INTERESTING TIMES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVE RY · 2017. 7. 18. · corridors of power and ensure that the UK remains an attractive destination for foreign direct investors.” National

ISSUE 25 | July/August 2017

POLITICSGovernmenturged to get backto work oninfrastructurepage 3

AWARDSConsultancy andEngineeringAwards winnersrevealed andprofiledpages 21-27

ROADSHighwaysEnglandcelebrates itssecond birthdaypages 10-11

Produced for the industry by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering

INTERESTING TIMES FORINFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY

Post-election perspectives and priorities for the industry

2 Infrastructure Intelligence | July/August 2017

The phrase, “May you live in interesting times” is often thought of as a curse.However it has also referred to periods of history when great achievements andadvances were made. So we can take the glass half empty or the glass half fullapproach to the outcome of the recent general election and the political andbusiness uncertainty that has ensued. Let’s be positive though and look forwardto the delivery of that infrastructure pipeline the country so badly needs.

Being positive means continuing to champion our industry in the corridors ofpower. Despite and maybe because of the current political uncertainty and thechallenges of the parliamentary arithmetic, we have a great opportunity to makethe case for infrastructure. We should grasp it with both hands and ensure thatMPs and ministers hear our message loud and clear.

The dreadful Grenfell Tower fire has cast a shadow over the constructionindustry. Many people have died and without in any way prejudicing the ongoingpublic inquiry, it’s likely that the construction industry can expect that a verystrong light will be shone on its working practices, procurement processes andhow costs are allocated in a sector where ‘value engineering’ is often the norm.We take a look at some of those issues on page nine and will return to them infuture issues and on our website.

Elsewhere in this issue, we take a look at diversity in the industry and how wecan close the gender gap (p7), we look at the latest from the Northern Powerhouse(p5 and p18) and also examine the latest roads developments with a feature onHighways England (p10-11) and the government’s new transport strategy (p28-29).

We've also got a very interesting account of our latest roundtable event withBST Global (p14-15) where industry leaders gathered at The Shard in Londonrecently to discuss the challenge of digital technology, how best to adopt it andthe effect technology was already having on businesses and the people who workin them.

We reveal the winners of the Consultancy and Engineering Awards in a specialfeature (p21-27) and there’s much more, including news of a new infrastructuredelivery report that shows that we certainly are “living in interesting times”.

Enjoy the read and please keep sending us your feedback.

MESSAGE FROMTHE EDITOR

Produced for the industry by the Associationfor Consultancy and Engineering Infrastructure Intelligence12 Caxton St, London SW1H 0QLT: 020 7222 6557www.infrastructure-intelligence.com

Editor: Andy Walker 07791 997602 [email protected]

Associate editor: Jon Masters 07944 642455 [email protected]

Contributing editor: Natasha Levanti07983 [email protected]

Commercial Director:Brian Nolk 020 7227 [email protected]

Design and production: Andy Smith & Denise Bell07968 588729 [email protected]

Produced by Victoria Street Capital on behalf ofthe Association for Consultancy and Engineering,12 Caxton St, London SW1H 0QL.

The views expressed in Infrastructure Intelligenceare not necessarily those of the Association forConsultancy and Engineering.

Printer: CPG, 9-10 Orchard Business Centre,Sanderson Way, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1QG. T 01732 366666, [email protected]

2017 subscription rates: £80 a year.

Contents

GET MORE FROM INFRASTRUCTURE-INTELLIGENCE.COM

Infrastructure Intelligence will now be published six times a year, but you can findmore content online. Our websiteinfrastructure-intelligence.com is updateddaily, with three free newsletters a week. Sign up at the website: www.infrastructure-intelligence.com

Follow us on twitter @infra_intelJoin the Infrastructure Intelligence groupon LinkedIn

After the election 3 Lord Adonis outlines 12 urgent infrastructure priorities

News round-up 4 Hinkley Point; EngineeringUK; Emission targets

Devolution 5 Greater Manchester mayor calls for education revolution

Diversity 6 How procurement can drive diversity

Diversity 7 Closing the gender gap

Innovation 8 We profile the Infrastructure Industry Innovation Platform

Grenfell Tower 9 What does the tragedy mean for the construction industry?

Roads 10 Highways England celebrates its second birthday

Opinion 12 Construction skills time bomb; Diversity in the boardroom

Roundtable 14 Time to bring on the disruptors

Infrastructure 16 Interesting times for infrastructure delivery

Rail 18 Superfast solution proposed for Northern Powerhouse Rail

ACE news 19 Falling energy prices mean industry funding challenges

EIC news 20 Big questions over green policy post-Brexit

Awards 21 Consultancy and Engineering Awards winners announced

Transport 28 Government announces boost for local road construction

Supply chain 30 We take a look at the supply chain in the south west

International 31 US infrastructure faces a trillion dollar challenge

Andy Walker,editor, Infrastructure Intelligence

July/August 2017 | Infrastructure Intelligence 3

Politics and infrastructure

Government urged to get backto work on infrastructure

The unexpected general electionresult may have increased politicaland business uncertainty in the UK,

but those working in the constructionindustry will need to keep a calm and coolhead in the months ahead and refocuswith even greater determination on thedelivery of the current infrastructureinvestment pipeline.

To press the industry’s case, NationalInfrastructure Commission (NIC) chairAndrew Adonis has teamed up withbusiness leaders to lobby the governmenton the urgency of key infrastructureprojects and has published a list of 12 toppriorities. “Brexit and the hung parliamentmust not lead to dither and delay on thekey infrastructure challenges facing thecountry,” said Adonis. “We need to press onwith decisions on Heathrow, HS2, newelectricity generating capacity, and radicalimprovements to digital communications,to underpin jobs and economic growth,” he said.

As well as HS2, HS3 and Crossrail 2, theNIC’s top 12 list of the UK’s most pressinginfrastructure schemes features projectssuch as eastern crossings of the RiverThames, more flexible power systems,renewable energy, decarbonisation,Hinkley Point C, broadband, 5G and flooddefence, amongst others.

Adonis sees rapid progress in the nextyear on these top 12 major projects andpriorities as an acid test of thegovernment’s commitment to the ‘jobs-first Brexit’ which the chancellor, PhilipHammond, has argued for. “All of theseprojects and priorities have been agreed inprinciple, but require decisive action to getthem moving in the new Parliament. Theyought to be at the top of ministers’ in-trays,and they ought not to linger there a daymore than necessary,” said Adonis.

The list of priorities has the backing ofthe Confederation of British Industry, theBritish Chambers of Commerce and theFederation of Small Businesses. In astatement released with the priority list,Adonis said: “Britain’s historic weaknesshas been to underinvest in infrastructure,and to adopt a stop-go approach evenwhere decisions are taken in principle.

“Nothing symbolises this more than the long-running saga of Heathrow airport.A third runway was agreed in principle 14years ago but there has still not been afirm decision to proceed. There’s no pointsaying Britain is open to the world ifbusiness cannot get in because Heathrowis full.”

Adonis’s comments were welcomed byRobbie Owen, head of infrastructureplanning and government affairs at PinsentMasons. “This shows how helpful the NIC is

going to be, particularly at a time when wehave a minority government with manyother priorities and distractions,” he said.“What Lord Adonis said is really helpfuland provides a much-needed voice from avery senior and experienced person tokeep these projects on track at a time whenthere is a considerable political vacuum. Alot of the projects in the list of 12 havealready got government support, but theyneed continued pushes to get them overthe line,” Owen said.

ACE chief executive Nelson Ogunshakinsaid: “While the industry would havepreferred to see more detail, such asHeathrow runway expansion and Crossrail2, in the recent Queen’s speech, we needto stay calm and continue to strongly pressthe case for infrastructure delivery. Nowmore than ever we can see the importanceof collective actions and working withinour membership associations to articulateand fight for the issues that mean so muchfor our companies, industry and thecountry.

“Regardless of the current politicaluncertainty and the challenges of theparliamentary arithmetic, ACE willcontinue to champion our industry in thecorridors of power and ensure that the UKremains an attractive destination forforeign direct investors.”

National Infrastructure Commission chair, Lord Adonis, has teamed up withbusiness leaders to press the government on the urgency of key infrastructureprojects, publishing a list of 12 top priorities, writes Jon Masters.

1. Heathrow Airport (right)2. High Speed 23. High Speed 3 (linking

northern cities fromLiverpool to Newcastle andHull)

4. Crossrail 25. Eastern crossings of the

River Thames6. Flexible power systems7. Renewable energy8. Decarbonisation of

energy

9. Hinkley Point C10. Broadband and mobile11. 5G mobile12. Water and flood defence

infrastructure

The top 12 priorities for government action

“There’s no point sayingBritain is open to the worldif business cannot get inbecause Heathrow is full.”Lord Andrew Adonis, NIC chair


News round-up

The expected out-turn cost for theHinkley Point C nuclear new-buildproject in Somerset has been

revised upwards by £1.5bn, with warningof a risk of a further £0.7bn to come. Astatement released by EDF Energy putsthe latest out-turn estimate at £19.6bnafter a review of the project’s costs anddelivery timetable since the company’sfinal investment decision was made inSeptember last year.

According to EDF, the increase in theoverall cost estimate has come from agreater understanding of additional workneeded to adapt the project’s design torequirements of Britain’s Office ofNuclear Regulation, plus greater detailedknowledge of the quantity of work and

time and costs of implementing theconstruction contracts.

The project remains on schedule to hitits next big milestone, of having the firstconcrete poured for the first reactorbuilding by mid-2019, the company said,but this is reliant on having the finaldesign completed before the end of 2018.This is running on a tight schedule andEDF is warning of a risk of deferral ofdelivery for the first reactor building of 15 months. If this happens a further£700m cost increase is likely.

EDF’s latest cost assessment came just aweek after the National Audit Office (NAO)concluded that Hinkley Point C has “lockedconsumers into a risky and expensiveproject with uncertain strategic and

economic benefits”. The NAO report intothe project’s development saidgovernment’s economic case for the projecthas weakened since key commercial termswere agreed in 2013. Delays have helped tomake the taxpayers’ liabilities as high as£30bn over the course of the 30-year deal,compared to £6bn as originally expected.Government has been tied in, unable totake an alternative course since the termsof the deal were agreed, the NAO says.

However, it also points out that it is EDF’ssubsidiary for building Hinkley Point C,NNB Generation, that has taken on the risksassociated with the costs of construction.According to EDF, NNB will study andimplement the recommendations of itsproject review.

EngineeringUK has announced theappointment of Mark Titterington asits new chief executive. Titterington,

who will join the organisation in October,has a background in government relationsand corporate communications and willjoin EngineeringUK after more than adecade at Syngenta, one of the world’sleading plant science and agriculturetechnology companies, where he iscurrently the global head ofcorporate affairs and a member ofthe executive team.

Commenting on Titterington’sappointment, EngineeringUKchair Malcolm Brinded said:“Mark’s business leadershipexperience and widecommunications andpolicy background,together with the new

perspective he brings, mean he is wellplaced to build on the achievements of PaulJackson and the team and to work with theengineering community to deliver ourcollective ambition to inspire tomorrow’sengineers. I very much look forward toworking with him.”

Speaking after his appointmentwas announced, Titterington said:“EngineeringUK is playing a criticalrole in inspiring the next generationto pursue careers in engineering,which is so important for thedevelopment and prosperity of our

country. I am absolutelydelighted to have beengiven the opportunityto join the team andlead the organisationin its next phase ofdevelopment”.

Hinkley Point Ccosts rise by £1.5bn

EngineeringUK namesnew chief executive

Energy industrydoubts UK will hitemissions targets

Current government energy policiesare damaging the UK’s chances ofhitting vital targets for reducing

carbon emissions. So say 80% of industryprofessionals interviewed by the EnergyInstitute (EI).

The EI’s 2017 Energy Barometer reportreveals that eight out of 10 of EI memberssurveyed believe the UK is on course to missthe crucial aim of the fifth carbon budget,which requires emissions to be cut by 57%from 1990 levels by 2030. This points to theneed for the government’s Clean GrowthPlan to present new policy measures andgreater confidence, the EI says.

The Clean Growth Plan is the long-awaited government strategy for meetingthe UK’s carbon reduction targets. In Aprilthis year, the former climate changeminister Nick Hurd told a Business, Energyand Industrial Strategy select committeehearing that the plan had been put into a“holding pattern” by the snap generalelection. Hurd said coordinating the planacross multiple government departmentswas proving to be a “fantastically complexand challenging process”.Mark Titterington: new boss.


Greater Manchester mayor AndyBurnham speaking at the recentNorthern Transport Summit.

Devolution

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham saystechnical education has been seen as a second classoption for too long and it is time to give it true paritywith academic study, writes Andy Walker.

Greater Manchester elected mayorAndy Burnham says he wants to endthe “stigma linked to the class

system” around technical education.Burnham, who has just been named in

the number one spot in the North WestBusiness Insider Power List rankings, said thatthe region should turn its back on a “class-system bias” which he blames for universityqualifications being prized overapprenticeships and work experience.

