CECA Communicates

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This year is a special year for CECA, as in November we will be celebrating our twentieth anniversary with a special conference and the delivery of projects from all our sectoral groups, and much, much more. We look forward to representing our members, and making the case for infrastructure, across the coming year and beyond. In this issue of CECA Communicates, you will find reports on the Chancellor’s most recent Autumn Statement and Spending Review; a report on the new National Infrastructure Commission, which represents the achievement

of a long-held CECA policy; as well as articles on transparency in supply chains, the Government’s new apprenticeship levy, preparing for AMP 7 in the water sector, and a round-up of CECA’s regional awards, in which we are proud to recognise the brightest and best in our industry. 2016 is already shaping up to be a crucial year in our members’ ongoing task of building, maintaining and upgrading the UK’s national infrastructure. We look forward to representing our members and making the case for infrastructure in the next twelve months.

Issue 93 • February 2016

2 First Words

3 Spending Review

6 Workload Trends

7 Inspiring Change

8 National Infrastructure Commission

9 Transparency in Supply Chains

12 Water Sector: AMP 7

14 Industry Affairs

CECA Communicates

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

CECA’s Anniversary Year: Twenty Years Of Representing Our Members

2Working for Infrastructure 1996-2016

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Welcome to the latest issue of Communicates, and on behalf of everyone at CECA I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year. 2015 was an eventful year for the infrastructure sector, and 2016 looks like it’s going to be another crucial year as our members maintain, build and upgrade the nation’s vital roads, rail, and utility networks.

This year is also one of significance for CECA. In November, we will celebrate our twentieth year as the UK’s representative body for civil engineering contractors, and plan to do so in style, with a national conference, Parliamentary reception, and projects delivered by all of our sector committees, groups and forums. I am proud to lead this organisation as we enter our third decade, continuing to make the case for infrastructure investment as the best means of stimulating growth in the economy, responding to the country’s needs, and delivering a firm foundation for UK businesses, taxpayers and communities for the twenty-first century.

The new year offers a chance to take stock of CECA’s campaigning to deliver for our members. Recent policy developments have been encouraging in this regard, with the creation of CECA’s long-held policy objective of

a National Infrastructure Commission, independent of government and primed with the expertise to drive the implementation of the nationally-significant infrastructure the country needs (see page 8). CECA looks forward to working with this new body, delivered by the new Government, which will be under the leadership of former Labour Transport Minister Lord Adonis.

In this issue, you will find everything you need to know about the Government’s most recent Spending Review (pages 3-4), the timetable for the Northern Powerhouse (page 5), and the most recent CECA Workload Trends survey (page 6). It is hoped that the slowdown in growth shown by the survey will be reversed as planned government investment bears fruit in the coming months.

You will also find articles on changes to the Apprenticeship Levy (page 11) and the work CECA is doing to engage with the Government on this important topic; a preview of AMP 7 in the water sector (page 12); and our HS2 ‘meet the buyer’ event in Birmingham (page 19), which has garnered a huge response and promises to be one of the highlights of our anniversary year. Finally, the Strategic Forum for Construction is set to relaunch in 2016. I believe reforms

First Words

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CECA Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner

to the SCfC, set out on page 20, will make it more representative of industry while focussing on the delivery of key improvements for industry, and CECA looks forward to engaging with the Forum in the months and years to come.

Best wishes,

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Autumn Statement & Spending ReviewChancellor Commits To Infrastructure

On 25 November the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivered the Spending Review of the new Government, combined with his annual Autumn Statement. The Chancellor’s speech focussed on rebuilding Britain, and paid special attention to the need for a strong economy and a secure UK.

CECA members were briefed on the day of the Chancellor’s speech. Commenting, CECA Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner said: “Today’s announcements are good news for the construction sector, formally committing funds to vital infrastructure projects such as HS2, the Northern Powerhouse, and London-wide transport.

“The confirmation of funding for key projects will enable the industry to plan for the future to deliver strategic projects in an innovative and efficient manner.”

Delivering his speech, Mr Osborne said the Government was “devolving power across our country, and we’re also spending on the economic infrastructure that connects our nation. That’s something Britain hasn’t done enough of for a generation. Now, by making the difficult decisions to save on day to day costs in departments, we can invest in the new roads, railways, science, flood defences and energy Britain needs. We made a start in the last Parliament – and in the last week Britain topped the league table of the best places in the world to invest in infrastructure.”

Measures announced by the Chancellor that are of most immediate relevance to CECA members included the

Announcements included:

1. An apprenticeship levy on larger employers will be introduced in April 2017. It will be set at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s paybill

2. A National Infrastructure Delivery Plan for the next five years is to be published in Spring 2016

3. The Chancellor committed £120 billion for infrastructure investment

4. The Government has extended the availability of the £40 billion UK Guarantees Scheme to March 2021

5. Transport investment will increase by 50% to £61 billion over the course of this Parliament

6. The Chancellor has committed to the Northern Powerhouse

7. The Government has announced that it will publish a second Roads Investment Strategy by the end of this Parliament.

CECA Applauds Autumn Statement For Infrastructure Growth

Government’s new apprenticeship levy for larger employers, to be introduced in April 2017. It will be set at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s paybill, and each employer will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against their levy payment.

