North West Gas Alliance
Project:
North West Gas Alliance (NWGA)
National Grid Plc (NG)
National Grid own, operate and develop Great Britain’s principal natural gas transportation system and deliver gas to circa 20million customers.
Project Value:
c.£48million per annum
Timescales:
1st April 2005 – 31st March 2013 with an option to extend.
Background:
Two members of Trident, Balfour Beatty and Skanska are currently working for National Grid delivering its gas policy mains replacement and abandonment programme. There have been four Gas Alliances established across National Grid’s retained network, whereby Balfour Beatty & Skanska operate across two Gas Alliances within the North West of England and North London respectively.
The Gas Alliances have adopted an integrated management approach, where National Grid employees and its Gas Alliance Partners work seamlessly in co – located offices. This Alliance approach is as long-term arrangement where associated organisations provide complimentary skills and resources, sharing risks and reward whilst focusing on the common objectives to deliver a safe, quality output for National Grid.
Role of the Gas Alliances:
- Project identification, design, programme management and construction of c. 1000km per annum of gas mains replacement
- Programme and cost management
- Asset management and asset data capture
- Commercial management to meet OFGEM regulatory requirements.
- Supply material and logistics management.
Scope of works:
The geographical areas consist of large conurbations where metallic mains are higher in density.
Balfour Beatty Management (and Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions) is in an Alliance with NG to support the network owner’s 30-year gas mains network replacement and abandonment programme in the North West region. Works include:
- Project design and management and construction works required to replace Victorian metallic gas mains in the Greater Manchester region with modern pipework systems.
- Alliance management.
- Work identification and scheduling.
- Highway maintenance.
- Asset data capture.
- Commercial management to meet OFGEM requirements.
- Material and logistics management.
Key Objectives:
The target for 2006/2007 was to abandon c. 430km of cast iron mains.
- The ‘Raising the Bar…Reducing the Risk’ initiative has been developed throughout 2006 and 2007 with 40 alliance staff working to identify new ways of working to achieve zero excavations, zero customer interruptions and zero non compliance.
Achievements:
During 2006 / 2007, Balfour Beatty successfully met the targets set, and some of the year’s achievements are highlighted below:
- Completed works programme to abandon 385km of gas main and to renew over 35,000 domestic services, this is broken down further:
- Mains laid: 381km
- Length of MP & >12” LP: 15.8km
- No of Super Projects: 386
- Largest Project: 14.7km
- Length of insertion: 310km
- Length Open Cut: 62km
- Length of abandon only: 2.2km
- Length of pipeburst: 13km
- From December 2005 to March 2006, Balfour Beatty supplied 7 gangs to support NG’s DLO on Emergency functions during peak demands.
- Team of the Year 2005/06 was awarded to the Gas Alliance Team on the basis of “organisational excellence and progressive leadership to fully exploit the opportunities of Alliance working whilst maintaining high SHE standards”
- The NWGA team fully supports the Offender programme led by NG. Since the scheme started the Alliance team has trained 47 individuals with over 70% now in full time employment within the gas industry with 8 full time on the Alliance
- Safe control of operations audited, alliance process recommended as best practice
- The SHEQ team were awarded the Rowan tree award. The Rowan tree awards for good environmental practice are awarded to the teams judged to have been particularly proactive in improving environmental performance
- BBU have recently been named winner of management and Process Innovation at the Quality in Construction Awards
- The North West Gas Alliance has been selected Pan Alliance Team of Month in September 2005, May and June 2006
- Long term investments into personnel development and training
- The alliance draws upon the multi-disciplinary skills and experience of the Balfour Beatty group. Balfour Beatty Management provides skills and experience to deliver infrastructure schemes from concept and assembly, through construction, to operating and maintenance. Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions provides asset maintenance and replacement services for the alliance.
In the long term, we all have to do something different. We must challenge our current working practices, our ownership of health and safety and how each one of us can contribute towards making what we do safer - Zero Harm