During his mayoral campaign he pledgedto implement a new drive to raise the status oftechnical education. “When traditionalindustry left in the 80s and 90s, so did thequality trainee schemes that had provided aladder for working-class young people,” saidBurnham. “But, sadly, the English educationsystem did not respond to this seismic change.Instead, for decades, national education policyobsessed on the university route and leftyoung people wanting technical skills feelingdistinctly second-class,” he said.

Burnham said that Germany proved thata modern economy could not be built byside-lining technical skills and that his goalwas to provide the same clarity for youngpeople who want technical qualifications asthose on the university route by establishing“a UCAS-style system for apprenticeshipsacross Greater Manchester”.

“Governments of all colours failed to givepriority to technical education,” saidBurnham. “There is a stigma linked to theclass system. It’s ingrained to think of

apprenticeships as a second-class option,because the decision-makers all went touniversity. We should be following theGerman model, with academic andtechnical education valued equally. Throughdevolution we have to take the opportunityto do things for ourselves. It’s about trueparity between academic and technical togive hope to all students,” he said.

Burnham said that the apprenticeshiplevy, launched in April, was a “good startbut not the only show in town” and he’d liketo see it broadened into a skills levy forpeople who want to retrain.

The Greater Manchester mayor has longadvocated for raising the profile and statusof technical education. When he stood forthe Labour leadership in 2015 he said thenthat governments of all parties had ignoredthe 50% of school leavers that do not go touniversity. He believes that there needs to bea “revolution in technical education” thatincludes the extension of financial support.

Burnham’s said his ambition was to createa system where young people to be able tofind out and apply for apprenticeships inexactly the same way as people apply foruniversity. “My ambition is for a UCAS-stylesystem for apprenticeships, raising sights,rewarding those who work hardest, giving allchildren hope and a goal in life,” he said. Heis pressing the government to pilot the ideafirst in Greater Manchester and providepartnership funding.

It’s clear that Burnham sees devolved

government as an opportunity toimplement his plans and he is keen to workwith businesses and the education sector tomake them a reality. “With the challenge ofBrexit, we can’t afford to wait forWestminster to deliver for us,” he said. “Wemay end up waiting for ever. That is why weneed to seize our destiny in our own handsand develop a shared 20-year plan for there-industrialisation of Greater Manchester.”

Speaking at a recent apprenticeshipsconference in Manchester Burnhampledged to oversee the development of anenhanced UCAS-style application system.The system will guarantee to only offerquality apprenticeship and traineeshipopportunities, alongside other high qualitytraining and skills development.

Firms in the construction andinfrastructure sector will welcome the newmayor’s focus on technical skills and alsohis recent pledges on transport prioritiesfor Greater Manchester includingdevolution of railway stations, plans toimprove cycling infrastructure, making railmore attractive to passengers and thelaunch of smart ticketing.

Speaking at the Northern TransportSummit in June, Burnham called on thegovernment to commit to NorthernPowerhouse Rail (HS3), which would linkthe cities of the north, calling it a “gamechanger” for the region. He also said thatthe government should integrate the planswith proposals to bring HS2 to the region.

Burnham said that transport in thenorth was at capacity following years ofunder-investment, and transportinfrastructure projects would be thecatalyst for bringing the NorthernPowerhouse “back to life”.

Mayor calls for revolutionin technical education

Burnham hascalled for “aUCAS-stylesystem forapprenticeshipsacross GreaterManchester”.


Brexit and the EU

As the clocks continue to count downon the time the UK has left in theEU, business leaders in all industries

must look to the future and be prepared.There can no longer be a debate aboutwhether Brexit should or should nothappen. It is happening and the concern ofall businesses must be making themselves‘Brexit ready’.

Historically, as an industry we havedepended on Europe. With the uncertaintyof what it means to leave, those of usrepresenting the industry have been vyingfor government consideration and action.Action to ensure that initiatives are put inplace now for future commercial viabilityof those UK firms working ininfrastructure.

We have not, as a country, proactivelyplayed to our strength in leveraging up tooffer our collective capability in planning,development, financing, execution andoperation of major infrastructure servicesto other countries.

Successfully we have delivered majoriconic projects such as London 2012,Crossrail, Heathrow T5, The Shard, majorhospitals, education facilities and more, tothe envy of the world. However, we have

historically failed to leverage on suchsuccess.

The UK infrastructure sector has alwaysbeen at the vanguard of progressive changeon planning, financing, procurement,operations and maintenance of majorinfrastructure investment assets. Thecombination of Crossrail with London

Underground operational capabilities is aclassic model that could be exported to anumber of emerging countries. Such aholistic infrastructure investment deliverysolution approach could enhanceeconomic transformation and be a gamechanger for the recipient country.

This July the government launched aninitiative called Infrastructure Exports:UK (IE:UK), a collaboration with 17leading UK firms to help UK companies tosecure major international contracts.Through initiatives like this, we as anindustry must shape a vehicle throughwhich we are able to promote ourservices around the world.

Such efforts must be supported by theindustry and all firms must engage now tochange the dynamics of our industry tobest achieve success in 2019 and beyond.

Having worked historically with UKTIto improve industry input intogovernment initiatives and continuedwith the Trade Challenge partnership withthe Department for International Trade,ACE will continue to work to ensure thevoice of the industry is heard.

It will take more support and actionsuch as this from government, as well astrue engagement of businesses now, toensure that by 2019 our industry has acommercially viable future post-Brexit.

Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE is the chief executiveof the Association for Consultancy andEngineering.

Is the industry Brexit ready?

Using procurement policyto improve diversity

Brexit is happening and businesses need to getused to it fast and take the necessary steps toensure that they are prepared for a new politicaland commercial reality, says Nelson Ogunshakin.

Inclusion and diversity are currentlythe unicorns of the engineeringindustry, sometimes glimpsed but

hard to grasp and keep.Yet, we are highly aware that diversity

and inclusion could alleviate many of theskills challenges facing the industry, aswell as improve innovation. For anindustry struggling to achieve improveddiversity and inclusion, procurementmay provide a catalyst to change, makingtangible action a priority for companieswishing to be on the supply chain.

The current landscape of inclusivity inprocurement comes from regulatoryframeworks driven forward by the EU,making this an ideal time for the UK to

further develop its own regulatoryframeworks for diversity and inclusion inprocurement.

In the last seven years the UK hasadopted a more inclusive approach toprocurement supply chains, throughthree key pieces of legislation – SMEAgenda (2011), Equality Act (2010), andthe Public Services (Social Value) Act(2012).

Unfortunately, these three policies arelimited in scope as well as sector reach,making this a still vastly unexplored areaof fostering diversity and inclusion in theUK.

Within the procurement supplychain, diversity and inclusion can have

various meanings including the size ofcompanies in the supply chain, the staffmakeup of the company, as well ascorporate responsibility efforts such assustainability or public outreach.

Aside from threshold statistics, allaspects of diversity and inclusion aredifficult to document or quantify. Thismeans that their incorporation into theprocurement process requires carefulconsideration to avoid inappropriateelimination of those companiesattempting to join the supply chain.

The reality of using procurement inthis way are currently being explored bythe diversity and inclusion leadershipgroup at the Royal Academy ofEngineering, with the hope that withinthe next year clients as well as the supplychain will be able to leverageprocurement to ensure diversity isproperly addressed industry wide.

By Natasha Levanti

No longer a debate – it is happening.

“All firms must engage nowto change the dynamics ofour industry to best achievesuccess in 2019 and beyond.”


Lack of diversity in the industry is a serious problem, yet gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to outperform less diverse firms.

Astatistic that you saw a lot ofduring the recent InternationalWomen in Engineering Day is that

women make up just 9% of the UK’sengineering workforce. And, sadly, we’retrailing behind our European cousinswhen it comes to attracting women intothe industry.

It’s a dim picture. But it’s not one thatis wholly confined to the engineeringsector – although I recognise the industryis one of the worst offenders. Shockingly,in the UK, more men named John runFTSE 100 companies than women.

So, what’s the problem? I could spendan age debating the cause of the gendergap in engineering. Is it schools? Is itparents? Is it the industry itself ? In allhonesty, I don’t think it’s any one thing,but rather a combination of everythingwrapped up in outdated myths andmisconceptions about what modernengineering actually involves.

What is crystal clear is that we need tobe actively addressing the issue because a

lack of diversity in business is a seriousproblem. McKinsey’s Diversity Mattersreport says “We know intuitively thatdiversity matters”. It’s also increasinglyclear that it makes sense in purelybusiness terms, showing that gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely tooutperform their less diversecounterparts. And research from theRoyal Academy of Engineering andEngineering and Physical SciencesResearch Council suggests that nearly65% of engineering employers say a

shortage of engineers in the UK is a threatto their business.

As a large business, we need to bechallenging this issue. We need to use ourreputation as a leading engineering firmto help change the perception of thesectors we work in.

So why haven’t we fixed it already?Both intuition and qualitative data showsthat gender diversity – and any other kindof diversity for that matter – is good forbusiness. So why, when women have beenworking in engineering for over 100 years,are we still trying to fix the gender gap?

Again, I don’t think there’s any oneanswer to this question. But I do knowwhat I’m doing to help, and what Amey, asa business, is doing to help. And that’s whycampaigns like International Women inEngineering Day are so important – andwe’re proud to support. Because byworking together, by shining a light on allthe problems we know exist and byrefusing to stand idly by and hoping thisissue will fix itself, we’re helping to closethe gap, for good.

To mark this year’s InternationalWomen in Engineering Day, we havemade a commitment to ourselves and tothe wider industry that, by 2020, over 30%of our engineers will be women. Andwe’ve got an aggressive plan ofengagement and investment to help usachieve this goal in just three years.

Once we reach this, we’ll set anothermilestone and another if we need to.We’re not going to quit until our businesstruly represents the diversity of thecommunities we work in.

Nicola Hindle is managing director forconsulting and rail at Amey.

Diversity

Increasing the number of women inthe industry means challengingoutdated myths and misconceptionsabout what modern engineeringactually involves, says Nicola Hindle.

Are we ever going tofix the gender gap?

“We have made a commitmentthat, by 2020,over 30% of ourengineers willbe women.”

Nicola Hindle, Amey


Innovation

As newfound sciences andinnovations abound, theimagination is the limit to what is

probable, with funding as the limit to whatcan become both possible as well as certain.The greatest human advancements mayhave been inspired by one person, butprogress only really begins to acceleratewhen bright people unite for a commongoal.

There is a choice for all those workingwithin our industry – to make the most ofinnovations and remain competitiveglobally, or to approach projects in thesame way they have always been done andbecome obsolete in the marketplace.

Innovation is the lifeblood of ourindustry’s success and the reason why weare trusted with the very landscape of oursociety and our world. The demand on ourinfrastructure is clear; to continue to meetthe needs of society, as those needs evolveat a faster rate than ever before.

This can only be done by fosteringinnovation to glean what is probable,maintaining a research and developmentprogramme sufficient to turn probable intopossible, as well as a willingness to utilisethese newfound innovations in realprojects.

This is how our industry evolves, by newinnovations gaining enough backing thatthey turn into reality, de-risking theseinnovations for use in future infrastructure.

Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), anetwork partner of Innovate UK, specialisesin connecting funding to new innovations,helping de-risk innovation by ensuring thatcost does not prohibit the much neededinnovations that will strengthen the UKeconomy.

Operating across a variety of sectors it iswithin KTN that the Infrastructure IndustryInnovation Platform (i3P) was developed in2016. Confronting the perception thatinfrastructure is not sufficientlycollaborative and that project-specificcreativity gets lost, i3P is intended totransform ideas into opportunity as well asensure that lessons or innovations from asingle project are fed back into theindustry, fostering progress and increasingthe value of infrastructure more widely.

Composed of seven clients and 14 tierone contractors or consultants, the groupaims to showcase and capitalise oninnovations from throughout the supplychain. The aim is to make procurementeasier by de-risking the selection ofinnovative practises through this neutralbroker, facilitating collective knowledge.

Still under development, the i3Pinitiative will have a public list ofinnovations, relevant news items, andmember meetings to share further practicalexperiences. Intended as a trustedcollaborative space, i3P aims to improve theglobal competitiveness of UK, ensuring thatUK industry offers innovative solutions toinfrastructure needs worldwide.

By fostering a truly collaborative cultureof innovation across both infrastructureclients and their supply chains, i3P iscreating a ‘safe space’ to identify areas forpotential industry improvement, shareideas, and enable members to partner inprojects that drive increased value acrossthe infrastructure industry.

The Infrastructure Industry Innovation Platform (i3P) is an innovative newplatform that allows the brightest minds in infrastructure to collaborateto deliver infrastructure for the future. Natasha Levanti reports.

Pushing the industryforward, oneinnovation at a time

As our industry faces more and morechallenges ahead, capitalising on innovationand de-risking the use of such innovation ininfrastructure will be vital for the future.While select individual companies fosterinnovation as well as research anddevelopment within their service offerings,progress can be halted at the limitations ofwhat one company alone can do.

An online innovation portal, hosted onthe i3P website is accessible by the staff ofall member organisations and facilitatesthe sharing of innovation. The portalenables members to upload and downloadcontent, provides a trusted collaborativespace and a ‘toolkit’ and connects membersfrom different organisations to shareexpertise and ideas. The innovation portalwill be interfaced into the individualinnovation management systems ownedand governed by each client member.