This means that the levy will only be paid on any paybill in excess of £3 million, and that less than 2% of UK employers will pay it. However, CECA expects that this will include most members. By 2019-20, the levy will raise £3 billion in the UK - spending on apprenticeships in England will be £2.5 billion, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive their fair share of the levy, although there is currently no guarantee Scottish and Welsh firms will be able to reclaim the levy paid. CECA will be monitoring the introduction of the levy closely, and is keen to hear from members their views on how they expect it to affect their businesses.

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Above: The Chancellor has redoubled his commitment to rebalancing the economy by building a Northern Powerhouse

“Investing in the long term economic infrastructure of our country is a goal of this Spending Review.” - Chancellor George Osborne

The Government has also announced plans to establish an employer-led body to set apprenticeship standards and ensure quality. The body will be independent of government and will also advise on the level of levy funding each apprenticeship should receive. CECA has already sought representation on this body, and will keep members informed of progress in this regard. Funding caps will be significantly higher for programmes which have high costs and are of high quality. This is likely to benefit the construction industry, which traditionally has higher apprenticeship costs. Further details can be found on page 11.

Northern Powerhouse

Ahead of the Spending Review, CECA called on Government to produce a detailed plan for the Northern Powerhouse that would provide a complete and detailed pipeline of both the public and private investments in

infrastructure that will unleash economic growth in the region. Commenting, CECA Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner was keen to stress the potential benefits of the scheme: commenting, he said “The Northern Powerhouse project is a once in a lifetime opportunity to enable the North to become an economic competitor to London and the South East. But to ensure the Government’s ambitions are realised we need a clear plan of action to guarantee spades in the ground in the near future.”

At the Government’s Spending Review, the Chancellor committed £13 billion to transport in the North over the course of this Parliament. However,this is not new money. This included £150 million of funding to support the delivery of smart and integrated ticketing across local transport and rail services in the North. CECA was pleased to hear that Transport for the North will produce a regional implementation plan, working in partnership with the Department

for Transport, by the 2016 Budget, which is due to take place in March. The Government has also agreed with the British Business Bank and Local Enterprise Partnerships in the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and Tees Valley, to create a Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund of over £400 million to invest in smaller businesses, subject to European funding arrangements. Together with a separate fund in the North East this will total over £500 million available across the Northern Powerhouse. Furthermore, the Government has committed to doubling the size of the Enterprise Zones programme, creating seven new zones, while extending a further two existing zones.

To read the Spending Review and Autumn Statement in in full, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/autumn-statement-and-spending-review-2015

Following the Budget, CECA provided a briefing document on the announcements highlighted above. If you would like a copy of the briefing, please contact hustongilmore@ceca.co.uk

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Building The Northern PowerhouseThe Government’s Timetable

Key Project Starts, 2016

• The first of almost £3 billion of Growth Deal projects gets underway

• Launch of Health North

• Construction work on UK Collabatorium for Research in Infrastructure and Cities hubs

• Investment package for Small Modular Reactor development and nuclear R&D launched

• Accelerating £220 million upgrade to M6 Junctions 16-19

Key project completions:

• Electrification of railway between Manchester and Liverpool

• Appointment of Transport for the North’s Chair

• Interim report from Transport for the North

• Contract award for the New Northern and Transpennine Rail franchises

Key Project Starts, 2016-17 and 2017-18

• Construction work on Sir Henry Royce Institute in Manchester

• Energy Subsurface Test Centre, Chester

• Construction of a National Centre for Ageing Science in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

• Great Exhibition Legacy Fund

Key project completions:

• First mayoral elections for northern cities

• Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre, Manchester

• Cognitive Computing Research Centre, Cheshire

• Mersey Gateway Bridge opens

• New East Cost InterCity Express trains come into service

• National College of High Speed Rail, Doncaster

• Investments under the Builders Finance Fund for new homes

• ‘The Factory, Manchester’ - a new theatre and exhibition space

Key project starts, 2019-20:

• Major roads investments projects underway across the North, such as the A1 north of Ellingham and A1 Morpeth to Ellingham

Key project completions:

• Northern Hub rail enhancements scheme

• £350 million Metrolink extension to Trafford Park in Greater Manchester

• Development in extending the capabilities of the National Nuclear Users Facility

• Improved East Coast rail timetable with additional and faster services

• Hartree Cognitive Computing Centre, Cheshire.

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Workload Trends 2015 Q3

CECA’s Workload Trends Survey for 2015 Q3 found that growth had slowed considerably in the infrastructure sector, and that cost issues and concerns over skills continue to bear pressure on CECA members. Workloads increased in Q3, according to 7 per cent of British firms, on balance, compared to 29 per cent reported in Q2.

