements in support of the affordability challenge. Said Mark: “The event was a huge success. The Alliance supply chain is an important part of our AMP5 strategy for delivering out-performance through the award of framework agreements, the release of optimum value from these agreements and through a more focused engagement of our strategic suppliers to fully integrate with our capital delivery teams.” Suppliers were invited to provide feedback to the Alliance in a break-out session to help focus attention on key areas for improvement. Chris Candlish (Commercial Manager) closed the event, outlining some next steps, which included a reminder that the integration of the supply chain was a two-way process, and that the Alliance would keep the supply chain informed as AMP5 developed, with improved visibility. He asked the delegates to reciprocate by communicating their requirements and providing ongoing direct input into the Alliance, so everyone could work together to meet the challenges ahead. December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 14 AIMInG FOR A SHOT AT THE AllIAnCE If you work at Thorpe Wood House you might have seen some fresh-faced talent sitting opposite you at the meeting table. That’s because the @one Alliance has recruited three young apprentices. departments, such as mechanical, civil, electrical and the computer aided design areas. This will give them a flavour of all aspects of a project, from initial concept, through the design stage and then into construction. “The programme they’re following will give them a good grounding and will ultimately help them choose their career path later down the line. “The apprentices have now settled into the fast-moving environment that is the Alliance. And now they are here, they’re making a valuable contribution. He added: “Colleagues need to be aware that schemes like this are in operation because it could potentially provide an exciting opportunity for others in the future.” Spyros Georgiou. Spyros Georgiou, Sam Gale and Tim lowe have been settling into Alliance teams after a 12-month stint on the Aker Solutions apprenticeship scheme based in Stockton-on-Tees. Ahead of them now is three more years of study and learning before they achieve a Higher national Diploma in Mechanical/ Electrical Engineering. The three students have been chosen from the local region as part of the Alliance’s commitment to support the local community through its Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability strategy. James Harris, Alliance Project Manager and Head of the Skanska Aker Solutions joint venture said: “The apprentices are focusing on design at the moment, before getting a taste of other Tim lowe. So what do the apprentices think of the Alliance? sam Gale said: “I’m enjoying myself as well. I’m based in the electrical department at the moment, helping out on the Whilton Growth scheme, producing cable schedules, telemetry schedules and other activities. “Taking an apprenticeship scheme at the Alliance is great because there are so many different specialists here, all working together as one team. This is really going help to improve our knowledge and development at this early stage of our careers.” Tim Lowe said: “I think this is a good scheme and I’m really enjoying myself. After spending a year at the training centre, I’m now working in the mechanical department, working on various aspects including carbon modelling. “I have a mentor who I shadow each day, so I’m learning a lot about the Alliance culture and the need to constantly challenge and improve. “My ambition is to become a fully qualified engineer, so I’m looking forward to my career in the years to come.” per cent (4,700 tonnes) of embodied carbon and >> >> FAST FACT - 4031per cent (250 tonnes) of operational carbon saved. 3/12/10 12:59:54 Focus on “My aim is to connect people, so that we get the best out of colleagues, and so that everyone feels part of the Alliance.” I’M HERE– 15 TALK TO ME Whether you’re out on site, or walking through the offices, you can’t help but notice a buzz within the @one Alliance. Everyone is talking business. Communication is key to the success of the Alliance and the organisation has many different channels to keep the two-way flow moving, relevant and effective. Managing those channels is Grant Tuffs, Communications and Customer Manager based at Thorpe Wood House. It’s Grant’s job to make sure people know what’s going on within the Alliance. He’s also a valuable ‘portal’ into Anglian Water, having worked there in internal communications prior to his move into the Alliance. “It’s important to have clear, robust internal communication channels because we have seven partner companies, all with their own histories and ways of working,” said Grant. “My aim is to connect people, so that we get the best out of colleagues, and so that everyone feels part of the Alliance. “It’s also important for people to know how the Alliance is performing, so a big part of my job is gathering information and Grant Tuffs, improving internal communication. knowledge and then sharing it with everyone in the form of performance data. This helps people to work smarter and share best practice, which can ultimately bring valuable gain share.” He added: “Communicating with Anglian Water is also important. Although the Alliance is a separate organisation, Anglian Water is still our customer, so we need to be aware of the company’s values. We also need to understand how it operates, in terms of its people, its regulations, finance, quality and the environment for example. “If we need to, I also work with the Anglian Water communications team to prepare positive PR campaigns and messaging prior to our arrival in a village or street. “To further improve our customer service, we’re putting together a new procedure to