Leveraging on the innovation knowledgethroughout the supply chain, i3P canensure that those working in theinfrastructure supply chain offer servicesthat are ‘ground-breaking’ on the domesticas well as the international stage.

Innovation will continue to be thelifeblood of our industry and it is throughinitiatives such as i3P that we can trulycapitalise on this across the industry.

The i3P forum is run by a chair and seniorrepresentation from member organisations.


Grenfell Tower tragedy

With the total number of thosewho perished in the GrenfellTower inferno still unknown, a

public inquiry has been announced andquestions are rightly being asked about thegovernment, local authorities, fire safety,building regulations and the way that theconstruction industry goes about itsbusiness.

Given that the spread of the fire is widelybelieved to have been due to the claddingused on the tower following its renovationin 2015, there are some critical questionsfor the industry and the inquiry to answer.Exactly what do the building regulationsand guidance say about fire safetymeasures? Are the regulations tooambiguous or not clear? Is the cladding ofthe type used at Grenfell and other similarproperties illegal or isn't it?

If the cladding is ‘banned’, how can somany local authorities and design and buildrefurbishment teams have got it so wrongso that more than 600+ buildings ended upbeing covered in similar cladding? Despiteone government minister claiming that thecladding used at Grenfell was “banned”, itbeggars belief that the industry wouldregularly fit non-compliant cladding thathas been deemed unfit for use in the UK.

Attention will inevitably focus on thebuilding regulations and how these wereapplied and adhered to. The public inquiryshould look at these issues in detail but theindustry should expect that a very stronglight will be shone on its working practices,procurement processes and how costs areallocated in a sector where ‘valueengineering’ is often the norm.

The government is under the spotlighttoo. Fire safety experts had previouslywarned that a government delay inreviewing building regulations wasendangering tower blocks throughout theUK. Following the fire at Lakanal House inSouth London in 2009, which claimed sixlives, fire safety failings were uncovered inthe resulting investigation. These failingsincluded inadequate fire risk assessmentsand panels on the exterior walls notproviding the required fire resistance.

Following the Lakanal fire, the thenhousing minister Gavin Barwell said lastyear that the government would reviewpart B of the Building Regulations 2010,which relate to fire safety. That review hasyet to happen.

Speaking to Infrastructure Intelligence onthe morning after the fire, secretary of theAll Party Parliamentary Fire Safety andRescue Group, Ronnie King, said that

building regulations “haven't takenaccount of the Lakanal House fire inquest,or updated recent accredited research”.King said that he and others had called forthe regulations to be reviewed followingthe Lakanal fire as people’s safety wasbeing compromised.

King also said that new build structuresabove 30 metres would also requireautomatic fire sprinkler protection butthat as Grenfell Tower was an olderbuilding he presumed that this would nothave applied for the refurbishment. “Ican’t believe that this fire would havespread the way that it had if there hadbeen water suppression,” he said.

King, a former chief fire officer for 20years with 40 years’ experience in the fireand rescue service, said that the All PartyParliamentary Fire Safety and RescueGroup had failed to persuade successivegovernment ministers, including the thenhousing minister Gavin Barwell, to reviewthe building regulations because theycould be endangering tower blocks

throughout the UK. There are still 4,000tower blocks within the UK which have thesame regulations applied to them. Andfollowing tests, more than 150 towerblocks have been found to be fitted withcombustible cladding.

The government were warned, by Kingand other experts, but for whateverreasons their warnings went unheeded.“We made strong pleas to government getthe regulations reviewed and said thatthere is going to be a tragedy and you willbe held responsible,” King told me.

King said that the review of thelegislation being demanded would havecovered all aspects of fire safety on towerblocks, including sprinklers, internalcompartmentation and prevention of firespreading up a building and penetratingbuildings. “We said repeatedly that theregulations weren’t good enough andneeded to be addressed,” said King.

Nobody listened to those warningsmade years ago. They must be listened tonow.

The Grenfell Tower fire has placed government, the building industry and the wayit operates in the public spotlight like never before. Key questions need answeringto ensure that such a disaster can never happen again. Andy Walker reports.

Industry andgovernment in thedock after Grenfell

Grenfell Tower: before and after...


Highways England

It’s the end of June 2017, at the time ofwriting, and Highways England chiefexecutive Jim O’Sullivan is reflecting on

progress, two years in. That is, progressionof the organisation as a whole, as well asdelivery of the circa £12bn, five year RoadsInvestment Strategy (RIS).

Highways England (HE) is now two yearsold as a government-owned company, witha five-year regulated spending settlementand regime of key performance indicators.To that RIS total is added another £4.4bn foroperating and maintaining the strategicroad network from 2015/16 to 2019/20. TheKPi targets the HE is working to includescores for safety and user satisfaction,among other things. So for a two-year statusreport, how’s the HE doing?

“We’re doing very well. The move fromthe regime of our predecessor the HighwaysAgency, a delivery arm of the Departmentfor Transport, to being Highways EnglandLtd, has been a huge success. Our businesscase and economic case analysis are nowseen as industry best practice. And oursafety performance improvement has beendramatic,” O’Sullivan says.

The reportable injury rate of the HE’s

traffic officers has halved over the past twoyears. On its project sites, where around22,000 people are working every day, aperformance problem has been reversed,O’Sullivan says.

“Our contractors were telling us thattheir accident and injury rates were higheron HE sites than all of their other activities.Now they’re reporting that safetyperformance in roads is better than othersectors.” This has been achieved purely bybecoming a more demanding client, he says.

The third area of safety, that of roadusers, is the more difficult to influence. Onthis, O’Sullivan claims HE to be makinggreat improvements, but according to DfT’sstatistics, numbers killed or seriouslyinjured on Britain’s roads have remainedlargely unchanged, fluctuating marginallysince 2011.

The HE faces a tough challenge to hit itstarget of cutting KSI figures by 40% by 2020,but, O’Sullivan says: “Our responsibility isjust the motorway and major A-roadnetworks. We were given an additional£220m to focus on congestion and safetyhazards in the last government spendingreview. We reckon that by implementingsimple changes – better signs and wider slip-roads etc – we can save 150 lives over threeyears.”

On major road upgrade schemes, the HEhas now completed 12. About 120 lane mileshave been added through the SmartMotorway programme and another 20projects are currently under construction.These include the largest yet, the £1.4bn A14improvement in Cambridgeshire. “At somepoint over the summer of this year, ourspending will begin to exceed over £1m a

Highways England is now two years oldand two years into delivery of the firstfive-year roads investment strategy. Jon Masters reviews the progress.

“Our businesscase andeconomic caseanalysis arenow seen asindustry best

practice. And our safetyperformance improvementhas been dramatic.”Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England chief exec

Five million a day: HE spending in rude health

All change for HE contract procurementJim O’Sullivan confirmed toInfrastructure Intelligence theHE’s next intentions forcontract procurement,including less secondarybidding for suppliers onregional framework deals.The HE says it is moving

away from a “one size fits all”approach. Previously all workof the Roads InvestmentProgramme was let throughthe Collaborative DeliveryFramework (CDF). To date£3.69bn of the £5m maximum

possible spend through theCDF is committed. ByDecember 2018, a newarrangement will be needed.Four ‘routes to market’, are

being outlined: Contracts forthe next tranche of the SmartMotorway programme will belet through alliancingarrangements from early 2018;conventional road and junctionimprovements – the RegionalInvestment Programme (RIP) –will be awarded in regional lots;‘complex infrastructure

projects’ (A303 Stonehengeand Lower Thames Crossing)will be procured bespoke; andmaintenance and minorcapital works will go throughHE’s Asset Delivery Model.The second route, for the RIP,

is arguably most significant, ifthe HE really does start toaward contracts directly tocompanies and joint ventureson regional frameworks,without secondary bidding.“We recognise the need for

procurement routes

appropriate for each particularpart of the market; for bespokecontracts for complex projectsfor instance and we want tomove away from the costly andstop-start nature of repetitivebidding,” O’Sullivan says. “We’venot worked out the detail yet,but we want to be rewardingsuppliers on the basis ofperformance rather than justthe value of their bids. There willstill be some secondarybidding, but direct awards also,where companies do well.”

day on that project alone. More broadly,we’ll be paying contractors and consultantsabout £5.5m every day,” O’Sullivan says.

During the current financial year, the HE’sannual spending will break through the £2bnmark. Progress with the investment plan hasalready started to ramp up.

“A lot is made of the number of projectstarts we have planned in 2019/20, but thebiggest step-change in our spending actuallycomes sooner, from this year to next, from2017/18 to 2018/19. We’ll have a significantnumber of projects on site and a largequantity of lead-in work getting underwayat the same time. We’ll have 31 schemesgoing from options to development stagesover the coming year. It’s a major step-up indesign work,” he says.

The HE’s list of major projects completedisn’t exactly as planned. The A21 Tonbridge-Pembury improvement in Kent is runningabout six months late, while another, theA43 Abthorpe Junction, started early. Noteverything is going to go to plan, but overallthe HE is “more or less” on schedule. “We’remanaging all this as a portfolio,” O’Sullivansays.

Progress has not been so good according

to the National Audit Office. In March thisyear an NAO report found that costs of the112 projects of RIS were exceeding availablefunds by £841m. “The Department andHighways England need to agree a morerealistic and affordable plan if they are toprovide optimal value from the RoadInvestment Strategy,” said the head of theNAO, Amyas Morse.

The NAO report pointed out that £652mof the funding gap was due to over-programming the RIS – done to ensure all ofthe available money could be spent if anumber of schemes did not passsuccessfully though statutory proceduresand approvals.

According to O’Sullivan, a lot of what theNAO called for has now been done. Thefunding gap has shrunk, he says: “When westarted out, we had a funding pressure of£1.2bn. We’ve reviewed the programme,looked at changes to the scope and got therisk of overspend down to £717m, so we’vesolved about £500m of the problem.

“It’s traditional and sensible to over-programme, which now amounts to about£500m, so at present we’ve got a circa£200m risk of overspend, which out of aprogramme of £12bn, is not too bad aposition.”

Projects planned and designed but notstarted by 2020 will go forward into the HE’ssecond five-year investment period,O’Sullivan says. Progress with developingRIS2 is also coming along, he says. HE haspublished 18 route strategies and iscurrently collecting feedback from allstakeholders. A RIS2 strategic business planis due next year ready for a start in April2020.

“What’s important here is that we want areal industry and public engagementprocess, beyond the normal consultationprocedures,” he adds. “We want everyone totell us how we’re doing, whether we’redoing things right and what they want tosee done next.”


Lay-bys turning orangeLater this year, a number of emergencyrefuge areas (ERAs) on stretches ofmotorway are going to be paintedorange. This will be to make them moreobviously visible; the latest effortdesigned to ease concerns over thesafety of the ‘all-lane-running’ (ALR)configuration of Smart Motorways.The House of Commons’ Transport

Select Committee (and someemergency services and motoringorganisations) remain steadfast in theirview that ALR is more hazardous thanprevious Smart Motorway designs,despite Highways England’s risk analysis.Part of the problem is a perception

that ERAs are too far apart, too short andpresent risks for vehicles pulling out of

them into live traffic. So, HighwaysEngland will be assessing the merits ofmaking them more visible. According toJim O’Sullivan, the HE has also beenworking on safe operations with vehiclerecovery firms and writing to motoriststhat are spotted driving in lanes closedby Red X gantry signs.This is another sticking point raised by

the Select Committee. HE’s analysisshows risk of collisions with stationaryvehicles in live lanes has increased (butrisks overall are reduced). Red Xcompliance is an important issue, but atpresent HE doesn’t have data availableto present to MPs. “This is somethingwe’re considering and working on,” aspokesman says.

The M1 Junction19 ColthorpeInterchange –one of 12 majorprojectscompleted.


Opinion

Skills shortages within construction andits associated industries have beenendemic for some time now and, despiteurging from leading employers, tradebodies and agencies like ourselves, theycontinue to get worse. And with newindustry data suggesting that a hardBrexit could dump further problems onthe industry, it appears that somethingneeds to be done, and fast. But why arethere skills shortages withinconstruction and what can be done tostop them?

Construction has faced a lack of skillssince the global recession whenthousands of skilled professionals leftthe field in search of new work. Thoseindividuals have never been properlyreplaced and, at the same time, thesector has faced challenges with anageing workforce – approximately 19%of all professionals are aged 55 and overand can therefore be reasonablyexpected to retire in the next decade.However, worryingly, replacing thoseprofessionals approaching retirementisn’t even the biggest challenge we face.

Our departure from the EU hascreated headaches for many industriesbut perhaps the most severely impactedis construction. If we face a ‘hard’ Brexitthen almost 200,000 constructionprofessionals could be forced to leavethe UK as a result of tighter immigrationlaws and a loss of freedom of movement.So, if the shortages are bad now, imaginewhat they’ll be like after we leave theEuropean Union. And, as yet, no realisticsolutions for how we replace thesedeparting individuals have beenproposed.

