Acorn’s Rail division has become the first Welsh SME in 2020 to receive a Trackside Principal Contractors Licence from Network Rail. Principal Contractors License is a requirement over and above CDM (Construction, Design Management), and whilst Principal Contractor requirements are specific to Network Rail it is deemed the gold standard
HS2 takes steps to ensure that cash flow to suppliers at all tiers of the supply chain is expedited during the Covid-19 pandemic In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and concerns about the impact on the cash flow within the construction industry, HS2 supplier payment runs have been accelerated to
Balfour Beatty VINCI today announces the appointment of Michael Dyke as Managing Director, responsible for providing strategic leadership for the delivery of its HS2 main civil engineering contracts between the Long Itchington Wood Green tunnel to the West Coast Main Line tie-in, worth a combined total of c. £5 billion.
Access to East Midlands Airport has been improved with the official launch of a new 2.5km route. A £10 million infrastructure scheme has reached completion, delivering the Castle Donington relief road in Leicestershire. This provides a much-needed link from the airport to the A50. Principal contractor Chasetown Civil Engineering worked
Amey Consulting is set to bring its data science expertise to Highways England courtesy of a new contract. The firm will work with Highways England’s chief data office to provide a framework and the latest tools to enable a data science service and will deliver several data science projects to
Kier Highways has been awarded the 15-month interim highways services contract for Birmingham Highways Ltd (BHL) from 1 April 2019 to 29 June 2020. The contract includes the city’s traffic operations, planned and reactive maintenance, inspections and winter servicing. It covers more than 2,500km of road and 5,000km of footways,
Despite recent comments from the Prime minister, Heathrow Airport is ploughing ahead with its plans to expand. The company is set to submit planning for expansion later this year and they want full government backing. So, what is the planned expansion and why has Boris Johnson potential scuppered the airline’s
GroupBC’s common data environment (CDE) will be at the centre of the expansion of Birmingham Airport, enabling optimum document and information management during the extensive construction, handover and operational processes. As part of Birmingham Airport’s Master Plan – a £500m capital investment to transform the airport into a world-class facility
A major new facility for UK timber trade has opened up on the River Medway in Kent following a £27m investment by operators Peel Ports. The site at Wellmarsh provides scope for storage, processing and handling of all timber types. The facility is based at the Port of Sheerness, which
Network Rail has announced the award of 82 framework contracts to deliver design services across the country, worth an estimated £400m for Control Period 6 (2019-2024) and up to £640m including the options to extend the framework into Control Period 7 (2024-2029). The Design Services Framework (DSF) consists of four
Acorn’s Rail division has become the first Welsh SME in 2020 to receive a Trackside Principal Contractors Licence from Network Rail. Principal Contractors License is a requirement over and above CDM (Construction, Design Management), and whilst Principal Contractor requirements are specific to Network Rail it is deemed the gold standard within the rail industry, and it recognises Acorn Rail’s ability to discharge Principal Contractor duties during construction work carried out on behalf of Network Rail. It also permits Acorn to tender for all maintenance, labour or contract work issued by the national body. The licence provides assurance that Acorn Rail, as a Principal Contractor, has appropriate and robust HSQE management systems to effectively discharge its duties under official construction regulations and meet all additional requirements of Network Rail. The licence is issued in accordance with the Network Rail Principal Contractor Licensing Scheme NR/L2/INI/CP0070. Kevin Morris, Director of Rail at Acorn Rail, said: “Our new status as a Principal Contractor for Network Rail is testament to the continued commitment that this highly successful division of Acorn has shown in operating responsibly, and to the highest of standards required by the UK rail industry today. Acorn Rail works with a broad range of clients to undertake rail projects across the UK including civil engineering, track renewals, signalling, power & telecoms, tunnelling, and mechanical and engineering. “Our Rail Division is supported by an experienced in-house quality management and compliance team, which has proven its robustness time and time again through ongoing audits. This Principal Contract Licence is a logical next step in our continued progression as a highly effective and well-respected supplier to the rail and civil engineering industries. Furthermore, we are now in a fantastic position to support our clients’ and our own visions of delivering the drivers of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, support sustainability and help create a thriving Wales. Acorn Rail is seeking to follow in the successful footsteps of its parent company Acorn Recruitment, which has a lengthy track record of organic growth, working with hundreds of UK and international businesses and supporting UK job seekers through its specialist teams and a network of more than 30 branches nationwide. Acorn places some 6,000 people every week into temporary roles and more than 1,700 people into permanent roles every year. Acorn’s Group Managing Director, Matt Southall said: “The Principal Contractors Licence that our specialist rail team has been awarded is a good reflection of the whole Acorn group, and our commitment to quality, safety and compliance in everything we do. “We are delighted for all those working within the rail division who support and help maintain such a vital part of the UK transport infrastructure, and we look forward to fulfilling this role even more effectively as a result of this new status we have been given by Network Rail.” For more information visit www.acornpeople.com
