The government has approved the continuation of a key contract
for engineering design and safety case services at the Sellafield
site, in West Cumbria.
The Design Services Alliance (DSA), a 15-year contract with a
total sanction value of £1.5 billion, will continue into its 3rd
5-year tranche from 2022 to 2027.
The alliance was first set up in 2012 with Sellafield Ltd as an
alliance partner working as one team alongside AXIOM (a 4 entity
joint venture comprising Assystem, Jacobs, Mott MacDonald and
Progressive (Aecom and Cavendish Nuclear)).
Since then, working with the broader supply chain, the alliance
has delivered cashable, non-cashable and future benefits
totalling more than £220 million.
So, for every pound of the nearly £1 billion spent so far through
the alliance, Sellafield Ltd has received 22 pence back.
In addition, the alliance has helped to make Sellafield safer
sooner by cutting 744 months from hazard reduction schedules -
bringing the creation of a clean and safe environment for future
generations closer with each day saved.
Paul Adams, head of the DSA, said:
This announcement is just reward for a lot of hard work by the
people involved in the alliance. It recognises how we value each
other across the alliance and our shared commitment to perform
with passion, pride and pace.
We are committed to continuous improvement and our belief that we
can deliver even better results between now and 2027.
The DSA makes a real difference at Sellafield by challenging
accepted ways of doing things, removing unnecessary scope, making
procurement smarter, and reducing project costs with radical new
technologies and lean techniques.
Last year an external review concluded that the alliance was well
placed to continue meeting Sellafield Ltd’s ongoing need for
engineering design and safety case services.
It also urged greater integration with other delivery frameworks
as part of a whole lifecycle approach to delivering optimum
outcomes.
New ways of working are currently being developed and tested
across the alliance, including early contractor input under the
Alliance Designed Delivery pilot projects and joint
incentivisation arrangements.
The aim is to develop these innovations into a standard part of
the alliance’s ‘business as usual’ toolkit in order to improve
end-to-end delivery.
Ian Belger, head of design engineering and safety case at
Sellafield Ltd, said:
This is great news for the individuals and teams working in the
DSA and a recognition of their contribution and effort.
Our alliance with the DSA partners gives Sellafield Ltd access to
a range of key capabilities and reach back into some of the
world’s largest and most capable nuclear industry contractors.
This has enabled Sellafield Ltd’s design engineering capability
to deliver significant value over the past 9 years.
Our challenge now is to build on this by doing even better and
delivering on our digital, sustainability and carbon targets.
This latest sanction from government will allow the alliance to
continue providing benefits as it concludes its 15-year mission.