Some commentators put forward theidea of ‘brickie visas’ – a temporarymeasure which would allow someworkers including joiners andbricklayers, for example, to remain inthe country for three years following ourdeparture from the EU – however this

was largely negatively received. Firstly,it only plasters over the issue andmeans we’ll simply face the same, ifnot more severe, issue a few yearsdown the line and secondly, it surelywouldn’t appease those who votedleave in order to see tighter controlover the UK’s borders. What’s needed isa more robust and long-term solution.

To an external audience, particularlythose in the ‘millennial’ bracket,construction doesn’t benefit from apositive reputation and is seen as alegitimate career option by far too fewyoung people. This isn’t entirelysurprising, even many of thoseworking within the field don’t doenough to promote the sector as aviable career option, and even feweractively promote career opportunitiesto school aged youngsters and thosefurther up the education chain.Ultimately, we need to widen thepipeline of people interested in aconstruction career and that willrequire a long-term and dedicatedapproach.

It’s worrying that few organisationstruly appreciate the extent of the skillsshortages and the impact they couldhave a few years down the line,particularly as the industry contributesaround 8% of overall GDP. While it mayseem like a lot of work to engage withalmost an entirely new community –from a standing start – it’s absolutelynecessary to put the graft in now,rather than face the consequences inthe future.

Widely promoting the potential of aconstruction career and engaging withyoungsters will provide a long-term fixand won’t fall apart a few years downthe line. Construction employers andtrade bodies need to think long-termabout the talent crisis and start tolaunch their own programmes to helptackle ever-growing skills shortages.

Paul Payne, managingdirector, construction andrail recruitment specialist,One Way

Constructionskills challengeis a tickingtime bomb

People always seem to be surprised when Isay I’m an engineer so I think the perceptionof the industry hasn’t changed in 20 years. Inmy experience though things are different,I’ve worked in departments where there wasan equal split between male and female andalso departments where I was the only girlbut I’d say that situation is getting lesscommon now, thankfully.

I’d never heard of chemical engineeringbefore my chemistry teacher mentioned itto me as a career path when I was 16. Ilooked into it and realised I’d be reallysuited to the problem solving aspects of itand the diversity of where it could take mereally appealed.

Fiona Smith, chemicalengineer, BPE

Engineering isn’tall spanners andoveralls

“I think more informationabout the differentengineering disciplinesneeds to be got across togirls at an earlier age to tryand shift perception awayfrom engineering justbeing very manual and attimes dirty.”

“It’s worrying that feworganisations trulyappreciate the extent ofthe skills shortages and theimpact they could have afew years down the line.”

“I can’t say it’s been all plainsailing but some of the timeI think the issue has beenmore generational thangender-based.”


I think more information about thedifferent engineering disciplines needs to begot across to girls at an earlier age to try andshift perception away from engineering justbeing very manual and at times dirty.Obviously there can be an element of that,but there’s also so much more.

In my career I have spent time onchemical sites in overalls with a spanner inmy hand but I’ve also sat in meetings withpatent attorneys discussing intellectualproperty law and travelled by private jet toview possible site locations, I’ve knownengineers who’ve gone to Westminster tolobby MPs on legislation, so there’s so muchmore to the profession than people realise.

On the whole my experiences havebeen good. I can’t say it’s been all plainsailing but some of the time I think theissue has been more generational thangender-based. Occasionally, when youare the only woman in a team yousometimes have to make it known thatyou want to be included in things,especially on the social side, as it can beassumed that as a woman you’re notinterested.

If I could tell young girls one thingabout engineering it would be that it’snot what you think it is, or at least, itdoesn’t have to be. Your career can takeyou wherever you want it to.

Recent images of corporate executiveboards and government leaders have beenposted on social media with the caption,“What’s wrong with this picture?” Theanswer is that no women are included inthe images, which means women are stillnot present in the highest echelons ofcorporate boards and governmentleadership.

To gain entrance, some women havefelt the need to assimilate to fit in with theguys. For instance, one female engineerlearned to play golf, so that she could jointhe men on the golf course, where manydeals are negotiated and relationships areestablished. Her strategy worked – she isnow a CEO.

The most common problem womencite is the scenario where a womanpresents an idea to the board or team andis quietly ignored, wherein a few minuteslater, a male co-worker makes the samecomment and the team is not onlyreceptive to the idea, but openly attributescredit to the idea to the man and not thewoman who originally stated it.

This may or may not be donedeliberately, but the result is the same. Itcauses a stressful dilemma for theoriginator of the idea. Namely, whetherone should bring attention to thisinjustice and declare to the group thisoversight or remain silent. In the formercase, a woman who speaks up, no matterhow politely, may be perceived to be apoor team player by refusing to “sharecredit”, while in the latter case, hercontribution is forever attributed toanother person.

While other bystanders may laterapproach and acknowledge that they toowitnessed or experienced the samescenario, most colleagues remain silent.What is missing is good leadership and achampion for equity in the room.

If corporations want game changingnovel ideas and solutions, they need torealise that the volume or assertiveness by

which an idea is communicated does notcorrelate to the creativity or quality of theidea. All voices need to be heard andacknowledged.

The absence of the female perspectiveon boards and teams translates into amissed business opportunity to reach 50%of the world’s population, which arewomen.

The absence of women on high-levelexecutive boards and teams is evidencethat there are underlying issues in thework environment preventing theretention and advancement of women.Women cannot advance in a company ifthere are none present.

Why do they leave? Because womenwho see themselves working harder thantheir counterparts, but receiving lesscompensation or experiencingunwelcoming work environments willexit for other positions. Nothing willchange until corporations (and academicinstitutions) openly acknowledge theproblem, own it, and deal with it.

Companies are appearing to deal withthe issue quietly behind closed doors andon their own terms, but these types ofissues are not in their area of expertiseand they need help. Positive changes inworkplace environments will onlyhappen if companies open their doors tolook and share the facts that these issuesare happening, take ownership and getexpert help to fix it.

Dr Karen Panetta, professorof electrical and computerengineering at TuftsUniversity, Massachusetts

Diversity in theboardroomstarts withacknowledgingideas

“If corporations want gamechanging novel ideas andsolutions, they need to realisethat the volume orassertiveness by which anidea is communicated doesnot correlate to the creativityor quality of the idea. “


it, maybe not as fast as we want it to but it ismoving. The key thing is that theknowledge and expertise that we have inour organisations is what is going to driveus forward. It’s not all about pressing abutton, you need that experience andintelligence,” said Chauhan.

The industry was still struggling todigitise knowledge, said Nic Hillier ofFaithfull and Gould. “How do we take that

five years of knowledge,compress that time and get thatto the younger people? It’s ahuge challenge,” he said.

Robert Fry of Aukett Swankethought that dramatic changewas on the way. “We work in ahuge industry that isstill incredibly siloedand actually the realtalent pool is veryvery small. I agree

that there will be a lot moreautomation, especially robotics,that will force us to makechoices about the kind ofbusinesses we want to be. Thebig thing is going to be roboticsin future,” he said.

Roundtable discussion

Akey question discussed by thoseattending the roundtable was “Isthe industry ready for the impact of

disruptive technology and how can firmsmanage their resources in a world wherethe industry is changing along with thepeople who work within it?”

“Technology is great and it enables youto do more things quicker but then clientsalso demand more things from us, so we arealmost using technology just totread water,” said BuroHappold’s Angus Palmer. “But isthe people that is the difference.It’s not technology that wins youthe next project, it’s the people.We should never ever forgetthat,” said Palmer.

Ben Freedman of MLM saidhow the industry collaboratesand how people engage witheach other was key. “I’ve beenfortunate to work on a few projects wherewe have worked in a very collaborativeenvironment, using a lot of videoconferencing and other collaborative tools,”he said. “The speed those projects run at andthe speed at which decisions are made incomparison to the email and attachmentdriven world we are still quite used to isquite fascinating to see,” Freedman said.

“Are we fearing disruption, allowing it,or are we ignoring it?” asked RichardMcCarthy of Capita. “In our businesses Idon’t think we invite disruption, we try toinvite a continuation of what we have done

before with a bit ofmodernisation. Weneed to invitepeople in ourbusinesses todisrupt,” saidMcCarthy.

Jiten Chauhan ofRider LevettBucknall said: “Weare on a journey andwe are moving with

Richard McCarthy said it was importantnot to equate disruption with technology. Itwas about more than that. “Be very carefulabout ‘disruption means digital’. Digital ispart of disruption but it is also a mindset.When you disrupt you invite people tothink about doing things differently. Beingcreative and empowering people is animportant part of the story,” he said.

Echoing this, Rob Witt from WardellArmstrong said that theindustry had always neededpeople with the ability to thinkand move things forward. “Westill rely on and need peoplewith bright minds to enable ourbusinesses to grow,” he said.

Mixing disciplines in waysthat haven’t been thought ofbefore to promote a real cross-fertilisation of views andgenuine collaboration was also

Time to bring onthe disruptors

Industry leaders gathered at The Shard in Londonrecently to discuss the challenge of digital technologyand how best to adopt it at the latest executiveroundtable organised by Infrastructure Intelligence andsupported by BST Global. Andy Walker reports.

Roundtable participantslJiten Chauhan – partner,Rider Levett Bucknall

lTim Curtis – managingdirector, Ricardo Energyand Environment

lBen Freedman –director, MLMConsulting

lRobert Fry – managingdirector international,Auckett Swanke

lBrian Furr – directorstrategic accountdevelopment, BSTGlobal

lMike Goggins – groupclient engagementdirector, Steer DaviesGleave

lMark Goldspink – chief executive, Purcell

lNic Hillier – director,Faithfull + Gould

lRichard McCarthy –executive director,Capita Property

lEduardo Niebles –managing director,international business,BST Global

lBrian Nolk – actingcommercial director, Victoria Street Capital

lNelson Ogunshakin – chiefexecutive, ACE, chairing themeeting

lAngus Palmer – groupdirector London, BuroHappold

lTony Scott – chief information officer, WSP

lAndy Walker – editor,Infrastructure Intelligence

lRob Witt – technical director,Wardell Armstrong

The Shardwas thevenue for the latest BST Globalroundtable.

Ben Freedman:“The speedcollaborativeprojects run at isfascinating to see.”

Angus Palmer: “It’snot the technologythat wins you thenext project, it’sthe people.”

Mike Goggins: “Theadvantage will liewith those who cangrab the data andcreate new insight.”


crucial. So was listening toclients’ changing needs.Increasing numbers of clientswere interested in social valuesaid Mark Goldspink of Purcell.“We mustn’t lose sight of whatthe client is looking for becausethat may well change and itmight not be all technologydriven. Many want to see thesocial value in what we do,” hesaid.

Eduardo Niebles of BST saidthat the sector needed to beaware of its key strengths which were aconsiderable business advantage. “Thissector has something that no othertechnology business has – and that’sknowledge. You own the information anddata. Technology for this sector is more ofan enabler versus a disrupter. The disrupterin this sector will come from within andwill be about how you redefine yourbusiness model,” said Niebles.

Tony Scott of WSP said that becoming alearning organisation was crucial tocompanies being able to take advantage ofopportunities. “We can’t deny thedevelopments in technology that are beingseen elsewhere in business. Technology ison the cusp of disrupting ourindustry, so don’t wait, we needto disrupt our businesses now.Think big, start small and scalequickly,” said Scott.

Ricardo Energy andEnvironment’s Tim Curtis saidthat current businessesmechanisms don’t necessarilydrive collaboration, so changingthe business model was a

challenge but a necessary one iffirms are to progress. RichardMcCarthy agreed. “We need tochallenge and mix people up inthe way that we deliver ourinfrastructure. I think we arejust moving into a mindsetwhere we are realising that justcarrying on how we have beenis not sustainable. We are goingto have to change our businessmodels faster than we mayrealise,” McCarthy said.

The younger generationcoming into the industry would be crucialin businesses making that shift to adifferent way of working and all thoseround the table recognised this. “You haveto monitor the young generation who aretied to mobile technology,” said JitenChauhan. “I mean, they are doing code atprimary school! Our world is changing andour industry needs to change too. We needto look at how the younger generation islearning and learn from that. Ask themhow they think we should do things?”Chauhan said.

It was clear that the next generation waslearning more quickly than the one beforeand their speed of thought was faster too.

While there is much talk in theindustry about the millennialgeneration, the so-called ‘digitalnatives’, it would be the ‘digitaldevelopers’ that would comenext and it might be that theindustry might have to skip ageneration, such was the speedof change.

“The use of data for differentpurposes will be the disruption

in our sector,” saidMike Goggins ofSteer Davies Gleave.“Someone is goingto come in, the datais going to be openand we won’t own itas consultants. TheIPR won’t be with usit will be an opendata platform. Thecompetitiveadvantage will lie with those who can grabthe data and create new insight or leverageit more quickly. Exploitation of data isgoing to come suddenly and rapidly,” saidGoggins.

Ownership of data was seen by everyoneas crucial to future business success.Consultants canreally add value toclients with theiruse of data, as theyoften knowingmore about theirclients’ clients thanthe clients knowthemselves.Whoever owns thatdata and exploits itwill be in thedriving seat in thefuture and this was the feeling of manyattendees.

