North West Gas Alliance

Value:

£380 million

Timescales:

An eight-year programme, running between 2005 and 2013.

Background:

The North West Gas Alliance is a partnership between Balfour Beatty and National Grid, designed to abandon iron gas mains and replace them – where necessary – with non-metallic materials. The programme covers the whole of North West England’s distribution network and is expected to take 30 years to complete.

Our brief:

In the first year, the Alliance was tasked with abandoning 385km of iron mains. Over the total period of the contract, we’re likely to be dealing with a figure approaching 3,500 km. We aren’t measured on the pipe we’re able to lay, but rather on the main we are able to remove from the asset and risk register.

Services provided:

BBM services include planning and programme management and commercial consultancy, as well as network planning and design. We have also been asked to pilot new GIS/GPS asset data.

Our achievements:

Less than two years into the programme, we have met our objectives in full and also achieved improvements in safety; the latter being one of National Grid’s key drivers for the project. We have established a true partnership that combines the skills and experience of both National Grid and the entire Balfour Beatty Group. Traditional dividing lines have been swept away by a culture of continuous improvement that values the sharing of knowledge and learning.

The success of this project led to Balfour Beatty Management securing the contract to upgrade a significant part of the National Grid’s electricity transmission network from 2007 onwards.