This was the lowest percentage since 2013 Q2. Declines in workloads were reported in local roads (-24 per cent), water and sewerage (-22 per cent), and railways (-18 per cent), on balance. Order books increased for 13 per cent of British firms, but fell according to 11 per cent of English firms.

Commenting, CECA Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner warned that the results could constitute the first real warning of a potentially more serious slowdown

in the sector, following a cooling off of growth in the sector at the start of 2015. He said: “These results raise concerns for the Government’s growth agenda. It is clear that a sluggish construction sector is acting as a drag on Britain’s GDP. This is despite the Government’s stated aim of investing in infrastructure to drive growth in the economy.

“By now we would expect to see strong growth, particularly in relation to planned investment in road and rail to meet future capacity demand. The fact that workloads are now falling in both these bellwether sectors show that the industry is not yet firing on all cylinders.

“CECA will be monitoring this situation closely, and hopes for stronger growth in the months to come as Government investment bears fruit.”

The CECA Workload Trends Report is published quarterly. In 2015 Q3, the number of contractors taking part in the survey totalled 102. The full report is available in the members’ area of the CECA website at: http://www.ceca.co.uk/members-area/members-only/workload-trends.aspx

CECA has raised concerns with Government about the slowdown in growth

Change in Workload and Order Books, Great Britain

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CECA has introduced a new suite of awards to recognise companies who can demonstrate that they value and promote inclusion, equality and diversity in the workplace and wider community. Creating open and inclusive workplace cultures in which everyone feels valued and respects colleagues, is recognised as key to business success.

Increasingly, clients are focussing on diversity and inclusion within their procurement policies and employees want to work in companies who recognise the importance of diversity and equality of opportunity.

Award Ceremony

A reception was held at the Houses of Parliament in the Terrace Pavilion on 27 January. Winners in each

Inspiring Change AwardsCECA Sponsors Prestigious New Trophies

CECA: Inspiring Change In The Workplace And Wider Community

category received a trophy. Caroline Dinenage MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Women and Equalities and Family Justice, was a keynote speaker. The sponsoring MP was Mims Davies. The reception was supported by funding received from CITB. The awards ceremony took

place during the reception. The award categories were sponsored by Action Sustainability, B&CE, and Highways England. A full report of the winners will be included in the next issue of CECA Communicates.

Award Categories:

• Inspiring Change in the Workplace

• Inspiring Change in Education

• Inspiring Change in the Wider Community.

For more information e-mail enquiries@ceca.co.uk

The People’s Pension - New Automatic Enrolment Pension Solution

The People’s Pension, part of B&CE, is introducing a new full support automatic pension solution for small businesses, which went live in November 2015. This new high support solution has a one off set-up charge but a reduced charge will apply to CECA members, and if members are an existing customer of B&CE, the charge won’t apply.

How the charge works

A one-off charge of £300 plus VAT will apply to CECA members that have a staging date from January 2016 onwards who sign up for the People’s Pension. It will also apply to those who have a 2015 staging date and sign up from 1 January 2016 onwards. For more information, or to get your discount code, call 01293 586 637 or

e-mail nbsupport@bance.co.uk

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National Infrastructure CommissionCECA Policy Implemented

Lord Adonis To Helm New Infrastructure Body

CECA has welcomed the announcement of the creation of a National Infrastructure Commission under the leadership of cross-bench peer Lord Adonis, alongside the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s commitment to £100 billion of infrastructure spending in this Parliament.

The new body, which is to be independent from Government, in effect fulfils CECA’s policy recommendation that the UK Government create an independent commission for infrastructure to analyse the strategic opportunities and challenges facing the UK, identify the best way to respond, and then deliver projects that are on time and on budget.

Speaking at the launch of the Commission at the National Railway Museum in York, Chancellor George Osborne emphasised the real-life impacts of Britain’s underperforming infrastructure, as well as his determination to deliver a secure economy through infrastructure investment: “Infrastructure isn’t some obscure concept”, he said: “it’s about people’s lives, economic security and the sort of country we want to live in. That’s why I am determined to shake Britain out of its inertia on infrastructure and end the situation where we trail our rivals when it comes to building everything from housing to the the power stations that our children will need.”

Speaking alongside the Chancellor, Lord Adonis said: “For Britain to get on with the job of delivering high-quality infrastructure that benefits everyone, you need more than just a

Above: Lord Adonis, who has been a long-term advocate of infrastructure

commitment to invest - you need long-term forward plans and the maximum possible consensus. That is what the National Infrastructure Commission is here to promote.”

The new body will initially focus on three key areas - northern connectivity, London’s transport infrastructure, and energy. In addition to former Transport Secretary Lord Adonis as chair, the commissioners include:

Lord Heseltine – the former Deputy Prime Minister who has long championed the regeneration of Britain’s inner cities through infrastructure investment;

Sir John Armitt – the former Chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority, and this year’s President of the Institution of Civil Engineers;

Professor Tim Besley – a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee and the LSE’s Growth Commission, which recommended an independent infrastructure body;

Demis Hassabis – artificial intelligence researcher, neuroscientist and head of DeepMind Technologies;

Sadie Morgan – a founding director of dRMM Architects and Design Panel Chair of HS2;

Bridget Rosewell – a senior adviser at Volterra and former Chief Economist and Chief Economic Adviser to the Greater London Authority;

Sir Paul Ruddock – Chairman of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the University of Oxford Endowment.