Businesses needed to be much moreopen about data and the way it is shared tobenefit clients and less worried aboutlosing their competitive edge by workingin that way. There also needed to be moreconversations with clients and a lot morediscussion about what the industry meansby changing its business model. What doesthat mean in reality and who is going tomake it happen?

A subject for a future discussion nodoubt.

Nic Hillier: “How dowe take five yearsof knowledge andget that to theyounger people?”

Robert Fry: “Thebig thing in thefuture is going tobe robotics.”

Richard McCarthy:“How we havebeen carrying on is just notsustainable.”

Tony Scott:“Technology is onthe cusp ofdisrupting ourindustry, so weneed to disrupt ourbusinesses now.”

BST Global provides integrated businessmanagement software solutions for theworld’s leading architects, engineers, andenvironmental consultants. More than100,000 professionals across sixcontinents and 65 countries rely on BSTsolutions each day to manage theirprojects, resources ,finances, and clientrelationships. The company’s latestoffering, BST10, is the world’s first multi-lingual business management system tobe built exclusively for the architectureand engineering industry and madeavailable both in the Cloud and On-Premises. For more information, visitbstglobal.com.

About thesponsor


A new report from independent law firm BurgesSalmon offers a snapshot of the UK infrastructuresector and the challenges it currently faces. Andy Walker looks at the report and the issues it raises.

Interesting timesfor infrastructuredelivery

Infrastructure report

Is the UK’s infrastructure working? It’s aquestion that is well worth asking given theimportance that our politicians place on the

sector for the long-term health of the UKeconomy. That’s why Burges Salmon andInfrastructure Intelligence got together toproduce a report, Perspectives on Infrastructure: Howcan we improve the delivery of UK infrastructure?

Launching the report at June’s NationalInfrastructure Forum at Excel, London, BurgesSalmon said that they wanted to create aninformed debate on the challenges of deliveringUK infrastructure projects, as part of thecountry’s future industrial strategy. Given theresult of the recent general election and thepolitical uncertainty that has since ensued, thatdebate seems more urgent than ever.

“We drew on the opinions of over 100industry experts for the report, includinginterviewing a dozen of them face-to-face,” saidBurges Salmon’s head of infrastructure WillGard. “The results make for fascinating reading,with opinions varying widely on the effects ofBrexit, technological advances,changing political andregulatory commitments, theneed to marry good projectswith the right finance, skillsand leadership issues,devolution and engagementchallenges,” said Gard.

At the heart of the report’sfindings is a simple fact. The UKneeds new infrastructure toretain its economic powerhouse status.Despite the differing opinions containedin the report, the research shows that allstakeholders in the infrastructure sectorunderstand and support the need todeliver that vision and they are keen tosee the industry get the leadership it needsto make that happen.

Some of the key concernsexpressed in the report includethe availability of funding forUK infrastructure projects,the need for collaboration

along the supply chain, the skills gap challengeand issues around devolution. Those interviewedin the report included senior executives from anumber of organisations active in infrastructuredevelopment and delivery like Aviva, BristolAirport, CH2M, Costain, ENGIE, FirstGroup,KPMG, M&G Investments, National AustraliaBank, RBS, St. Modwen, UK Regeneration andWessex Water.

The issues raised are ongoing concerns thatthe industry faces, which will continue to requirethe industry to work together to find effectiveand long-term solutions. “During the course ofour research, we were pleased to find thatindustry leaders are keen to talk about how weaddress the challenges to delivering UKinfrastructure,” said Gard. “There is a collectivesense of wanting to further the industry togetherand help the UK remain a primary destination forforeign direct investment,” he said.

The responses to the survey of industryleaders conducted as part of the report were veryinteresting and revealed a sector that, although

vital to securing the long-termprosperity of the nation’shealth and wealth, is one thatcould and should work betterthan it currently does in anumber of areas. The surveyresults and the face-to-faceinterviews conducted with keyindustry figures both revealedsignificant concerns aroundfunding, the certainty of

government policy on infrastructureand the regulatory regime thatunderpins projects and their delivery.

Whilst the survey showed that theindustry largely agrees that theNational Infrastructure Plan is “aboutright” in balancing short and long-term

infrastructure priorities, there area number of issues that

clearly divide thoseworking in theindustry. In particular,the current state of

agree UK infrastructureprojects are viable long-term investments forinstitutional investors.

65%“There is a collective senseof wanting to further theindustry together and helpthe UK remain a primarydestination for foreigndirect investment.”Will Gard, Burges Salmon

Download the report athttps://goo.gl/bRhvY9

collaboration in the supply chain, as well as thecurrent level of consideration for the long-termimpacts on local communities.

The majority of respondents to the survey (74%)think that national government should have themain responsibility for driving infrastructuredelivery in the UK. This is interesting in thecontext of increasing devolution anddecentralisation, with industry leaders sending aclear message that infrastructure deliveryshould still be led nationally.

That’s not to say that devolution is notwelcome. 21% thought that local andregional government should be drivinginfrastructure delivery and 71% said thatcity/region deals will help the delivery ofUK projects. The industry leadersinterviewed in the report were in themain enthusiastic about devolution, butthere was a feeling expressed that the newpolitical structures needed to deliver

results on the ground and that was yet to be seen.So no pressure on the new metro mayors then!

In terms of improving the delivery ofinfrastructure projects, industry leaders wereclear that procurement (25%), planning (24%) andfunding (20%) were the three main areas thatcould be improved the most. Given the linksbetween these three areas it is not surprising thatthey were given top priority for improvement andit’s clear from speaking to key players in theindustry that there are some real challengeswhich need to be overcome in all of these areas.

One of the key issues raised in the surveys andinterviews was collaboration, and the extent towhich it is used to deliver projects more quickly.45% either strongly agreed or agreed that UKinfrastructure supply chains effectivelycollaborate to deliver projects quicker. However,42% of respondents said that the industry wasn’tcollaborating effectively, showing an obviousdisconnect in the way the industry views thecurrent level of collaboration. Clearly there needsto be more collaboration on collaboration itself!

Given the importance of infrastructure to thelong-term health and wealth of the nation, theresponse to questions about whetherinfrastructure projects properly consider thelong-term social and economic benefits in localcommunities was a matter for concern.Respondents were evenly split with 45% sayinglong-term benefits were being considered but 50%said that they were not.

Winning public support for key infrastructureis crucial to those projects happening in the firstplace, so ensuring that they benefit local peoplehas to be a priority for the industry. How best tosecure that public support and promote local andnational infrastructure projects better was arecurring theme in many of the interviews ofindustry leaders and it’s something that thesector as a whole needs to get to grips with.

The biggest challenge to securing investmentin UK infrastructure projects was widely seen asgovernment policy (46%) with 40% of respondentssaying that concerns around availability offunding and uncertainty of returns was holdinginvestment back. This was also borne out by thoseinterviewed for the report, where certainty andclear government policy for infrastructure wasvoiced as a key issue in creating an attractivemarket for investors.

“How we go about ironing out theinefficiencies and challenges identified in thisreport will be something we continue to assist

with over the coming months andyears,” said Burges Salmon’s WillGard. “We are keen to hear people’sthoughts on the topics raised in thereport and we hope that by having adialogue, the interesting times wecurrently face turn into interestingopportunities,” said Gard.

agreed supply chainseffectively collaborate todeliver projects morequickly. But 42% disagree.

45%



Transport

Plans are being considered for afuturistic project to build a rail linkto deliver a Manchester to Leeds

train journey in a barely believable nineminutes as part of an eventual Liverpoolto Hull route of just 29 minutes. The routewill use Maglev trains which already existin China and Japan at up to 340mph, oreven Hyperloop ‘trains’ which are beingdeveloped up to 650mph.

The company behind the plans isDirect City Networks 300+ (DCN300+), anAnglo- American collaboration looking athow proven Maglev technology can beadapted to meet the unique demandsfacing transport in the UK. DCN300+proposes a Maglev solution built in smalltunnels and running from city centre tocity centre. The preliminary business casewhich has been evaluated in detail,focuses on a route between Manchesterand Leeds.

Unsurprisingly, DCN300+ groupmanaging director Daragh Coleman is apassionate advocate of the scheme. “Thecurrent Maglev that runs in China hasbeen the world’s fastest train for the pastten years at 270mph and we can use thatas a minimum,” says Coleman. “We havedone all the aerodynamic analysis withImperial College and we know you canreach those speeds in a tunnel. It’s simplya case of putting together existingtechnology with existing tunnels andexisting Maglevs. It’s a ‘nothing to inventsolution’, it’s not science fiction and it’salready out there elsewhere in the world,”he tells me.

Coleman says the solution has not beentried before because Maglev waspreviously seen as very expensive butincreasing costs for current UK high speedrail schemes have made a much bettercase for Maglev that didn’t exist before. Iask Coleman where the project is atcurrently. “We have produced a businesscase that proves it is financially viable andtaken it to Transport for the North, whothink it’s incredible but want to knowthat it really works and we are now in

discussions with them to demonstrate thatit does,” he says.

Coleman says that the alternativesolution to his project is HS3 or NorthernPowerhouse Rail, which is a 20-year project

that would cost a lot more than his Maglevsolution, take a lot longer to build andcause enormous disruption. “Even thenthe Manchester to Leeds journey timemight be 30 minutes after spending allthat money and time, where we couldbuild our solution in half the time, at halfthe cost and the journey would be nineminutes every day. They need to work outwhether they want to do it the old way orthe new way,” says Coleman.

The Maglev solution would take peopleand freight off the current TransPennineExpress route and replace the proposalsfor HS3 to deliver a different, superfastsolution. So what will be the overall cost?Coleman says that the DCN300+ Maglevroute will cost around £100m a milewhich compares favourably with the costfor HS2 which is coming in at around£200m a mile. The Manchester to Leedsroute would therefore cost £3.6bn, whichColeman says is more justifiable thanother comparable rail routes beingplanned.

The travelling public should alsobenefit if Coleman’s solution sees thelight of day. “The lowest possible singlefare between Manchester and Leeds willbe £6.54,” says Coleman. “Everyone looksat that and says ‘that’s a ridiculously lowfigure and you could double it’ and if wedid double it this has got a huge businesscase. Even at £10 at today’s standards or£15 by the time it is built it would behugely profitable,” he claims.

So how soon could we see 270mphtrains hurtling under the Pennines fromLancashire to Yorkshire? “If it was anormal process through a transportworks act we are talking about a threeyear planning cycle and a four year build,so this could be built in seven years’ timeif the government remains supportive,”says Coleman.

To produce their solution, DCN300+has assembled a team of leading advisersand specialists and consulted widely withthe public sector and industry. They nowfeel it is time to share the conclusions oftheir analysis and open it up to scrutiny.They hope their proposals will be takenon board and that the UK will soon see atransformational Maglev-based railsolution for the north of England.lFor further information on theproject see www.DCN300.co.uk

A superfast solution forNorthern Powerhouse Rail

“The current Maglev that runsin China has been the world’sfastest train for the past tenyears at 270mph and we canuse that as a minimum.”Daragh Coleman, DCN300+

The world’s fastest underground system could makeManchester to Leeds by train in nine minutes a dailyreality if a new project gets under way. Andy Walkerspoke to the company behind the ambitious plans.

A current TransPennine Express train(above). Might this be replaced with asuperfast Maglev train like the one below?


Saudi Arabia has changed its revenue stream to nuclear, mitigating the slowdown infunding for national infrastructure projects.

ACE news

At the end of 2016, I highlighted fivebig challenges for the industry ahead.While one of those challenges,

politics, has presented our industry withlargest amount of public attention to theinherent risks of change, the remainingchallenges identified must also be addressedwithin future business plans andengagement efforts.

For years our industry has seen asubstantial amount of funding forinfrastructure coming from the flexibleincome of gas and hydrocarbon. Particularlyfor parts of the Middle East and Africa, thisrevenue source has provided unprecedentedopportunities for our industry to build amodern, innovative landscape with fundingsourced from the lucrative sale of non-renewable resources.

However, the dynamics of this havechanged. The value of oil and associatedenergy prices have fallen worldwide, withthese prices likely to plateau for the long-term future. This presents some realchallenges ahead for our industry.

With less liquidity and flexible fundingavailable, how will our industry fill thepotential funding gaps? Will the increasingparticipation of pension funds fill the gap orwill the perceived construction risk continueto be a barrier to attract participation ingreenfield infrastructure investmentprojects?

These funding gaps, in the Middle Eastand Africa, have decreased the desire ofcompanies as well as individuals to work inthese areas, as they are deemed to have morebusiness risk and fewer possibilities forexceptional innovation.

Particularly for those emerging marketsthat have a sovereign wealth fund derivedfrom oil and gas revenue, with depletedreserves, the funds are looking to recycle andregenerate wealth in other ways. One ofthese alternatives for wealth generation isthrough renewable energy production. SaudiArabia for example, after having a budgetincreasingly curtailed by the flattening of oiland gas prices, has changed their revenuestream to nuclear, mitigating the slowdownin funding for national infrastructureprojects.