HS2 takes steps to ensure that cash flow to suppliers at all tiers of the supply chain is expedited during the Covid-19 pandemic In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and concerns about the impact on the cash flow within the construction industry, HS2 supplier payment runs have been accelerated to ensure that they are being made in a timely manner. HS2 is accelerating payments to all companies directly in its supply chain, processing approved payments immediately when funds are available, rather than on the contracted payment terms. Tier One contractors in the HS2 supply chain are to mirror this and have the duty to ensure the approach is followed through all tiers of the supply chain. HS2 has written to all its direct suppliers requiring that faster payments are made to all companies in its supply chain in all tiers reflecting HS2’s approach. This will provide reassurance to firms working on the project and should help ensure that stability remains within the HS2 supply chain. At a time of economic concern due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this should go some way to alleviate concerns about financial certainty for companies in, and aligned to, the construction sector. Government approval for the next stage of the HS2 project last month has meant HS2 contractors now have the go ahead to start building the new low carbon, high speed railway – provided they can maintain Public Health England (PHE) and industry guidelines. It marks the point in the Main Works Civils (MWC) contracts where the work transitions from scheme design and preparatory work, to full detailed design and construction, as well as unlocking a huge amounts of new contract opportunities for the construction sector. An estimated 400,000 supply chain contract opportunities for UK businesses will be created during Phase One of HS2, supporting thousands of jobs on site and many more around the country. It is estimated that around 95% of those contract opportunities will be won by UK based businesses and around two thirds of those will be small and medium sized businesses. HS2 Ltd’s Commercial and Procurement Director, David Poole, said: “As we emerge from the pandemic, HS2 will play a crucial role in the recovery of the UK economy and provide a much-needed boost to the construction industry and the many jobs that industry supports. By taking these steps to speed up supplier payments, and by requiring this to continue throughout the supply chain, businesses large or small within the whole HS2 supply chain can feel confident they will be supported by HS2 Ltd.” Progress is being made on HS2, with construction activities ongoing and procurement activity on the project continuing. Last week, HS2 launched the procurement of track contracts, and at the end of April began the search for stations lifts and escalators suppliers. Despite some disruption to regular business practices as a result of the pandemic, HS2 has continued to engage with the business community, participating in online supply chain engagement events organised through industry bodies. HS2 Ltd is committed to continue with this engagement and encourages businesses interested in winning work on HS2 to use resources available on the HS2 website, CompeteFor and through industry bodies to find out more information.
Balfour Beatty VINCI today announces the appointment of Michael Dyke as Managing Director, responsible for providing strategic leadership for the delivery of its HS2 main civil engineering contracts between the Long Itchington Wood Green tunnel to the West Coast Main Line tie-in, worth a combined total of c. £5 billion. With over 30 years’ experience in the industry, Michael is a proven leader responsible for managing large infrastructure projects, programmes and businesses across multiple geographies and sectors. Most recently, he was Chief Executive Officer for eight2O, the water alliance that brought together Thames Water and seven other global contracting and consulting businesses. Michael Dyke, Balfour Beatty VINCI Managing Director HS2, said: “This is a particularly exciting time to be joining Balfour Beatty VINCI, having received Notice to Proceed for the main works civil engineering contracts last month. I look forward to working alongside HS2 and our expert people and supply chain partners, to safely and successfully deliver this critical piece of national infrastructure.” Balfour Beatty VINCI, a long-established joint venture between two global infrastructure leaders, was awarded two main works civil engineering contracts worth a combined total of c. £5 billion in July 2017. The joint venture subsequently received Notice to Proceed in April 2020, marking a major milestone in Britain’s largest regeneration project which will create thousands of employment opportunities, dramatically increase rail capacity and support the economic growth of the UK.