Commenting on the foundation of the Commission, CECA Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner said: “CECA has long called for a long-term strategy to ensure the UK’s infrastructure truly meets the expectations of business and the general public, and we welcome these expert appointments, which will help drive the delivery of world-class projects across the UK.

“The Commission will be able to analyse the strategic opportunities and challenges facing the UK, identify the best way to respond, and then ensure those projects are delivered.”

For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-infrastructure-commission.

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Transparency In Supply ChainsMandatory Statements

From March next year, every organisation carrying on a business in the UK with a total annual turnover of £36m or more will be required to produce a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year.

Businesses with a year-end of 31 March 2016 will be the first businesses required to publish a statement for the 2015-16 financial year. The statement must set out the steps that have been taken during the financial year to ensure that modern slavery is not occurring in supply chains and within organisations themselves.

A business in question does not have to guarantee that the entire supply chain is slavery free. Instead, it must set out all the steps it has taken in relation to any part of the supply chain. Consumers, investors and non-governmental organisations are likely to engage and/or apply pressure where they believe a business has not taken sufficient steps.

New Rules Mean Mandatory Statements To Be Published By Businesses With A Turnover Of £36m Or More

Above: Home Secretary Theresa May MP, who has said that the new provision is “truly groundbreaking” and will “require businesses to be transparent about

what they are doing and will increase competition to drive up standards”

Total turnover is calculated as:

a) the turnover of that organisation; and

b) the turnover of any of its subsidiary undertakings (including those operating wholly outside the UK).

If any business in any part of a group structure meets these requirements, it is legally required to produce a statement. Where a parent and one or more subsidiaries in the same group are required to produce a statement, the parent may produce one statement that subsidiaries can use to meet this requirement (provided that the statement fully covers the steps that each of the organisations required to

produce a statement have taken in the relevant financial year).

Parent and Subsidiary organisations

Each parent and subsidiary organisation that meets the requirements set out above, whether it is UK-based or not, must produce a statement of the steps they have taken during the financial year to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any part of its own business and in any of its supply chains.

If a foreign subsidiary is part of the parent company’s supply chain or own business, the parent company’s statement should cover any actions

Who is required to comply?

Any business in any part of a group structure will be required to comply with the provision and produce a statement if they:

• are a body corporate or a partnership;

• carry on a business, or part of a business, in the UK;

• supply goods or services; and

• have an annual turnover of £36m or more.

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taken in relation to that subsidiary to prevent modern slavery. Where a foreign parent is carrying on a business or part of a business in the UK, it will be required to produce a statement.

There is nothing to prevent a foreign subsidiary or parent from producing a statement, even if they are not legally obliged to do so. If a parent company is seen to be ignoring the behaviour of its non-UK subsidiaries, this may still reflect badly on the parent company.

As such, seeking to cover non-UK subsidiaries in a parent company statement, or asking those non-UK subsidiaries to produce a statement themselves (if they are not legally required to do so already), would represent good practice and would demonstrate that the company is committed to preventing modern slavery.

Writing a slavery and human trafficking statement

The Government has not been prescriptive about the layout or specific content of a slavery and human trafficking statement.

A statement may include information about:

a) the organisation’s structure, its business and its supply chains;

b) its policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking;

c) its due diligence processes in relation to slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains;

d) the parts of its business and supply chains where there is a risk of slavery and human trafficking taking place, and the steps it has taken to assess and manage that risk;

e) its effectiveness in ensuring that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business or supply chains, measured against such performance indicators as it considers appropriate;

f) the training and capacity building about slavery and human trafficking available to its staff.

Top Tips:

• Keep the statement succinct but cover all the relevant points – if you can provide appropriate links to relevant publications, documents or policies for your organisation, do so.

• Write the statement in simple language will ensure that it is easily accessible to everyone.

• The statement should be in English but may also be provided in other languages, relevant to the organisation’s business and supply chains.

• Specifying actions by specific country will help readers to understand the context of any actions or steps taken to minimise risks.

Sign off and publication

The statement must be approved and signed by a director, member or partner of the organisation. The statement must be published on an organisation’s website with a link in a prominent place on the homepage.

For the full Government guidance on the matter, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/471996/Transparency_in_Supply_Chains_etc__A_practical_guide__final_.pdf

Above: All employers involved in the construction industry should make proper background checks on the agencies who supply them with labour,

the Government has said. For advice on how you can help ensure your supply chain is slave free visit www.stronger2gether.org

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Apprenticeship LevyCECA Seeking Representation On Government Board

The Government has said funding caps will be significantly higher for programmes which have high costs and are of high quality. This is likely to benefit construction, which traditionally has higher apprenticeship costs

When giving his Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne announced an apprenticeship levy to “invest in Britain’s future.” As part of their productivity agenda, the Government is committed to delivering three million apprenticeship starts by summer 2020.

