Feature KEITH COLLETT
Clearly as part of the VINCI Group we are fortunate to have access to a very broad range of skills sets and capabilities from across all areas of the international construction industry. Our approach as VINCI’s nuclear arm is to harness this expertise to bring best practice and innovation into the projects we deliver. These synergies, in addition to our own internal R&D programme, mean that over the next five years we expect to be able to continue to offer our customers an ever- widening range of capabilities in support of project delivery, including innovation in areas such as programme management, IT and specialist technologies.
What is your greatest career achievement to date?
Becoming CEO of Nuvia Limited and having the honour and privilege of helping to develop and grow the staff and company via addressing the major opportunities of legacy and new build.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
For any engineer, the diversity of the nuclear industry – whether in legacy decommissioning, ongoing operations or new build – is vast in terms of the technical challenges which it offers. Nuvia’s breadth of capabilities enables us to engage with all these sectors and transfer our expertise from one project to the next.
From my position I can take an overview across all this work and support our teams of engineers and operatives in delivering the best possible solution for our customers.
In recent years the process which Nuvia has gone through to become fully integrated with the specialist technologies division of VINCI, Soletanche Freyssinet, has been an exciting challenge which has provided the chance to gain a deep understanding of the approaches and techniques which are used to support delivery in other industries. This cross- transfer of knowledge has greatly
enhanced the way in which we deliver projects within the nuclear industry. Also as part of this integration we have developed strong synergy with the VINCI Group. Bringing this to the market offers our customers a new and massive capability from specialist techniques to large project and programme management.
If you could change anything about the nuclear industry, what would it be and why?
Over the last 10–20 years as a country we have not invested in the nuclear skills we require for the future. This leaves us with an aging demographic and a supply chain which in some areas is not currently able to respond to the future opportunities. To help address this, a longer-term view of funding and contract partnership is needed to enable investment in people and facilities, in what has become a largely contractorised industry. This would provide the environment to put in place the programmes to address our resource issues at all levels – schools, university and within companies – through the development of apprentice and graduate schemes and the provision of training.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Perhaps: “Always sit around the other side of the desk”; something I try to follow whoever and whatever the subject and situation might be – client, boss, team, stakeholder, etc.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?
It is a great time to be starting out in the industry; nuclear power is the low-carbon solution of the future, and the legacy waste issues offer unique and complex problem-solving opportunities. If you are passionate about your work, there are endless opportunities both internationally and in the UK and no limit to your career path. The industry is steeped in history and has countless experts and
opportunities to learn lessons from the past. My advice: get to know the industry and its members; use your talent to make a real difference; stick to what you believe; and of course “always sit around the other side of the desk”.
What inspires you?
I am continually impressed and inspired by the ability of our people, particularly our younger ones, to embrace new methods and technologies and develop solutions.
The programmes and systems which are now being employed in support of projects and management have revolutionised the way in which we execute business. This is driven by the enthusiasm of the industry’s staff, often in difficult technical and business environments.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced?
Rather than more law perhaps a focus on reforming existing legislation to be more effective should be the focus.
Where do you see the UK nuclear industry in 10 years?
I would like to believe that in 10 years’ time the key high-hazard projects are nearing completion and the legacy issues are largely behind us. With this backdrop we should have added and be adding to the new Hinckley and Sizewell, Oldbury and Wylfa nuclear power plants.
In conjunction with the above I believe, with the right level of investment, the UK can again become a world leader in nuclear science and technology.
Nuvia is the nuclear arm of VINCI, the world’s largest civil construction and concessions organisation. The Nuvia Group, which encompasses Nuvia Limited in the UK and six complementary businesses in France, offers a range of products and services to customers across all sectors of the nuclear industry including the provision of multidiscipline design, project and programme management and operational services.
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