Compounding the impact of energyrevenue shifts on our industry, is theincreased level of energy consumptionaround the world, begging the question ofnot only how this will change the sources ofrevenue used for infrastructure, but alsohow alternative energy sources will impactglobal infrastructure needs.

Many of the renewable sources of energyare currently held back by the cost ofproduction as well as some existingreluctance in fully embracing what this willmean for our cities and ultimately the formof our infrastructure. The question facing allof us, as industry leaders, is whether we willsit back and monitor how the evolvingenergy palette impacts infrastructure orwhether we take a leap of faith to fullyengage in developing this future reality.

Much of the changes in energy mix aredependent upon technologicaladvancements, and as advancementscontinue, the declining cost of suchtechnology. This technology and its

Turning the funding gapinto an opportunity

The fall in the value of oil and associated energy prices presents some realfunding challenges for the industry with key players having to look atnew opportunities, writes Nelson Ogunshakin.

accompanied big data are key drivers forcurrent and future investments.

We already have much of the technologyneeded to revolutionise not just tomorrow’senergy mix but also the shape of tomorrow’sinfrastructure.

The question is, do we as an industry havethe passion to seize this as an opportunity, orwill we look longingly at the past whensubstantial infrastructure funding could bederived from non- renewable resources?

I encourage all to seize this as anopportunity to engage and help shape howenergy sources, societal needs, technology,big data and infrastructure will interact.

Seemingly unconnected to the widerindustry engaged in infrastructure, the changein energy prices, as well as usage, directlyimpacts all projects. And as the prevalence ofsolar rises around the world, the price of thetechnology itself has decreased.

This autumn will see the launch of the first ever European CIO conference for ourindustry. Hosted by the Association forConsultancy and Engineering, we will befocusing on many such contemplations ofhow new technologies interact with the everchanging global market and how best as anindustry we can make the most of futureopportunities. I encourage all technologyleaders across the industry to attend.

Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE is the chief executive of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering.

“Do we sit back and monitorhow the evolving energypalette impacts infrastructureor do we take a leap of faith tofully engage in developingthis future reality?”


They say that death and taxes are theonly certainties in life, but for thelast 40 years environmental

businesses could add another – a steadyand inexorable tightening of greenregulations through the steady hand ofthe EU.

Of course, many EU-derivedenvironmental laws aren’t perfect. Poordrafting and the need to craft laws thatwere workable from Newcastle to Nicosiameant headaches aplenty, but theyallowed UK governments to run greenpolicy on autopilot and environmentalconsultants and contractors to plan andgrow their business activity effectively.

Post-Brexit though, this may no longerbe the case. Of course, it is still just aboutpossible that we may stay in the singlemarket (though my personal view is thatthis is unlikely) in which case we wouldcontinue to be bound by EU laws.

Alternatively we may sign a UK-EUtrade deal in which our compliance withgreen laws from Europe is part of ourobligations (the EU Parliament recentlysaid that insisting on this should be a ‘redline’ in the EU’s negotiations with theUK), but it is clearly possible that once weleave the EU we will have ‘taken backcontrol’ of environmental law andparliament will be free to make changesto the many thousands of EUenvironmental regulations transferred tothe UK statute book by the imminentGreat Repeal Bill.

The question then arises, who or whatwill set the direction of environmentalpolicy? If you believe the Conservativemanifesto, a “25 year environmentalplan” to be produced over the comingyear by ministers, will do the trick. I thinkdespite the election result we may stillsee the plan and in principle I think along term framework of this type is agood idea, but I suspect it will be highlevel and once we have had anothercouple of ministerial reshuffles it will besoon forgotten about.

Instead, I think that in a post-Grenfellfire world, environmental policy will be

EIC news

Big questions over greenpolicy post-Brexit

driven by reactions to random failings ofregulatory enforcements that developpolitical momentum. EIC has membersspanning every aspect of environmentalwork, from land remediation to smartmeters to air quality, but one thing thatbinds them all together is a growingconcern that our enforcement systemsacross local authorities and theEnvironment Agency have beenhollowed out.

To take but one example, the GLA hasintroduced a good scheme to set emission

performance standards for constructionsite vehicles, to combat the 17% ofLondon’s air pollution from constructionsites. But the GLA does not have the legalpowers to enforce its own scheme, whileit is unclear how far London boroughs aredoing so – certainly many EIC membersin this field believe many contractors arenot exactly rushing to become compliant.The inevitable teething issues with a newcomplex policy, or a scandal waiting tohappen (“illegal fumes from constructionpoisoning neighbouring schoolchildren”?).

For businesses in this sector, this willadd to uncertainty and the likelihood of‘feast to famine’ procurement. And givenhow interconnected many environmentalissues are, hardly a great way to run anational environment policy either,however welcome some political‘kneejerk’ reactions may sometimes be.

Matthew Farrow is director of theEnvironmental Industries Commission, theleading trade body for environmental firms.

With 40 years of EU control of green regulations about to end when the UKexits the European Union, who or what will set the direction ofenvironmental policy after Brexit, asks Matthew Farrow.

“I think that in a post-Grenfell fire world,environmental policy willbe driven by reactions torandom failings ofregulatory enforcementsthat develop politicalmomentum.”

There is a growing concern that enforcement systems have been hollowed out.

lBest UK BusinessPerformance – SMEWinner – IMCWorldwide Highly Commended –Geo-EnvironmentalServiceslBest UK BusinessPerformance –Large FirmWinner – CurtinsHighly Commended –BWB ConsultinglApprentice of theYear Winner – JordanLaraway from AruplYoungProfessional AwardWinner – BenFreedman from MLM

Highly Commended –Tahira Newaz fromMWHlCollaborationChampion of the YearWinner – IMCWorldwide for theirRural Access projectHighly Commended –Hoare Lea for the RNLI slipway lifeboat station atPorthdinllaenl Inclusion andDiversity Championof the YearWinner – Max FordhamlSustainabilityChampion of the YearWinner – MottMacDonald

lTechnologyChampion of the YearWinner – BWBConsultinglTrainingInitiative of theYear Winner – TroupBywaters + AndersHighly Commended –BWB ConsultinglAmbassadorAwardWinner : ProfessorRoger Flanagan,Reading UniversitylDiamond Award(Winner ofWinners)Ben Freedmanfrom MLM

The winners


communities continue to thriveand succeed.”Mike Haigh, global

managing director of MottMacDonald and chairman ofACE, said: “Our industry buildstomorrow’s future, daily turningdreams into reality, but to dothat we must continue to haveindividuals and companies likethose that have beenshortlisted; people andcompanies that push beyondwhat was, to what will be.”

The awards were presentedby BBC News journalist CliveMyrie, continuing the tradition ofleading reporters who havehosted the awards. The ‘winnerof winners’ or Diamond Awardwent to Ben Freedman fromMLM, who also won the covetedYoung Professional Award.The full list of winners of the

Consultancy and EngineeringAwards 2017 is listed below andcovered in more detail over thefollowing pages.

professor Roger Flanagan takethe Ambassador Award.Speaking at the awards,

Nelson Ogunshakin, chiefexecutive of ACE, said: “Tonightis about lifting the curtain andcelebrating the often unseencontributions of consultantsand engineers to our localcommunities, our countries andthe world at large. We are thecreators of the world around us,those who ensure that nomatter what happens, our

A sell-out attendance of around400 people packed into theMarriott Grosvenor Square onWednesday 7 June 2017 for theunveiling of this year’s winnersof the Consultancy andEngineering Awards.Guests at the event were

drawn from all parts of theindustry and it was noticeablethat the crowd was morediverse than in previous years,including many women andyoung people. The annual awards,

sponsored by Brunel, Deltek,Pennington Manches, and WillisTowers Watson, celebrate thebest of the UK’s consultancyand engineering profession andthe work showcased spanned avariety of specialisms. As wellas recognising individualcompanies’ prowess, theawards also highlighted thecontribution of individuals in anumber of categories as well asthe role of partnerships andcollaborations that areincreasingly important in thedelivery of UK infrastructure.Those attending saw Curtins

win the best large firm of theyear award, IMC Consultingwalk away with two categorywins and Reading University’s

Award winners highlightthe best of the industry

a sell-out crowd for the annual Consultancy and Engineeringawards sees the industry’s brightest and best unveiled.

& Engineeringawards 2017

Consultancy

The awards werepresented by BBCnews reporterClive Myrie.

ACE chiefexecutiveNelsonOgunshakin.

Best UK BusinessPerformance – Large Firm



Consultancy

IMC Worldwide won the prize forBest UK Business Performance– SME, after being described bythe judges as “being fullycommitted to what they do andbelieve in”. An already high-performing company, IMC’sbusiness model has enabled thefirm to manage internationalpolitical uncertainty as they workin over 40 countries. In 2014, the company met

and exceeded its growth targetsfor 2012 to 2016 two years aheadof plan, with a £1m profit on a£25m turnover. In 2015 profitincreased to £1.6m on turnoverof £28m and during 2016 IMCgrew its profit to £1.8m on aturnover of £53m, an 89%increase compared to 2015.Permanent staff has increased to

Sponsored by

winner: IMC worldwide

The judges praised themanagement of Geo-Environmental Services forenabling the firm to developthe skills of their staffalongside an impressive rateof business growth.

Highly Commended:Geo-Environmentalservices

100 (86 based in the UK and 14overseas) and the company hasachieved a 50:50 genderbalance. Staff retention hasimproved, with only 1.1%leavers. The scale and scope of the

firm’s work is positioning IMC as

a leading internationaldevelopment consultancy anddifferentiating it fromcompetitors. The judges said that IMC

were “an exemplar of abusiness exceptionally wellplaced to develop post Brexit”.

This year’s winner of the BestUK Business Performance –Large Firm Award was Curtinsfor their excellent all-roundfinancial performance,commitment to its people andwillingness to innovate to winnew work.

winner: Curtins

BWB was highly commendedby the judges for an impressiverate of growth particularly theirwork developing strong digitalservices.

Highly Commended: BwB Consulting

The company increased itsstaff numbers by 22% in 2016,grew fee income from £19m to£23m and opened two newoffices. As well as enjoyingsignificant business success,Curtins has also shown acommitment to raising its profile

and that of the industry bylaunching a thought leadershipplatform, Podium, whichshowcases short technicalvideos on its website promotedvia social media.The judges were particularly

impressed with Curtins’

commitment to diversity, theiractive encouragement of womento join the firm and how theyhave provided apprenticeshipswith an alternative route toqualifications other thanuniversity.Explaining their decision, the

judges said Curtins were “anexemplar in investing in anddeveloping its people, receivingexcellent client reviews andcommendations amidst strongbusiness success. The winnertruly understood the need toimprove retention of staffthrough achieving a work-lifebalance, seizing the innovationsthat come through a diverse staffto work on projects that will setthe standard for tomorrow.”

Sponsored by

Best UK BusinessPerformance – sME



Consultancy

The Apprentice of the Year Awardrecognises an apprentice whohas shown outstanding progress,and commitment within arecognised learning scheme. The award, which specificallyrecognises an apprentice thathas made a tangible positivedifference to their company, waswon this year by Arup’s JordanLaraway.The judges were impressed

with Laraway’s involvement in anumber of high-profile projects,including Crossrail, and hisleading role at the heart of someof the company’s internalinitiatives. One particular initiative

winner: Jordan Larawayfrom arup

is Digital Design Tools, whichentails collating variousautomated tools that Arup staffhave created for different piecesof software, grouping them intorelevant categories (e.g. projectmanagement, CAD etc.) and thensharing them around the officefor others to use.Commenting on their

decision, the judges said thatLaraway had achieved far morethan his years let on. “Fromscoring straight distinction incollege work, to helping othersuse digital tools across the firmand running a number of smallprojects, this individual has astrongly apparent passion for theindustry,” they said. “As anapprentice, this individual hasalready made a tangible andpositive difference firm wide,” the judges said.

This award recognises a talentedyoung professional who hasplayed a significant role in thedesign, delivery, maintenance ormanagement of a project orprojects throughout the year, andwho demonstrates a genuinecommitment to being an industryleader of the future. This year’swinner was MLM’s BenFreedman.Freedman was selected by the

judges for being an accessiblerole model for the future of theindustry. “There is something veryhuman about Ben,” they said. Inhis interview he described hiscareer as being about caringabout people and doing the best

winner: BenFreedmanfrom MLM

for them. “He is an all-rounderand a real role model for theindustry who is passionate about achieving sustainabledevelopment goals,” said thejudges.Freedman impressed with his

passion for what engineering cando for people and for getting thatmessage across and enablingpeople to understand howinfrastructure works and benefitstheir lives. A brilliantcommunicator, he understandsthe commercial value oftechnology and is committed toinnovation, the judges said.They concluded: “Ben is a

future industry leader and there isno doubt that the industry will bedifferent as a result of his impacton it. Charismatic, he has anatural ability to collaborate withpeople and instinctively valueseverybody’s viewpoint. He leadsthrough empowerment.”

apprentice of the Year

Young Professional award

Collaboration Championof the Year

Inclusion and diversityChampion of the Year



Consultancy

IMC Worldwide won their secondaward of the evening, claimingthe Collaboration Champion ofthe Year Award for their work onthe Rural Access Programme(RAP).Since 1999, through the

programme, IMC Worldwide hasbuilt 1,000km and maintained2,000km of roads connectingNepal’s poor rural communitiesto services such as market,healthcare and education. RAP’seconomic developmentcomponent, CONNECT, aims toboost the economy in the remotemid and far west of Nepalby making roads workfor the poor. IMC havedone this by buildingpartnershipsbetween divergent

Sponsored by

winner: IMC worldwide for their rural access Programme

The judges were impressedwith a project that galvanisedbusinesses, the voluntarysector and the local communityin an environmentally sensitivelocation.