Access to East Midlands Airport has been improved with the official launch of a new 2.5km route. A £10 million infrastructure scheme has reached completion, delivering the Castle Donington relief road in Leicestershire. This provides a much-needed link from the airport to the A50. Principal contractor Chasetown Civil Engineering worked with Leicestershire County Council and designers IDOM Merebrook to deliver the scheme. Pick Everard also delivered project management, quantity surveying and health and safety advisory services Paul Gibbs, associate director at Pick Everard said: “Although the road is quite short in terms of distance, the project required a significant amount of technical understanding. It was an incredibly complex infrastructure project to deliver, with constraints including: construction taking place under a 185,000 volt power line; the demolition of an abandoned underground reservoir and the site’s close proximity to East Midlands Airport. “Airports have strict guidelines on how neighbouring construction works affecting the land will alter wildlife patterns. We had to be mindful of grass seeding and vegetation specification, considering the length of grass, height of mounds and hedgerows planted in relation to bird patterns. “We held ‘bird strike mitigation meetings’ every two weeks with East Midlands Airport, monitoring bird flight and feeding patterns throughout the duration of the works. “Wildlife requirements were also balanced alongside security considerations when working in proximity to the airport boundary security fencing. “Further public liaison meetings took place with local councils and groups for the duration of the project to ensure minimum impact on the local community.” The new road now also provides access points for Miller Homes, Redrow Homes and Clowes Developments’ 900-unit housing development and neighbouring commercial schemes. Jake Richardson, engineering manager at Miller Homes Midlands added: “We feel very strongly about leaving a positive legacy that benefits the local community wherever we build. This approach has been guiding us since we announced our Charters Gate development in the area. “By joining forces with the two neighbouring developers and working closely with our contractors, including Pick Everard, we’ve delivered a complex but very much needed piece of local infrastructure. Built to help ease traffic in a busy commuter hotspot for Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, we hope it will benefit both residents and local businesses for years to come. “This is just one way Miller Homes is investing in Castle Donington, alongside building a new primary school, sports pitch and village park to support our £1.5 million Section 106 contributions to the area.”
Amey Consulting is set to bring its data science expertise to Highways England courtesy of a new contract. The firm will work with Highways England’s chief data office to provide a framework and the latest tools to enable a data science service and will deliver several data science projects to demonstrate the benefits of a data-driven approach. This new service will enable Highways England to identify and deliver data science projects to unlock insights from their data and use this to implement and embed sustainable, data led business improvement into the organisation. This will deliver benefits in safety, customer experience and delivery and forms a key part of their new Information Vision & Strategy. Alex Gilbert, Managing Director of Amey Consulting, said: “This is a fantastic result for the business, and we’re excited to be working closely with Highways England and playing an important part in delivering their Information Vision and Strategy. It builds on a successful year for our Strategic Consulting team, who also secured major opportunities with Network Rail as part of their Intelligent Infrastructure programme and the nationwide roll-out of our Quartz platform to improve train performance across all routes.” Jon Drea, Head of Data Science for Highways England, added: “I am delighted to bring Amey Consulting’s data science expertise to Highways England. They are developing the service to transform processes for the better across our organisation. By unlocking the power of information, we can fulfil our purpose of connecting the country through better journeys.” Amey Consulting is now on the look out for new data science professionals, as it expands its team of 140 under the contract.
Kier Highways has been awarded the 15-month interim highways services contract for Birmingham Highways Ltd (BHL) from 1 April 2019 to 29 June 2020. The contract includes the city’s traffic operations, planned and reactive maintenance, inspections and winter servicing. It covers more than 2,500km of road and 5,000km of footways, as well as 846 structures, three tunnels, 94,000 street lighting columns, 76,000 highway trees and the city’s traffic control system. Joe Incutti, Kier Acting Group Managing Director for Highways said: “We are delighted to be appointed to the Birmingham Highways contract and have a wealth of experience in successfully designing and maintaining local authority roads. We’re a trusted supplier and already operate in the midlands delivering maintenance to one of the most complex and busy highway networks in the UK, including Spaghetti Junction, which carries 60,000 vehicles each day. “We are looking forward to working alongside Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Highways Ltd on this contract to keep roads in Birmingham safe and reliable.” Natasha Rouse, Chief Executive of BHL, said: “We look forward to working with Kier. The company has put together a robust offer that demonstrates its ability to provide a good quality of service and mobilise quickly and efficiently. We aim to achieve a seamless transition to our new provider while continuing to service the city’s highways network.” Councillor Waseem Zaffar, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council, said: “I am pleased that Kier has put a compelling and competitive bid to us to maintain the city’s highways. Its reputation as a leading national roads operator should give welcomed assurance to the people of Birmingham that we have put the safe and efficient servicing of our streets at the heart of this process.” Kier Highways manages 30,000km of the UK’s strategic and local authority road network, currently working with a wide range of local authorities in the country. It delivers highway services to 4.2m people and its routine reactive maintenance includes emptying gullies, surface treatment and repairing potholes.