By 2019-20, it expected that the levy will raise £3 billion in the UK. Spending on apprentices in England will be £2.5b billion, and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive their fair share of the levy, although there is currently no guarantee Scottish and Welsh firms will be able to reclaim the levy paid. The levy will be introduced in April 2017, at a rate of 0.5 per cent of an employer’s paybill. Each employer will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against their levy payment.

This means that less than 2 per cent of UK employers will pay it. However, most CECA members are expected to come under its scope. Mr Osborne said that “while many firms do a brilliant job of training their workforces, there are too many large companies who leave the training to others and take a free ride on the system.”

However, as CECA members are all too aware, companies in the construction and infrastructure sectors already pay training levies to CITB. CECA was quick to point out that according to our most recent research, the rate at which our members have been recruiting apprenticeships has increased by 50 per cent over the past three years, with the number of apprentices recruited increasing by more than 90 per cent.

Furthermore, CECA members forecast a further 25 per cent increase in the recruitment of apprentices during 2016. When commenting on the Government’s initial plans, which were put out for consultation, CECA Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner said: “Over the past few years, the construction industry has been playing its part in providing high quality jobs and training for young people.

“Given this success CECA is concerned about the impact of the proposed UK-wide levy to fund apprenticeships. While our industry is familiar with the concept of levy payment, we struggle to see how these proposals will work alongside the existing CITB levy which funds training and development across a wide range of activities for both new recruits and the upskilling of the existing workforce.”

The Government has said it will establish a new employer-led body to set apprenticeship standards and ensure quality. The body will be independent of government and will also advise on the level of funding each apprenticeship should receive. CECA has already sought representation on this group, and will keep members informed of developments on this issue.

For more information, or if you would like to input your views of the apprenticeship levy, please e-mail enquiries@ceca.co.uk

For more information, visit: http://www.bamnuttall.co.uk/

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It may appear rather premature to start talking about AMP7 and what it might entail – but, given the level of ‘buzz’ coming from the regulator, the delivery partners and the operational teams, then AMP7 should be high on everyone’s agenda, particularly for the supply chain.

Whilst there is nothing new here, it is becoming more apparent that these key points are all inextricably linked with each other and we as an industry need to adapt our ways of working so that they are not addressed in isolation.

to make sure that they are engaged in and heard at an early stage in the process. There is a sense of frustration from within the specialist contractors that they can’t engage with client organisations or Tier 1s, however it is they that can provide the best innovation and when identified early on in a project, provide greater efficiencies.

Tier 1 contractors need to engage with Tier 2s, SMEs and specialist contractors as early as they possibly can - notwithstanding the commercial and contractual constraints they have to work within.

Innovation

Traditionally, water companies have been risk averse to investing in innovation as the returns from what

Water SectorAMP7: Are You Ready Yet?

CECA National Civil Engineering Director Peter Crosland: “AMP7 should be high on everyone’s agenda, particularly for the supply chain”

CECA National Civil Engineering Director Peter Crosland, who runs the CECA Water Group, writes for

CECA Communicates

A number of key points have started to appear already for AMP7 – the main ones are:

• Efficiency

• Innovation

• SupplyChainEngagement.

Efficiency

At a recent conference, one water company was heard to say that they expect their efficiency savings (overall) to be 3-5% year on year for the next 15 years!

In practice, this would mean that for every £1 invested, a saving of between 45% and 75% would be expected over the whole period. It is unlikely (impossible?) for all of this efficiency to come from the construction part of the life cycle as the cost of construction only forms a relatively small percentage of the overall project. Further, there is not a lot of room for manoeuvre on the cost of plant, materials or labour (not to mention margin).

But, it is also incumbent on the supply chain (i.e. Tier 2 contractors and below)

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Above: Whole Life Cost Envelope Components

only a limited contractual opportunity to influence the overall project, yet the effects they can (and should) have both in the design and construction stage could be huge.

As an example, using the following ratios; (Construction taken as 1):- Design (-1), Operation & Maintenance (5), Business Costs (20) and Business Outcomes (200), then it can be seen that on a typical £10m capital project, where the contractor’s margin is say 2%, this will equate to approximately 0.01% of the overall project cost. If the contractor were able to double his margin to, for example, 4%, this would still only equate to 0.02% of the overall project cost!

The argument here is that if innovation and value are to be driven into the project at the early stages of a contract, then the contractor has to be given the opportunity to do so and he should be paid a commensurate rate for carrying out that work.

However, it is unreasonable to expect a contractor, who is only engaged for a relatively short period of the life of the asset, to make any significant savings, unless the contract is let under a DBFO/BOOT or similar type of arrangement.