Highly Commended:Hoare Lea for the rNLI slipway lifeboatstation at Porthdinllaen

interest groups including banks,multinationals, micro, small andmedium enterprises and farmers,focusing on empowerment ofpeople who are poorlyrepresented on theentrepreneurial landscape, such

as women and youth. It was thispartnership work thatso impressed thejudges and IMC’swork has been

instrumental in creatingfinancially independentempowered women who aremaking a real difference to theircommunities. The impact of theCONNECT project will becompleted in 2019 but its impacton Nepal’s economy and lessonsfor policy-makers will be long-lasting and transformative.The judges commented: “This

is a truly inspirational project thathas delivered long-lasting

benefits to some of the poorestcommunities in the world.Collaboration within their roaddevelopment projects haveenabled new partnerships thatcreated a platform for thedevelopment of sustainablemicrobusinesses, helping torecognise the key role of womenwithin such ventures.”

Max Fordham has won thisyear’s award for Inclusion andDiversity Champion of the Yearfor addressing the issues with arefreshingly honest and openapproach. The judges said that other

SMEs could learn a lot from thepractical and bottom up way thefirm has dealt with challenges,which has delivered impressiveresults in a short period of time.Refusing to be complacent,despite their above averagediversity indicators, the companyhas delved under the surface toidentify and address a range ofproblems such as equal pay, lackof women in senior positions andracism on site.

winner:Max FordhamAs an SME, without access to

a large HR department, it is notalways easy to apply elements ofthe industry advice and toolkitsthat are available and somecompanies rarely go beyondaverage diversity indicators.However, Max Fordhamimpressed the judges bydeveloping an open andresponsive culture that hasenabled them to address keyissues early in an engaging,thoughtful and effective way andthe firm has made real progressas a result.The judges praised the firm for

a straightforward and honestapproach that has yieldedresults.



Consultancy

The Sustainability Champion ofthe Year Award recognises anorganisation that shows bothconsistency and leadership inachieving environmentalsustainability, through businesspractices as well as projectsdelivered. This year’s winner wasMott MacDonald.The firm impressed the

judges for embeddingsustainability at every level of itsbusiness. “With clear and strongleadership at CEO level, thecompany is committed toreducing its own carbonfootprint and also that of itsclients,” said the judges. Mott MacDonald has not only

co-authored an industry carbonreduction standard, but theyhave also continued to host

winner:Mott Macdonaldindustry conferences on theissue of reducing carbon. Thecompany has taken aleadership role and beeninstrumental in developing arange of carbon assessmenttools to help clients reduce theircarbon footprint. With a network of 400 Project

Sustainability Coordinators,Mott MacDonald ensures thatsustainability and environmentalrisks are managed throughoutthe project lifecycle in each ofthe 16,000 projects on whichthey work every year. Part of thecompany’s brand proposition iscentred on creating sustainablesolutions for clients and theenvironment and this ethos isshared across Mott MacDonaldstaff worldwide.

The Technology Champion ofthe Year Award recognises anorganisation that hasaccomplished exceptionaladvancements and newdevelopments, leveragingtechnology and big data tomaximise success and thisyear’s worthy winner was BWBConsulting.The company has taken an

innovative approach by settingup a new company to deliverdigital solutions in theconstruction sector. “BWB hasimpressively created asuccessful start-up company,Deetu, within the group towork across the business toprovide digital and datasolutions for the builtenvironment,” said the judges.BWB’s use of gamification

winner:BwB Consulting

technology and social mediato demonstrate infrastructuredesigns in a virtual worldgreatly impressed the judges.Deetu has developed newtechnology-based productsand successfully deliveredthem to multiple clients,creating new businessopportunities for the companyusing cutting-edge technology.Judges were impressed by

the firm’s significantinvestment in digitaltechnology and its strongbelief that the future ofengineering consultancy isdependent on effectivelyharnessing the analytical andsimulation/visualisationopportunities being created byrapid progress in digitalengineering. That investment and

foresight seem set to positionBWB at the forefront of theprofession alongside similarbusinesses with the vision andthe capability to evolve intosuccessful enterprises ‘fit forpurpose’ in the 21st century.

Sponsored by

sustainability Championof the Year

Technology Championof the Year

Training Initiativeof the Year

ambassador award



Consultancy

The Training Initiative of the YearAward recognises anorganisation investing in trainingand continual development oftheir workforce; with clear aims,measurable outcomes andpositive impact on staff as wellas clients.This year’s winner, Troup

Bywaters + Anders (TB+A),impressed the judges for seeingapprenticeships as a way oftackling the growing skillschallenge within their firm.They have builtrelationships with localschools to provide workexperience placementsand support with eventsto broadcast themessage. The firmprovides permanentemployment and

winner:Troup Bywaters + anders

The programme has equippedmanagers with the skills andconfidence to handle a widerange of people issues. Thishas improved staff retentionrates and staff progressionwithin the business, includingabove average promotion ofwomen within the firm.

Highly Commended:BwB Consulting for their Management Insights Programme

opportunities to gainrecognised and crediblequalifications through tochartered status. This is fullyfunded by TB+A without arequirement to make up time orrepay any part.The TB+A apprenticeship

scheme has delivered some bigrewards for the company. With

an objective of delivering 25%of the workforce asapprentices, TB+A hasembraced the talent that isavailable with youngapprentices and is building itsbusiness model around them. Judges were particularly

impressed by the aspirationaltargets set by the company,including having 30% ofwomen in the business by 2020and the firm’s commitment toproviding opportunities toNEETs. This initiative has seensome impressive results withan 85% reduction in agencyrecruitment fees, doubling thefemale apprenticeship ratioand a wealth of recognitionacross the industry.

Professor Roger Flanagan is this year’s recipient of theAmbassador Award, which ispresented to an individual whohas made an outstandingcontribution to the industry.Previous recipients haveincluded Terry Morgan,Sir John Armitt andSir Michael Latham.Flanagan

(pictured right), aprofessor at theSchool ofConstructionManagement andEngineering at the University ofReading, received the award forhis consistent industry work overmany years and for his help andsupport as ACE has become a

leading voice in the industry.A member of the ACE’s

Advisory Board, Flanagan isalso a visiting professor atuniversities in China, Malaysiaand Australia. His industry

experience includespreviously being amember of theboard of Skanskaand a non-executive memberof the board ofHalcrow Group.He has also

undertaken studies onthe development of theconstruction industry in tencountries across the globe.With Roger Flanagan unable

to attend the awards event,

Dilek Macit, director of technicalcooperation at the EuropeanBank for Reconstruction andDevelopment, collected theaward on his behalf.

The URS Building, an icon to 1970sarchitecture, sits at the heart ofthe University of Reading’sWhiteknights campus.

winner: Professor roger Flanagan, University of reading



Consultancy

Every year as the awards judgesreceive the entries and gothrough the judging processthere are key projects,individuals or companies thatstand out beyond just winning ina category – these entries are thewinners of winners.And amongst these standout

entries, there is one that hasstruck the judges as ‘THE’winner of winners. This winner ofwinners receives the DiamondAward, and this year’s recipient,Young Professional Awardwinner Ben Freedman of MLMGroup, was honoured by theindustry as a truly passionatefuture leader and an inspirationto professionals everywhere.Chartered civil engineer

Freedman is director structures(infrastructure) and international,at MLM and all the judges wereenraptured by his charisma anda rare ability to break down thebenefits of infrastructure intotangible terms. He was chosento receive the Diamond Award ashe displayed a genuine care forthe entire project process and inthe opinion of the judges was anindividual who empowers thosearound him, seizing uponopportunities to innovate tomeet differing client needs. Last year Freedman took on

additional responsibilities withinthe wider management structureof MLM following the mergerwith Fluid Structures. He hasbeen extensively involved in theintegration process as part of thesteering group and providedleadership for staff andengagement in the day to daycommunication process. He hasalso been appointed as MLM’sinnovation director and a currentinitiative is to drive efficiency ofthe company’s internal businesssystems through deployment ofa new enterprise resourceplanning platform. Freedman is passionate

about bringing civil engineering

winner: Ben Freedman from MLM

‘out of the ground’ and to theforefront of the project process.He has pioneered sustainablecivil engineering design servicesin a number of sectors and isrecognised by colleagues andclients as a creative andinnovative problem solver.“My hope and aspiration is to

develop an outstanding designpractice delivering excellencethrough innovationconcentrating on infrastructureboth in the UK and overseas,”said Freedman. “To achieve myaim I strongly believe thatleadership is born through thecultivation and development ofthose around you. I am fortunatein having built a happy team,who all pull together fordeadlines and I have been luckyenough to have no attrition of theteam. I have fostered a workingenvironment which engendersthe value of ownership and wehave a lot of fun along the waywith sporting events and teamdinners,” he said.Freedman is someone who

takes a rounded view of theindustry in which he works andthe people he works with.“Young engineers needsatisfying opportunities to

continue professionaldevelopment with a maintainedinterest which leads to theirretention within the business andindustry,” he said. “I passionately believe that my

role is to provide the direction andenergy to facilitate this objective.My current aim is to linkimportant charitable work of themedical profession withengineering expertise. I havestarted to develop a CSRprogramme for MLM havingpreviously delivered a pro-bonoschool and sports academydesign for the street-childrencharity, Future Hope, in KolkataIndia,” said Freedman.When Freedman won this

year’s Young ProfessionalAward, he was described bythe judges as “an all-rounder,a real role model for theindustry, a brilliantcommunicator and a futureindustry leader”. It’s clear that the judges expect

great things from Freedman andthey say that there is no doubtthat the industry will be differentas a result of his impact on it. He is a very worthy winner ofthis year’s DiamondAward.

With Ben Freedman(second left) are ACE chief executiveNelson Ogunshakin,ACE Chairman MikeHaigh and CliveMyrie.

diamond award(winner of winners)


Four key themes will guide futuretransport investment decision making:l Ensuring investment consistently meetsthe needs of users and helps create abalanced economy;lGetting best value out of the network andinvestment;lMaintaining a resolute focus on delivery;lAdaptability in the face of change.

Launching the plans, transport secretaryChris Grayling said: “TheTransport Investment Strategysets out a blueprint for how wecan harness the power oftransport investment to drivebalanced economic growth,unlock new housing projects, andsupport the government’smodern industrial strategy. Thisgovernment is taking the bigtransport decisions for Britain’sfuture like HS2 and Heathrow,while delivering the biggest

investment in roads and rail for ageneration. At the heart of our approach is aplan to make transport work for the peoplewho use it and for the wider economy.”

The new plans mean that main roadscurrently overseen by local authoritieswould share the car tax-funded NationalRoads Fund which was previouslyenvisaged to be ring-fenced for nationalroutes.

Roads

Local roads will benefit from a share ina multi-billion pound improvementfund as part of a new investment

strategy unveiled by transport secretaryChris Grayling. The Transport InvestmentStrategy sets out a new long-term approachfor government infrastructure spending totarget cash at projects that help rebalancethe economy.

At the heart of the proposals is thecreation of a new national MajorRoad Network, combiningHighways England’s 4,200 milesof strategic roads with 3,800 milesof council-controlled ‘A’ roads.This will see a share of the annualNational Road Fund, funded byVehicle Excise Duty, given to localauthorities to improve or replacethe most important A-roadsunder their management. Up to£1bn a year is expected to be ring-fenced from the near £6bn raisedannually from vehicle excise duty.

The plans are aimed at improvingproductivity and connectivity of towns andcities across the country, tacklingbottlenecks and traffic jams for road usersand removing lorries and through-trafficthundering through rural villages. Thestrategy sets out why investing in transportinfrastructure matters and the prioritiesfor future investment.

The industry reacted positively to thetransport secretary’s proposals. NelsonOgunshakin, chief executive of theAssociation for Consultancy andEngineering (ACE), said: “ACE welcomesthis announcement as it demonstrates aconsiderable opportunity for futureinvestment in our road network. We havelong campaigned for vehicle excise duty tobe used to fund significant investment inour road network as it will re-establishtrust between motorists, civic society andthe government while improving UKconnectivity.

“The disconnect between the strategicroad network and local roads, particularlyaround junctions, has led to bottlenecks inthe system that are not good for theproductivity of the UK economy. Creating astructure that enables reallocation offunding that allows for investment in theentire road network will reducebottlenecks and traffic jams allowingtraffic to flow. The UK’s towns and cities arethe engine of our economy but it is only byimproving the connectivity between thevarious regions of the UK that we canensure the economic growth the UK needsin a post-Brexit world.”

