PROCUREMENT & SUPPLY CHAIN
into collaboration. Challenges
At this point in time, the key challenge for Atkins in BS 11000 is not to rest on our laurels.
As collaboration is nothing new, it’s important that the business continues to challenge itself to incorporate the standard into everything we do. This challenge has been acknowledged by the board and the team has also had a fresh look at the standard to see what changes need to be made.
Above: The Stafford Area Improvements Programme Alliance, showing, from left, alliance manager Dominic Baldwin; Graeme Castle, operations leader for Laing O’Rourke Construction Ltd; Stuart Birch, director of major projects for Volker Rail Ltd; Steve Higham, managing director, Rail Engineering Projects for Atkins; and Rob Offord, commercial & finance director (Central) for Network Rail, pictured with the ‘Stafford knot’.
With relationships and rapport already established, the team could get on with improving the railway on day one of the contract.
Other benefits include being seen as an expert on collaborative working having been one of the first companies in the rail industry to do so. Atkins is now being approached by other contractors and members of its supply chain for guidance as they embark on their BS 11000 journey.
BS 11000 certification has also brought about some changes to the way Atkins does things; for example, formally recording values and behaviours for projects delivered in partnership with other companies. When a relationship is set up, the entire project team needs to establish how they are going to work together, which not only gets the project off to a good start, but also makes it easier to measure intangibles such as values and behaviours.
Once these aspects of the project have been agreed, they are recorded in a spreadsheet and all team members regularly assess the actions and interactions of their colleagues, against those values. It is a simple process based on green, amber and red colour codings. Green shows that people are going beyond what is expected, while amber highlights that people are exhibiting some of the values and behaviours and red indicates that people are not exhibiting values and behaviours. While it’s quite a subjective process, it gives management from all companies in the partnership an opportunity to review and address any issues in the team. It also provides a chance to identify
the reasons why things are going well. Making collaboration a mindset
In September 2012, the rail business lent its engineering skills to improve St Paul’s Place in Hammersmith for Resurgo and TLG: The Education Charity (TLG). It was an opportunity to support the local community while giving senior managers a taste of collaborative working.
At the moment the team are looking to better understand the types of relationships that the business has. This will help them identify where they want to collaborate, what would be the most beneficial, what potential risks are involved and then develop some more detailed implementation plans.
As the rail business is now over 12 months into BS 11000, it’s timely to tell staff how far it has come and where it is going. Having successfully gained accreditation for the REP business, Atkins is looking at gaining accreditation for all of its rail business units.
There is also a plan to include the standard in staff’s professional development as well.
Below: Atkins lending a hand to Resurgo and TLG.
Given the changes in the rail industry, collaboration without a doubt is the way forward. Since gaining BS 11000 certification, Atkins has successfully won a major project which will be the first to be delivered by Network Rail under a ‘pure alliancing’ framework.
The standard has also brought other benefits to the busi- ness, such as being an industry leader in collaborative work- ing.
It will also mean that Atkins and its partners can share
Over two days our team transformed St Paul’s into a more usable space for the 54 students a year that TLG helps back into education.
The team pulled together, sharing equipment and resources to get the job done. While the tight timeframes didn’t allow for the charity work to be a full BS 11000 learning experience, complete with setting up a joint risk process, it did give all involved an insight
resources and expertise, which will save time and money on projects.
Collaboration is seen as the way forward and Atkins’ BS 11000 certification will help the company deliver lasting benefits to the UK railway more effectively.
www.atkinsglobal.com/railandmetro FOR MORE INFORMATION
rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 13 | 53
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