monitor any complaints that we receive. This will monitor our performance and help to close the communication loop with Anglian Water’s customers. This is particularly important considering the new Service Incentive Mechanism (SIM) customer measure from Ofwat – see story on page 6.” Grant, who works closely with the internal communication specialists from the seven partner companies shown on page 2, wants to remind people of the communication channels available to them within the Alliance. They are: • one magazine, three issues per year • news@one bi-weekly emails. • Weekly AMP5 performance emails. • The monthly @one Award. • Floor posters. • Brand guidelines – including site signage. The organisation is also considering some new and exciting communication channels but for now, the message from Grant going into AMP5 is simple: “I’m here - talk to me,” he says. Case study Grant is pictured meeting Julie O’Fee (left) Communications Specialist – Black & Veatch and Shari Atkins, PR and Communications Manager for the Dwr Cymru Welsh Water Asset Management Alliance. During their knowledge sharing exercise they discussed common experiences and issues encountered when working in Alliance organisations. Topics discussed included stakeholder communication challenges; how to obtain solicited customer feedback, survey cards and town hall meetings. They also talked about ways of dealing with complaints and internal communication challenges, such as integrating site-based teams, together with awards management – and the value of external recognition. . December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 15 3/12/10 13:00:03 >> >> > > > > > > T APSHO • SN T C E J O > R > > >> >> P >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > takes a look at some projects from around the region. >> >> B i d d e n h a m 16 Loop Great crested newts, a flood plain, the River Great Ouse and areas of high archaeological interest. not really the words you want to hear when you’re planning to lay a long length, large-diameter water main. But that’s exactly the challenge facing @one Alliance teams managing the Biddenham loop project, which is designed to meet the needs of future housing growth on the west side of Bedford. To dig through these areas would have been timely, expensive and potentially damaging to the environment, so a 450-metre long directional drill shot is being used on part of the scheme. The drill shot is being constructed through varying ground conditions of alluvial sands, gravels and clay, overlying strong limestone and mudstones. Water Infrastructure Operations Manager, nick Russell, said: “The drill shot will take the 710-millimetre diameter pipe under the river, flood plain and area of high archaeological interest. This phase is due for completion in January 2011. >> “Because of the newt restrictions, phase two can only start in summer 2011. Then we’ll be using open cut techniques to lay the final 300 metres of 630-millimetre diameter pipe.” Shown right is a 965-millimetre diameter centralised hole opener, specified by O’Connor Utilities to drill the rock-strength Blisworth limestone encountered on the project. Above is O’Connor Utilities’ 110-tonne Maxi Horizontal Directional Drilling Rig. >> S t O s y t h , P o i n t Clear ing Road Sewer Relin >> >> T h o r p e n le Soke DG5 Project “Absolutely the sort of innovation we should be known for.” That’s how Asset Management Director, Chris newsome, described the @one Alliance’s approach to a DG5 Flood Alleviation Project in Thorpe le Soken. In particular, Chris was referring to the use of a custommade, curved excavator bucket, which was used to shape the clay sub soil (see photo). This technique reduced excavation volume, the amount of spoil carted to tip and the amount of imported bedding material needed. Alliance Project Manager, Elliott Harley, said: “This technique also yielded hidden savings, such as lorry movements which reduced our carbon footprint.” The project itself was designed to reduce the risk of sewer flooding to 18 properties, including highways in Thorpe le Soken, Essex. Elliott said: “Our solution was an off-line attenuation with pumped return, together with 480m3 of storage, returned to the network via a new, off-line pumping station. So now storm flows in excess of the existing network’s capacity overflow into the off-line storage.” Challenging all elements of a suggested solution paid dividends for @one Alliance teams working on the St Osyth, Point Clear Road scheme in Essex. The first Wastewater Infrastructure project of AMP5 was planned, but very urgent. Emergency repair works being undertaken by the local operations team had identified a number of severe collapses on the sewer network serving Point Clear in St Osyth. The network had been subject to excessive Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) and further investigations identified around 950 metres of existing 300 millimetre diameter concrete sewer for replacement. But the Alliance project team sought expert advice from a specialist lining sub-contractor to confirm their belief that the remaining sewer network could be rehabilitated by no-dig construction methods. Project Manager, Dave Chadwick, said: “The lining solution was implemented and was completed within four weeks without the need for additional civils works. “A further 500 metres of sewer was also identified for relining as a result of H2S attack, so we eventually rehabilitated 1,500 metres to structural grade 1, gaining an extra DG5 output in the process.” For more information, and to see how savings of more than £850,000 over affordability were made, telephone Elliott on 01733 414139. The extent of H S attack at the discharge 2 December 2010 One_winter2010.indd 16 chamber. >> >> FAST FACT - Nine properties off the DG5 register. 3/12/10 13:00:46