AECOM head of roads and chairman ofthe ACE roads sector interest group, DaveBeddell, said: “I cannot stress enough theneed to ensure sub-national transport

Government announces boostfor local road construction

Up to £1bn a year is to be ring-fenced from vehicle excise dutyfor councils to spend on local roads as part of the government’snew transport investment strategy, writes Andy Walker.

Chris Grayling:“This governmentis taking the bigtransportdecisions forBritain’s future.”


bodies are coordinated in their approach toboth network planning and delivery. Wenote the relationship between vehicleexcise duty and the funding of the roadnetwork and feel this needs carefulmonitoring in order to offset any erosion ofroad investment which may result fromimproved vehicle emissions. ACE’s roadssector interest group welcomes thegovernment’s continued advocacy of roadinvestment and sees this ascritical in retaining supply chainconfidence in the marketplace.”

Alan Pauling, UK transportmarket director at Ramboll,welcomed the use of vehicleexcise duty to fund highwayimprovements. “Irrespective ofwhether and how much goes toeither the Strategic RoadNetwork or the local authority,controlled roads willundoubtedly be the subject ofmuch debate,” he said. “More interesting towatch will be the competition thatdevelops as responsible authorities seek tocompete for that funding, which raises theprospect of a return to a cumbersomebidding process. This will also give thosepaying road tax a first time opportunity tohave a say in how that money is spent and,importantly, to pass comment on whetherit was worth it,” said Pauling.

Iain Bisset, divisional director ofinfrastructure and built environment atWYG, said: “This is a positive move thatstrengthens the connection betweenrevenue generated from vehicle excise dutyand highways investment needs. Includinglocal authority ‘A’ roads in a Major RoadNetwork is a logical step forward.”

Stephen Russell WSP head of highwayssaid: “This funding will help tore-balance the perceiveddiscrepancy between local andcentral governmentinfrastructure investment andwill be welcome to localauthorities who are balancingrevenue and capital fundingpressures whilst seeking tomaintain and enhance their keylocal roads.”

Russell said that it wascrucial that a joined upapproach was taken in order toachieve best value from thefunds announced by ChrisGrayling. “A key enabler to making themost of this funding will be ensuring thatlocal road enhancements interlink withthe wider Strategic Road Network plansand therefore the work of sub-nationaltransport bodies, combined authorities andLEPs will be key to supporting the potentialthat is now being made available,” saidRussell.

David Tarrant, highways generalmanager at Mott MacDonald, said: “Thesecretary of state’s commitment to a ring-fenced road fund is very much welcomed.The main aim of the Rees Jeffreys RoadFund study was to recognise theimportance of a coherently planned andmanaged Major Road Network, which isgreater than the current Highways England

(HE) network. Theemphasis was never onjust building lots ofbypasses. The keyfactor was recognisingthat many parts of thecurrent network,which isn’t under HE’scontrol, play a key rolein the economic andsocial life of an area.”

Jason Millett,Mace’s chief operating

officer for consultancy, said:“Every year, traffic and congestion costs theUK £31bn a year and anything we can do toreduce that figure will help to get thecountry match fit for Brexit and betterplaced to compete on the global stage. Itwill now be important to ensure that weleverage this investment as effectively aspossible to boost outcomes for the peoplethat live and work around the proposed

schemes. This means genuine communityengagement and a real commitment fromcontractors to developing and using localskills.”

David Brown, the chief executive ofTransport for the North, which represents19 local authorities and 11 Local EnterprisePartnerships in the north, also welcomedthe plans. “The fact that the government

says its national TransportInvestment Strategy ‘sets out anew long-term approach forgovernment infrastructurespending – meaning cash will betargeted at projects that helprebalance the economy’ has tobe good news for the north,”said Brown. “We now need tostudy the report in much moredetail before we give our fullresponse. Initially, the signs areencouraging and it appearsmany of the recommendationswe have been making will nowbecome part of the national

agenda,” he said.Civil engineering contractors also

reacted positively. Marie-Claude Hemming,drector of external affairs at the CivilEngineering Contractors Association(CECA) said: “CECA believes thatsubstantial underinvestment outsideLondon and the South East is a key cause ofeveryday challenges on regional transportnetworks. We are particularly pleased thatthe government has committed toprioritising predictable funding and astable long-term pipeline of projects,which provides the certainty our membersneed to deliver schemes on time and onbudget.”

Dougald Middleton, infrastructurepartner at EY, stressed the added

advantages of roadsdevelopment. “Investing in localroads will not only relievecongestion, but will open upopportunities for new housingand wider commercialdevelopment by removingthrough-traffic fromcommunities,” he said.

“As road users will be fundingthese upgrades through theincome from vehicle exciseduties, local authorities should

follow suit and link their roads,and planning and development functionstoo. This will ensure that economicbenefits from this investment are bothmaximised and shared equitably betweenthe public and private sector, rather thanconcentrated on private land owners whoare sometimes the greatest beneficiaries ofimproved access and infrastructure,”Middleton said.

Jason Millett:“Every year, trafficand congestioncosts the UK £31bna year andanything we cando to reduce thatwill help.”

David Tarrant: “Thesecretary of state’scommitment to aring-fenced roadfund is very muchwelcomed.”

Alan Pauling: “This will givethose paying roadtax a say in howthat money isspent.”


The south west of England, whilefamed for the engineering prowess of Brunel, is of late known for a

plethora of transportation challenges thatserve to fracture the region, including butnot limited to, electrification, singlecarriageways, limited rail connectivity andaviation connectivity.

Yet, as the South West remains thefastest growing region after London for thelast six years, there is much potential fornew infrastructure projects anddevelopments going forward.

While the costs of Hinkley Point C havesurpassed the initial estimate, the project isadhering to its initial timeline, with thefirst pouring of concrete for the reactorgalleries at the end of March. Thus far thereare approximately 1,600 individualsworking on the site and at the peak of itsconstruction the site alone is estimated toemploy 5,600 people. This does not includethe increased supply chain demands withinthe local area that will be created duringthe construction and the lifetime assetmanagement of the project oncecompleted, estimated to bring the jobs totalto over 26,000.

The project has committed to 500apprentices over the next six years as well as£15m invested in the education, skills andemployment of individuals from Somerset.This places the project as a skillsdevelopment opportunity for local residents,through fostering skills that can then beused on other projects in the South West.

Greg Clark, secretary of state forbusiness, energy and industrial strategy, forthe South West this is an opportunity for a“long overdue wave of investment…providing a huge opportunity to theeconomy … through the supply chain offirms, big or small, that will benefit fromthe investment.”

Yet other infrastructure projects withinthe area have been quick to point out thatthese large top-tier infrastructure projectsplaced in regions needing an economicinflux may hamper the small to mediumscale regional projects, which are alreadyfacing the additional challenge ofimpending Brexit.

Regional infrastructure

Robert Sinclair, chief executive of BristolAirport, said: “The number of substantialinfrastructure projects planned over thenext ten years will have an effect on ourairport’s development plans. Hinkley PointC is sucking out skills and not just in theconstruction and infrastructure area butalso other skills as well. They need hundredsof security guards, bus drivers, steel welders,concrete pourers and all sorts of people.That feeds through into shortage of peoplebut also into costs and we are directlyexposed to that especially in constructionwhere we’ve seen costs running at 5% plus.And Brexit is undoubtedly going tocompound the problem even further withaccess to skilled labour.”

This begs the question, for regionalgrowth are large-scale national top-tierinfrastructure projects the best way to spurthe economy?

If Sinclair is correct in the knock-oneffect of this top-tier asset on lower-tierassets that improve the lives of localresidents in a more immediate way, evenif only temporarily, will such a top-tierproject truly benefit the region if peopleleave due to further electrification delays,hazardous carriageways, lack ofbroadband or limited aviation.

With Brexit set to hit the south westcoast, as well as the rest of the UnitedKingdom, in 2019 and the skills gap in ourindustry ever looming, we need to ensurethat within forward infrastructureplanning we strike a balance betweenlocal and national needs.

While large-scale top-tier projects areable to foster skills with intensity, wemust ensure that these skills are alsodeployed within lower tier projects solong awaited local projects are notsacrificed.

Hinkley Point C’s potential slowdowndue to cost and skills of other regionalprojects, from broadband to electrification,effective carriageways and aviation, may bea much needed reminder that we need toplan, secure and deliver on both nationaland regional infrastructure pipelines – ascomplementary parts of the greater whole.

For the south west, while Hinkley PointC may currently be the most notorious, itis important not to let one top-tier projectcast the rest of the region’s projects intoshadow.

Striking a balance betweenlocal and national

Are top-tier national infrastructure projects the best solution for regionaleconomies? There’s a real need to plan better and balance national infrastructurepipelines with regional infrastructure needs, writes Natasha Levanti.

Exmouth seafront in Devon – the south west is the fasting growing region after London.

Hinkley’s slowdown may be a reminder weneed more than just large-scale projects.


Bills for maintenance, repair andrenewal in the US infrastructuresector amount to the billions, and

even trillions, of dollars, putting pressureon federal and municipal budgets. Yet theneed for infrastructure funding, howeverpressing, is old news. As a recent S&P GlobalRatings whitepaper, Developing USInfrastructure in an Era of Emerging Challenges:Observations from Key Sectors, explains, addedpressures are now facing governmentofficials. Infrastructure needs to remaincompetitive in an age which demands moreprojects that are both environmentallysustainable and digitally innovative.

The report shows that a variety of toolsexist in the market that could helpovercome these challenges. With a trackrecord built across the globe, these mayhave the potential to help federal andmunicipal governments modernise USinfrastructure.

Sector-by-sector observationsS&P’s report took a look at a selection of keyinfrastructure sectors across the US, fromroads, bridges and airports, to water andpower, and highlighted some significantstatistics. For instance, some 56,000 bridgesin the country are structurally deficient.Across the transport sector, as much as $1.1trillion worth of funding needs areoutstanding.

Even supporting that most crucial ofsectors, water, seems a considerable task.The Environmental Protection Agencyestimates some $655bn will be needed on

International

Existing tools that could helpWhere will governments find the means ofovercoming these challenges? S&P’s reportexplores existing tools in the market thathave been used to help channel private-sector capital to support repairs anddevelopment, as well as utilise innovativeexpertise to manage emerging challenges,while keeping in place public-sectoroversight.

First up are public-private partnerships(PPPs). These have been used as a way forstate and local governments to transfer long-term operational risks to the private sector,and to embed lifecycle thinking andtechnological innovation. Having alreadybeen used for the development of roads, itmay be that PPPs could also apply to thewater, social and airport infrastructuresectors.

The bundling of smaller infrastructureventures into larger, aggregated assets –whether through corporate roll-ups, thesecuritisation of municipal assets, or thebundling of loans in state revolving funds –could provide another option. Sinceinfrastructure is, by its nature, capitalintensive, scale is an important factor inachieving cost-efficient financing.

Governments could thus use PPPbundling to help attract the attention oflarge, institutional investors. S&P’s reportnotes that, having been applied to bridges,courthouse infrastructure, schools, policefacilities and service stations in NorthAmerica, bundling as a financing tool isgaining momentum. Yet significant roomfor growth remains and the water sector, forone, might be a key beneficiary.

A role for the governmentFinally we have the role of government inshaping a supportive regulatoryenvironment for infrastructuredevelopment. Tax incentives and subsidieshave driven substantial private capital to thegrowth of the renewable energy and batterystorage industries, for instance.

Since 2005, when the Energy Policy Actwas passed – which created a 30%investment tax credit for selected solar units– what was then an underutilised resourcein the US has achieved rapid growth. Whileregulation and oversight have cruciallyremained in government’s hands, suchmethods have helped the power gridtransform to meet the growing need to besustainable.

New infrastructure challenges willdoubtless continue to emerge. But with theright tools, the public and private sectorscould work together to address themeffectively.

Trevor D’Olier-Lees is a senior director in S&PGlobal Ratings’ infrastructure practice.

US infrastructure’strillion dollar challengeInfrastructure in the US needs trillions of dollars ofinvestment to repair and renew it and that bringssignificant challenges for government and theindustry, says Trevor D’Olier-Lees.

Download the report athttps://goo.gl/vGgtmw

repairs to pipelines and other facilities overthe next 20 years. The American WaterWorks Association suggests the figure couldeven be as high as $1 trillion.

Additional challengesIf finding the funds for Americaninfrastructure wasn’t enough of a challenge,new issues have cropped up.

For a start, the market may witnessgrowing demand for environmentallysustainable infrastructure projects that canmitigate the drivers of climate change – bycutting down on greenhouse gas emissions– or at least for updates to makeinfrastructure more resilient to the adverseeffects of global warming, such as flooding.

Developments may also need to factornew and potentially disruptive technologiesinto their design, so that cities mightremain economically competitive in thedigital age. US road networks may need toaccommodate a rise in self-driving vehicles,and airports may need to modernise toaccount for greater traffic brought on by thegrowth of more fuel-efficient planes.

https://goo.gl/vGgtmw

https://goo.gl/vGgtmw

Documents

INTERESTING TIMES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVE RY · 2017. 7. 18. · corridors of power and ensure that the UK remains an attractive destination for foreign direct investors.” National