Despite recent comments from the Prime minister, Heathrow Airport is ploughing ahead with its plans to expand. The company is set to submit planning for expansion later this year and they want full government backing. So, what is the planned expansion and why has Boris Johnson potential scuppered the airline’s plans? What is the planned expansion? The planned Heathrow expansion includes the addition of a third runway. The company’s plans for expansion were announced last year and sustainability was revealed to be at the heart of the new plans. According to Heathrow, the new expansion would generate 10,000 more apprenticeships by 2030, provide new routes and create up to 180,000 new jobs. However, the planned expansion caused heated debates after it was announced due to some of its proposals. These included lowering the M25 motorway, re-routing rivers and building additional car parks to house 50,000 cars. It is certainly a bold expansion which has been met with a lot of opposition. However, the benefits it would provide to the economy would be significant. Why is there doubt over its implementation? Doubt over the implementation of the new expansion has been cast after Boris Johnson gave the go ahead for the HS2 project. However, the prime minister has previously expressed his opposition to the airport’s expansion, claiming he would “lie down in front of bulldozers to stop the construction”. Now that Johnson is Prime minster, Heathrow airport need his approval if they are to continue with the proposed expansion. Given his previous stance on the matter, it is unlikely they are going to receive full government backing later this year. The benefits the expansion would provide So, what benefits would the third runway provide at Heathrow airport? Well, it wouldn’t just benefit passengers taking trips abroad. It would also benefit the air cargo sector. The airport has been running at 98% for the past decade. It is the biggest air freight airport in the UK and the expansion could further boost its air freight capacity. This would be crucial in terms of international trade, something the country now has to secure since its exit from the EU. It would boost the air cargo sector enormously, delivering a lot of great benefits to the country. As well as the air freight sector, the airport would be able to add thousands of additional flights to its schedule. It is said that this will also increase competition, allowing passengers to secure cheaper, more competitive prices. Whether the new expansion will go ahead later this year is uncertain. It does seem unlikely the government will back the plans, particularly given how much they are now spending on the HS2 project. However, that isn’t stopping Heathrow from continuing on with their application.
GroupBC’s common data environment (CDE) will be at the centre of the expansion of Birmingham Airport, enabling optimum document and information management during the extensive construction, handover and operational processes. As part of Birmingham Airport’s Master Plan – a £500m capital investment to transform the airport into a world-class facility – GroupBC was selected for its industry-wide reputation as a digital information expert and specific industry expertise, having worked recently with Heathrow Airport and Dubai Airport. Presented on a user-friendly interface, GroupBC’s CDE is a turnkey construction solution which drives efficiency across the design, construction and operational phases. During these periods, GroupBC’s CDE will prove vital in coordinating the flow of information; particularly in terms of enabling the review, verification and approval of documents, drawings and models. With the CDE, project teams will be able to quickly identify the status of information all held securely on a single system. Speaking on the latest success, Stuart Bell, Sales & Marketing Director at GroupBC, said: “After winning both Heathrow and Dubai airports, securing the Birmingham Airport project is testimony to our expertise in working with major aviation clients. GroupBC’s CDE is widely used in the owner operator space due to its industry leading modern interface, rapid deployment and fast return on investment.” Marie Trembacki, Operations Manager at SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins, on behalf of Birmingham Airport, added: “Birmingham Airport will be a catalyst for growth across the Midlands, driving economic benefit to the region and the whole of the UK. We’ve been impressed with GroupBC’s CDE interface, which will encourage usability and reduce delays in information exchange to keep the project on track.” Supporting compliance with BIM Level 2, GroupBC’s CDE is the Airports single source of information, enabling project teams to access and disseminate live, up-to-date data without any duplication of effort. A templated implementation approach ensured the system was quick to deploy and when live delivered immediate governance to the project. With GroupBC’s CDE now delivering consistent, auditable information, the airport will be able to access, collate and review verified information any time, any place, in a professional, powerful and refined asset information management system, worthy of, what will be, one of the UK’s largest airports.
A major new facility for UK timber trade has opened up on the River Medway in Kent following a £27m investment by operators Peel Ports. The site at Wellmarsh provides scope for storage, processing and handling of all timber types. The facility is based at the Port of Sheerness, which is the largest terminal of its kind in the UK, handling 1.1 million tonnes of timber and forest products a year. The port already has 40-acres of timber storage facilities and Peel Ports’ investment takes it to a total of over 50 acres. The secure base is used to supply factories, production lines, construction projects and retailers, with rapid access to London via the M2 and M20. There is a further option for international distribution. The Port of Sheerness has 11 metres of water depth with no tidal restrictions or lock system, allowing for unrestricted 24 hour berthing. Port Director Richard Goffin said: “This investment is a direct response to the interest we’ve had from throughout the construction sector in using the Port of Sheerness as the ideal location for serving the south-east construction market. As well as supporting the local business community, we’re also proud to have created a number of new permanent jobs at the port, underlining the role we play as a major employer in the region.”