Put simply, if the tier 1 contractor and their supply chain are both given the opportunity and wherewithal to contribute to innovation and to add value, then the affect on the overall project cost can be huge. At the same time, contractors might even recover a decent margin!

For more information about CECA’s activities in the water sector, e-mail CECA National Civil Engineering Director Peter Crosland at: PeterCrosland@ceca.co.uk

are perceived to be high initial investments were always seen be low.

To be fair, the regulatory cycle makes it more difficult for water companies to adopt something new as the return on investment may not be achieved within a particular AMP period.

Previously, any innovation with a payback of six years or more has looked unattractive, (despite being in the customers’ long term interests) and as a result, the incentive for a water company to innovate has been limited.

The introduction of TOTEX has helped to a degree – however the long term affect of TOTEX has still to be assessed as we are only in the early years of its implementation.

Supply Chain Engagement

It is often said that the key innovators (in any industry) are the Tier3/SME/ Specialist contractors. It is these organisations who can provide vital expertise in areas that Tier 1 contractors have little or limited knowledge. The problem for the industry is finding the right mechanism for these innovators to have maximum influence at the right stage of the project.

The supply chain can be instrumental in minimizing whole life cost whilst maximizing whole life value.

The diagram above shows my version of a well-known Constructing Excellence analysis indicating the relative size and ratio of project ‘components’, going from the design phase of a project through to business outcomes. It can be seen that the contractor or construction partner has

Business Outcomes

Business CostsOperation & Maintenance

Construction

Design

Whole Life Cost Envelope

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Adam TukeIndustry Affairs

Part of the wide-ranging services offered to CECA members is the opportunity to be a member of one of five sector groups – Rail, Water, Roads, Energy and Transport. The latter three groups are coordinated by Adam Tuke, CECA’s Director of Industry Affairs, and the aims of the three groups are broadly similar in relation to their own specific sectors – to be a forum for sharing best practice, to support and understand the development of relevant UK policies with respect to civil engineering matters, and to provide a link between CECA members and major clients.

Each group meets two or three times a year. In addition to vibrant internal discussion among attendees on important issues which are either vexing members, or on which they wish CECA to make representations to Government, national agencies or other bodies, we generally invite three outside speakers to give short presentations on relevant topics.

Transport Group

The Transport Group most recently met on 4 November 2015 and heard presentations from Peel Ports on the Port of Liverpool, the Passenger Transport Executive Group on Urban Transport and DfT and CITB on Skills Provision. The first two speakers were particularly topical, concentrating as they did on transport issues in the Northern Powerhouse region. The Transport Group will be seeking to expand on these issues during 2016 for its members.

Energy Forum

On 12 November 2015 the Energy Forum heard presentations from NuGen on the Moorside Nuclear Plant, DECC on the UK Nuclear Programme and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on Low Carbon Energy Systems. Just as over the past 70 years, much of the UK’s future energy needs will continue to be supplied by generating capacity in the north of the country. NuGen, in common with other major energy clients, has a commitment to use a local supply chain as much as possible.

Roads Forum

The Roads Forum met on 19 November 2015 and heard presentations from

Highways England on Supply Chain Strategy, Transport for London on the Silvertown Crossing and from Aggregate Industries on Capacity in the UK Aggregate Supply Chain. It appeared that our Highways England guests found the presentation by Brian Downes of Aggregate Industries particularly illuminating, in particular his point that it can take twelve years of planning and licensing negotiations to open a new quarry or pit in the UK. He also explained that since all the major UK aggregate suppliers are now foreign owned, they have to compete with other global territories for investment from their parent groups.

As part of CECA’s 20th Anniversary celebrations in 2016, each Forum will be undertaking a project during the year with a view to promoting members’ interests, or influencing national policy, and launching the results in November. The intention in 2016 is to spread the meetings more evenly throughout the year. The current schedule for all CECA’s meetings can be found at http://www.ceca.co.uk/regions/events.aspx.

CECA’s Director of Industry Affairs Adam Tuke (MA CEng FICE FCIHT) joined CECA National after 21 years at Jackson Civil Engineering, most recently as Contracts Director. His responsibilities include the management of the CECA Roads, Transport, Nuclear and Energy Groups.

If any member company is not represented on these groups and would like to be on the contact list please contact Adam Tuke adamtuke@ceca.co.uk.

Presentation slides and relevant documents from all of CECA’s sector groups are available in the members’ area of the CECA website at: http://www.ceca.co.uk/members-area.aspx.

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CECA ScotlandHighland Business Awards

Pat Munro (Alness) Ltd Receive Two Prestigious Gongs At The 2015 Highland Business Awards

From left to right in the photo are:- Brian Munro, Managing Director; John Dawson, Commercial Manager; Patrick Munro, Director; Steven Thain,

Quarry Manager; Davie Maclennan, Business Development Manager;A Representative from Barclays Bank, who sponsored the award for “Highland Business Of The Year”;

Mark Bramley, Construction Director; Hamish Little, Homes Manager; Wendy Hennem, Marketing Coordinator; Veronica Symonds, Waste Services Manager; Kayleigh MacDiarmid, Receptionist

us all. At Pat Munro, we pride ourselves on our family values and these are evident in all we do from our staff training and development down to our dedication to great customer service. I would like to thank all our hard working team and loyal customers for their continued support and look forward to a bright and prosperous future.”

