Gerard Shore, water sector director at Costain, outlines why enterprise models are a growing feature of the AMP8 capital delivery programmes and what lessons can be learned from infrastructure upgrades in other sectors.
Across the country, thousands of skilled workers are being mobilised for AMP8, with early design and enabling work commencing for the critical upgrades required for the UK’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
The new regulatory cycle will see a doubling of investment in water and wastewater infrastructure compared to AMP7, with the intention of delivering efficient, resilient and environmentally enhancing water services for us all. Its successful delivery could be transformative, but the scale and complexity of what’s required must not be underestimated.
The good news is that industry is alive to this challenge and is facing up to it by embracing collaboration. One trend that is evident across capital delivery programmes is the presence of long-term enterprises.
Enterprise models have been designed to ensure that water companies have the best resources and flexibility to deliver large investment programmes. They are driving engagement between in-house specialists, contractors, consultants and the supply chain at earlier stages of water companies’ gated processes, informing resource requirements and investment choices, and ultimately creating a stronger focus on efficient programme delivery.
Enterprise models are laying the necessary foundations
With work being allocated within enterprises, the foundations are being put in place to develop positive and collaborative working practices. In the early stages of AMP8 planning, the focus has been setting up the right culture and ways of working. These are key ingredients for developing any enterprise and provide organisational resilience to meet the challenges ahead.
Technology also has a clear role to play. With Northumbrian Water, we’re developing a platform that uses generative AI to help optimise and process the huge datasets that will be created throughout AMP8. It will reduce the need for wastewater works managers to repeatedly analyse and enter data for delivery teams, which can be up to 45% of their working week. This is just one example of how technology has led to efficiencies that provides more time to deliver on the programme and operational requirements.
Developing optimum solutions
The very purpose of enterprise models is to encourage knowledge sharing. Bringing experienced, bright minds to a collaborative, multi-partner environment during the pre-construction phase puts the project teams in the strongest position to deliver optimised, efficient and high-value solutions. It sounds simple but having engineers, construction specialists and operational personnel collaborating from the beginning will lead to better, more efficient engineering solutions that will deliver sustainable outcomes.
Amidst increased scrutiny, capital delivery programmes must also be open to modern methods of construction combined with new technologies – what we call production thinking. It’s the difference between identifying areas to maximise efficiency, or how to reduce carbon, and actually achieving those aims.
This approach – and the ability to offer end-to-end delivery capabilities – is increasingly evident in other sectors and proving fundamental for complex large-scale upgrades.
What can water learn from other sectors?
Earlier this year, the UK government confirmed the need to improve the country’s critical water supply with plans for nine new reservoirs. Strategic resource options are essential for future water supply, but the UK hasn’t built a new reservoir for more than three decades. We’re helping some of the water companies investigate their strategic options in this space, but it’s clear that collaborative models such as enterprises will be vital mechanisms to deliver the complex infrastructure that’s required. At the same time, the water industry will have to learn from other infrastructure sectors, such as road and rail.
If we return to the importance of early-stage planning, there can often be a lack of resource and attention devoted to reviewing dependencies across all workstreams and achieving the earliest possible start dates. Establishing a dedicated team to deliver Development Consent Order (DCO) projects in the pre-application stage will embed the creation of early design and construction methodology outputs that inform environmental impact assessments and land assembly. Water companies should look to contractors with experience in delivering Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) through the DCO statutory processes for highways and rail infrastructure improvements, as these schemes will align to the scale of water projects that the industry is tackling in AMP8 and beyond.
Data can also play an important role. Major projects in the roads sector routinely operate data-driven approaches to traffic flow management. These improve planning and help projects better understand the end-user’s requirements and sentiment whilst essential maintenance is taking place.
Or consider how technology is being used in rail tunnelling projects. Traditionally a challenging and time-intensive process, the installation of mechanical and civil services in tunnels is being revolutionised through knowledge-sharing of AI and robotics tools that are expected to increase productivity and reduce project costs.
The signs of organisations collaborating increasingly across the water sector are evident. We only need to look at the Thames Tideway project for inspiration. Its successful delivery has been underpinned by an alliance approach which promotes knowledge-sharing, with its value now being illustrated by data – an innovative tracker has been launched showing the volume of sewage prevented from entering the River Thames.
The challenge will be sustaining this early momentum throughout the next five, even ten years and ensuring UK water and wastewater services remain resilient against a backdrop of growing populations and changing climate. This is fundamental if the sector is to deliver critical national water infrastructure that is fit for purpose and improves the lives of the millions of users dependent on a clean, reliable supply day in, day out.
