Anglian Water has announced the next set of framework partners who will deliver contracts worth around £450 million between 2015 and 2020, during AMP6.

To maximise collaborative working and efficiency, the contracts could run for 15 years, with a review after each five-year AMP period. This is one of the longest collaborations in the industry, and means the contracts could deliver around £1.5 billion of investment over 15 years.

Barhale, Clancy Docwra, Kier MG and Morrison Utility Services have all signed contracts with the firm today.

Clancy Docwra and Kier MG will deliver Anglian Water’s Integrated Metering and Developer Services (IMDS) programme. The partnership is worth around £200 million in AMP6. The carefully selected partners, working with Anglian Water employees, will deliver the entire domestic and business metering programme including water efficiency audits to help customers save water and save money. They will also lay new mains and divert existing pipework, and install new water connections to housing developments.

Barhale, Kier MG and Morrison Utility Services will deliver the Integrated Operational Solutions (IOS) programme, worth in the region of £250 million in AMP6. They will deliver the majority of small replacement and refurbishment projects, such as work on filter screens at existing operational sites and treatment works. They will also deliver programmes of small scale new installations, such as pumping stations and control kiosks, across the entire Anglian Water region.

Jason Tucker, Head of Capital Delivery and Supply Chain Management for Anglian Water, said:

“Confirming our partners for these two vitally important alliances is another significant step forward in our AMP6 procurement process. We are determined to deliver maximum efficiency and satisfaction for our customers by working closely with these carefully selected organisations to drive innovation.”

The IMDS and IOS contractors have committed to support the delivery of the ten outcomes Anglian Water has promised as part of its business planning for the next five years. They will work with Anglian Water in a collaborative commercial model, sharing risk and reward collectively within the alliances, only recovering head office costs and earning profit when they outperform Anglian Water’s business plan.

Jason Tucker continued: “Our procurement process for AMP6 has been developed to ensure we select organisations that share our vision and are committed to the same outcomes as our AMP6 business plan, which was created collaboratively with thousands of our customers and stakeholders.

These are the latest two alliances developed by Anglian Water to deliver between £6 and £9 billion of investment over 15 years. Four alliances will collectively deliver every kind of work for Anglian Water, ranging from building large new water treatment works to repairing small leaks and connecting new properties to the network. The supply chain contracts begin in 2015 and are expected to run until 2030, with a review every five years.

This is the first time Anglian Water has put every aspect of its capital investment out to tender at the same time.

In spring, the company confirmed Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Grontmij, MMB (a joint venture of Mott MacDonald and JN Bentley), MWH and Skanska as partners to deliver its Integrated Main Works Capital (IMWC) programme, representing roughly half of the total investment programme. Black and Veatch has also signed as a reserve partner. The final Tier 1 framework announcements are due in the coming months.

To ensure the selection process focussed on the behaviour of bidder’s staff, Anglian Water appointed JCP – a collaborative working specialist – to help develop and implement its AMP6 procurement process. JCP were able to bring best practice in developing alliances, establishing and implementing robust and effective collaboration.

Simon Vaughan, Director at JCP said that adopting a collaborative approach is the way forward for companies working on long-term, complex, high cost projects. He commented:

“For over 20 years, we have developed high performance teams to produce outstanding results. Companies who have adopted this approach have dramatically and consistently reduced time and cost on capital projects and I am delighted to work with Anglian Water which has embraced this approach.”