CECA Scotland member Pat Munro (Alness) Ltd was awarded both Best Family Business of the Year and Highland Business of the Year at the annual Highland Business Awards lunch at the Drumossie Hotel, Inverness. Organised by Inverness Chamber of Commerce, as part of Highland Business Week 2015, the Highland Business

Awards were attended by 330 business men and women from across the region where winners were unveiled at a capacity lunch and awards ceremony. The awards were a fitting tribute to the positive work that three generations of the Munro family have made in laying the strong foundations on which the privately-owned business has been built.

Managing Director Brian Munro said, “Winning both awards especially in our 70th anniversary year is a fantastic boost for morale and a huge honour for

For more information contact CECA Scotland Head of Membership Services Grahame Barn at Grahame@cecascotland.co.uk

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CECA Southern2015 Dinner & Awards

The CECA Southern Annual Dinner took place at the Lancaster London on 4 November 2015, with in excess of 500 people attending. CECA Southern entertained over 50 key representatives from industry and associated bodies. CECA Southern were also delighted to have the Chelsea In-Pensioners in attendance.

At the Dinner, CECA Southern made awards to recognise exceptionally talented people in our industry. Winners received an engraved cup, certificate and cheque for £500. The winners, who are shown here being presented with their awards by CECA Southern Chairman Lee Rushbrook of Colas, were:

CECA Southern Congratulates The Winners With Record Turn-Out For Awards Ceremony At The Lancaster London

Most Promising Apprentice 2015: Nicole Borgia (Skanska)

Outstanding Contribution Award 2015: James Comport (Colas)

Most Promising Trainee Quantity Surveyor 2015: Ela Arojan (Skanska)

Most Promising Trainee Civil Engineer 2015: Ieuan Jones (VolkerFitzpatrick)

CECA (Southern) has also awarded two ‘highly commended’ places to recognise the high quality of applicants. Awards will be made to each at ceremonies in their workplace:-

Highly Commended Apprentice 2015 – Shae Henriques (FM Conway)

Highly Commended Trainee Quantity Surveyor 2015 – Aiden Morris (BAM Nuttall).

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CECA North WestNorth West 2015 Civil Engineering Awards

Record Number Attend CECA North West Dinner And Awards

In front of a packed audience, at the annual Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) North West dinner, held at the Manchester Hilton on Friday 30 October 2015, last year’s award winners were announced:

Project of the Year was won by Bethell Construction of Bolton for the Lancashire Bridge Redevelopment - a project that involved determining whether to demolish, reconstruct or repair a town centre culvert, and resulted in the creation of a stunning feature in the centre of Stockport.

Highly commended were the creation of the world’s first onshore surfing lagoon at Surf Snowdonia, by D Morgan of Ellesmere Port; and the reinstatement of the Chorley ‘flying arches’ by J Murphy & Sons - major works to Chorley Tunnel in

Above: The team from Bethell Construction Ltd, who won Project of the Year for the Lancashire Bridge Redevelopment

order to allow for future electrification of the railway between Manchester and Preston.

Young Professional of the Year was Zoe Stericker of BAM Nuttall, who started her career as a civil engineering apprentice, and whose focus and determination led her to become a section engineer while achieving a first class honours degree in civil engineering.

Zoe said: “My proudest moment and greatest challenge was on a rail bridge reconstruction in St. Bees, Cumbria. This involved mapping the whole beach, monitoring weather and tidal effects and assessing all loadings which would be applied to the sand, plus liaising with the Marine Management Organisation, Copeland Borough Council, Environment Agency and RNLI.”

Highly commended was Sam Hughes of John Sisk & Son, a graduate engineer with a can do attitude and a desire to do things right, addressing both engineering and environmental challenges.

Collaborative Partnership Award. This is a new award, and the winner was the Staffordshire Alliance - a partnership charged with delivering enhanced capacity on the West Coast rail line, comprising Atkins, Laing O’Rourke, Network Rail, Volker Rail and the lead earthworks contractor, D Morgan.

Highly commended was the Environment Team of the Carillion-Morgan Sindall joint venture, delivering the A6 - Manchester Airport Relief Road project.

Another new award was for Innovation and Sustainability. The winner was J

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For more information, and to book your place for this year’s dinner and awards, contact CECA North West Director Guy Lawson by e-mail: guy.lawson@cecanw.co.uk.

Murphy & Sons, for the installation of an innovative fibre reinforced polymer aqueduct, to carry a river over a railway line in Chorley.

Highly commended were Costain’s Behavioural Safety team for the Heysham – M6 link; and a new software package for the construction industry that assures compliance with BIM, called ‘Sitedesk’, introduced by ACS Construction Group of Cheadle Hulme.

The winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award was John Tolputt, Managing Director and founder of Chinley-based, CT Construction. Mr Tolputt’s career spans over 50 years since he became chartered in 1961, working on major projects in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. After establishing the Manchester office of Christiani & Neilsen, he founded his own company in 1992. Dinner was preceded by the keynote address, given by the Government’s Chief Construction Advisor, Peter Hansford.

Over 300 professionals attended the dinner, and the broadcasters and former footballers, Ray Stubbs and Mark Lawrenson, gave the after dinner speech.

CECA North West Director Guy Lawson said: “My congratulations go to all the very worthy award winners. While the good news of growing workloads is tempered by capacity issues and margins affected by rising prices, it was very encouraging that the dinner was attended by a record number. The North West civil engineering sector is set to become one of the busiest UK regions, and the excellent submissions for the Awards speak volumes about the capability of businesses in the region to deliver excellent projects, time after time.”

Above right: John Tolputt, Managing Director of CT Construction

and winner of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award

Above: Young Professional of the Year Zoe Stericker of BAM Nutall is presented with her award by CECA North West Chairman Adrian Taylor

Above: CECA North West Director Guy Lawson (right), with Chief Government Construction Adviser Peter Hansford & Mrs Pamela Hansford

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HS2 CECA-Organised Suppliers’ Event

For more information about CECA’s activities in relation to HS2, please e-mail enquiries@ceca.co.uk.

Suppliers have the chance to meet companies bidding for the first major contracts to be procured as part of HS2, with a meet-the-bidder day for the project’s £900 million enabling works.

On 3 February the seven teams who are in the running for three packages of enabling works along the route from London to the Midlands will take part in the event at the NEC in Birmingham. The teams are keen to meet companies with specific capabilities that will be required to deliver the enabling works. In particular they are looking to engage with companies that deliver:

• Demolition & site clearance

• Fencing

• Security

• Environmental services

• Remediation

• Utilities

• Bulk excavation

• Civils sub-contracting

• Highways surfacing and construction

• Exhumations

• Structure (Bridges/Buildings) strengthening specialists

• Acoustic specialist installation for sound protection work to properties

• Archaeological investigations

• Habitat and species relocations

• Soft and Hard Landscaping.

• Management of invasive plants: Japanese Knotweed and Hogwood

• Diversity and inclusion specialist training providers

• Instrumentation and Monitoring

• Existing building surveys

• Temporary road diversion

• De-vegetation

• Waterway Diversion

• Compounds + access roads

• Temporary Works including Bridges

• Geotechnical Surveys

The event will take place immediately before the seven are formally invited to tender for the works. It will allow potential suppliers the chance to introduce themselves and provide details of the services that they offer, opening the door to potential involvement with the successful bidders when the contracts are awarded later this year.

Commenting on the event, which is being organised by CECA, Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner said: “The delivery of HS2 offers opportunities for supply chain companies from across the UK, and will create significant demand on key competencies. We wanted to ensure that those companies with the right abilities had the chance to put themselves in contention to work as a supplier on these contracts.”

Bidders for £900 million HS2 enabling works seek suppliers

The seven teams on contention for the works are:

• Balfour Beatty Vinci JV

• Carillion/Eiffage/Kier JV

• Costain Skanska JV

• Laing O’Rourke/Murphy Group JV

• Fusion (Morgan Sindall/BAM/Ferrovial)

• Align JV

• Momentum Infrastructure.

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If you have any comments about this issue of CECA Communicates, would like to commission an article or advertise with us, or if you are a CECA member with an idea for an article, please contact

Huston Gilmore on 020 7340 0453 or e-mail hustongilmore@ceca.co.uk.

Industry leaders have set ambitious plans to drive improvement across the sector with the relaunch of the Strategic Forum for Construction.

The Strategic Forum was formed in 2001 to bring together representatives from the industry’s customers, contractors, specialists, professionals and products companies. Since 2013 it has been working with the Government to support delivery of the recommendations of Construction 2025, the industrial strategy for construction.

The reformation of the Construction Leadership Council, and merger of the National Specialist Contractors Council with the UK Contractors Group to form

Strategic Forum For Construction2016 Relaunch

Build UK has seen a refresh of the Strategic Forum, making it more representative of industry while focussing on the delivery of key improvements for industry.

Cross-Industry Body To Focus On Key Deliverables

The Forum is chaired on a rotating basis by representatives from each of its six members. The Home Builders Federation and CBI also attend Forum meetings

In 2016 the Forum will be targeting delivery of four cross-industry work streams covering payment, pre-qualification, procurement models, and industry commitments. The Forum will be revealing further details of each in the coming weeks, along with details of how companies can get involved in each work stream.

If you would like more information on the Strategic Forum For Construction, and the work CECA is engaged in with it, e-mail enquiries@ceca.co.uk.

The Strategic Forum’s members are:

Build UK

Construction Alliance

Construction Clients Group

Construction Industry Council

Construction Products Association

Specialist Engineering Contractors Group