Network Rail has announced the award of 82 framework contracts to deliver design services across the country, worth an estimated £400m for Control Period 6 (2019-2024) and up to £640m including the options to extend the framework into Control Period 7 (2024-2029). The Design Services Framework (DSF) consists of four multi-discipline frameworks and 78 single-discipline frameworks. The new DSF aims to provide access to a wider range of multi-skilled suppliers including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who form circa 25% of the single discipline suppliers on the DSF. The framework contracts, which went live on 1st January 2020, have been awarded to the following 34 suppliers: Multi-Discipline National Frameworks Supplier Discipline DSF Region* AECOM Multi-Discipline National Jacobs UK Multi-Discipline National Mott MacDonald Multi-Discipline National WSP Multi-Discipline National Single Discipline Regional Frameworks Supplier Discipline DSF Region* AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited Track North West & Scotland Track South West Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd Telecoms North West & Scotland Telecoms South West Telecoms North East AM Signalling Design Ltd Signalling South West Signalling South East Amey OWR Limited Electrification & Plant – Plant South West Signalling South West Track North East Andromeda Engineering Ltd Electrification & Plant – Contact Systems South East Electrification & Plant – Contact Systems South West Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd Electrification & Plant – Distribution North West & Scotland Electrification & Plant – Distribution North East Civils & Structural North West & Scotland Buildings & Architecture North East Baker Hicks Limited Track South West Electrification & Plant – Contact Systems North East Geotechnical North West & Scotland Balfour Beatty Rail Electrification & Plant – Contact Systems North East Track South East Track North East Capita Property & Infrastructure Ltd Civils & Structural North West & Scotland Civils & Structural South East Consents & Environment South East DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH Telecoms South East Egis Rail UK Ltd Signalling North West & Scotland Signalling North East Idom Merebrook Ltd Buildings & Architecture South West Electrification & Plant – Contact Systems South West Jacobs U.K. Limited Geotechnical North East Geotechnical South West Civils & Structural North East Kier Integrated Services Ltd Electrification & Plant – Plant South East Signalling South East Kristelan (UK) t/a SVM Glasgow. Electrification & Plant – Plant North East Electrification & Plant – Plant South West Electrification & Plant – Plant South East Mott MacDonald Limited Track North West & Scotland Electrification & Plant – Contact Systems North West & Scotland Navitas Engineering Ltd Electrification & Plant – Distribution South West Pascall & Watson Limited Buildings & Architecture South East Pell Frischmann Consultants Limited Civils & Structural South East Buildings & Architecture North West & Scotland Civils & Structural North East Ramboll UK Limited Geotechnical North East Geotechnical South West Geotechnical South East Buildings & Architecture North East Robert Bird & Partners Ltd Civils & Structural South West RPS Consulting Services Ltd Buildings & Architecture South East Buildings & Architecture North West & Scotland Buildings & Architecture South West RSK Environment Ltd Consents & Environment South West Siemens Mobility Limited Electrification & Plant – Distribution South East Electrification & Plant – Distribution South West Softech Rail Limited Telecoms South East Telent Technology Services Limited Telecoms North West & Scotland Telecoms South West Telecoms North East Temple Group Limited Consents & Environment South East Consents & Environment North East Tony Gee & Partners LLP Geotechnical North West & Scotland Geotechnical South East Tony Gee & Partners LLP and Egis Rail UK Ltd Track South East UK Power Networks Services Ltd Electrification & Plant – Distribution North West & Scotland Electrification & Plant – Distribution North East Electrification & Plant – Distribution South East VolkerRail Specialist Businesses Ltd Electrification & Plant – Plant North East Signalling North West & Scotland Signalling North East Waterman Infrastructure & Environment Ltd Consents & Environment North West & Scotland Consents & Environment North East Consents & Environment South West Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions UK Ltd Consents & Environment North West & Scotland WSP UK Ltd Electrification & Plant – Contact Systems North West & Scotland Electrification & Plant – Contact Systems South East Civils & Structural South West *Note: The DSF Regions align to the Network Rail Regions as follows: North West & Scotland = North West & Central; and Scotland’s Railway North East = Eastern South East = Southern South West = Wales & Western Daljinder Chatta, Network Rail’s commercial director, said: “Network Rail will have greater access to a design support network providing mutual benefits to both Network Rail and the supply chain. Some of these include working more directly with suppliers, improved assurance, getting closer to experts, improved business and safety performance and enabling innovation to thrive.”
