News
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Why is it more relevant than ever to develop capability?
Lucy Howard, Project 13 Capable Owner Development Group Co-Chair and Head of Infrastructure Markets at Turner & Townsend, discusses the need to focus on the core six areas of capability following the Covid crisis. 2020 has seen many owners around the world adapting to unique challenges to maintain productivity, sustain supply chains, and enact a step change in digital transformation in the face of a global pandemic. Project 13 Adopters have doubled in Number in 2020 with more owners recognising the value of the six core capabilities in making their organisations more resilient in the crisis and to deliver outcomes in the face of these challenges. These are the capabilities and how they are changing the landscape. Articulating the voice of operations requires enabling an equal voice for both operations and maintenance upfront in the enterprise. Covid-19 has shown us the importance of operational staff who have been working on the front lines during the pandemic. Capable Owners need to translate the experience of those staff in managing our assets in these times into project requirements so we build back with more resilient infrastructure. Articulating the voice of the customer requires identifying, engaging, and absorbing customer views into organisational goals and outcomes. Anglian Water’s innovative engagement with its customers is demonstrating how this can lead to a strong set of outcomes that deliver economically sustainable solutions for the environment, for the enterprise and ultimately for the customers. Recruiting and maintaining talent requires that we seek out those with the skills, desire to challenge, comfort with ambiguity, and business management. This means those in leadership roles have to be proactive in finding those people. As the industry emerges from Covid, owners and their supply chains will need to draw in new skills and thinking from beyond the sector. Value driven mindset requires re-focus from assets to the infrastructure services provided by those assets. Value is achieved through service provision outcomes, not asset delivery outputs. This means that what is required is an outcome focused strategic case that meets long term investment needs rather than the traditional short term, cost and output driven economic case. Relating to the ecosystem requires new commercial models that align suppliers to organisation and customer outcomes. There has to be a move away from the transactional approach towards that of a high performing value adding enterprise where strong relationships are developed between all parties who have the ability to affect the overall outcome. Risk also has to be appropriately proportioned and discussed in an open and transparent manner. As we emerge from these challenging times, this ethos is of increasing importance as we look to improve the industry’s resilience going forwards. Creating and maintaining complex systems requires the technology, structures and processes that fuel an enterprise perform at their best. Capable owners establishing new enterprises in the predominantly virtual environment created by Covid 19 have been required to develop new abilities and use new techniques. As my co-chair John Grimm observes: “Bringing together multiple organisations to create an aligned enterprise to deliver outcomes has historically been challenging, but trying to do this in a virtual environment poses a set of additional demands.” To overcome them takes commitment from all parties, some new skillsets and different approaches to the ways of working.
1 reply · Posted by Lucy Howard,
- capable owner
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Project 13 adopters double in number in 2020
Melissa Zanocco, head of programmes for the Infrastructure Client Group, provides an update on the growing number of Project 13 adopters. 2020 was an important year for Project 13: its partnership with the World Economic Forum, a growing community and, most significantly, the continued increase in Project 13 adopters. From the initial four early adopters I began working with shortly after the launch of the project in 2018, the adopter group has in 2020 expanded to 13 infrastructure programmes. The group now includes: Anglian Water Strategic Pipeline Alliance Environment Agency Next Generation Supplier Arrangements Heathrow Expansion National Grid London Power Tunnels Network Rail Transpennine Route Upgrade Sellafield Programme and Project Partners Sydney Water Partnering for Success Yorkshire Water Capital Programme Delivery British Antarctic Survey East West Rail Openreach Fibre First Devonport Royal Dockyard Anglian Water Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant relocation This is a fantastic cross-section of organisations that are all sharing their experiences and learning across the group as they adopt the Project 13 principles. A critical component of Project 13’s success is that it is sponsored by the Infrastructure Client Group (ICG), which ensures that we have owner organisations championing and driving the shift to new delivery models. More than half of the ICG’s members are Project 13 adopters. This significant increase in projects and programmes adopting Project 13 illustrates that the principles clearly resonate across infrastructure. From adopter group to community<br> As Project 13 transitions from a UK initiative to a global movement, the early adopter group is on its own transition to becoming the Project 13 adopter community. With its growing number of adopters, the community is looking forward to interacting across a wider group of stakeholders internationally – enriching the learning and sharing. Project 13 is about highly integrated enterprises working collaboratively across the supplier ecosystem to deliver better outcomes. It is therefore fitting that the community will now be made up of representatives from across the adopter enterprises rather than just the owner organisations. It will also be in regular contact with the Project 13 supplier readiness group and will nominate representatives to sit on it to ensure that suppliers who are not yet operating in an enterprise can benefit from their shared learning. In addition, the community provides important learning and feedback to the Project 13 development groups to ensure that the initiative is constantly evolving and reflecting best practice across the industry. Recap: what is Project 13?<br> Project 13 is an industry-led movement to improve the way in which high-performance infrastructure is delivered. It moves from transactional business models to collaborative operating models. Adopted by some of the UK’s largest infrastructure owners, it brings together skills and technologies in a collaborative environment. As well as creating a more highly skilled workforce and infrastructure that represents better value for all, it contributes to building a sustainable future for the construction industry. What is a Project 13 adopter?<br> They are organisations that intend to adopt Project 13 principles on a project or programme as part of a strategy to deliver better customer outcomes. Adopters become an integral part of the overall Project 13 initiative and benefit from being part of a shared best-practice community. The adopter programme provides Project 13 – and more broadly the ICG – with continued learning, enabling the continued development of Project 13 knowledge and tools. In applying the principles of Project 13, adopters get additional support from the ICG. What is the Project 13 adopter programme?<br> The purpose of the adopter community is to create a forum for the direct exchange of learning and best practice across owners or enterprises adopting Project 13 principles and to provide peer-to-peer guidance and support. The programme consists of: Project 13 adopter community forum Programme of themed workshops with topics decided by the adopters themselves Adopter/supplier readiness joint meetings Peer group hubs on specific topics or themes Peer review programme Site visits Events and workshops If you are interested in becoming a Project 13 adopter and joining the community then please contact me at melissa.zanocco@ice.org.uk
2 replies · Posted by Adam Kirkup,
- capable owner
- governance
- integration
- organisation
- digital transformation
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The Construction Playbook: what it is and why it matters
Melissa Zanocco, head of programmes at the Infrastructure Client Group, discusses the importance of the alignment between the Construction Playbook and the Project 13 Principles to the transformation of the industry. Project 13 welcomes the publication of the Construction Playbook, which aims to embed a new approach to the procurement and delivery of construction projects and programmes. As well as aligning with the overall Project 13 approach, the Project 13 principles are recommended in several places. The Playbook contains 14 main policy changes to drive the government’s agenda of "better, faster and greener delivery", including: Incentivising the industry to innovate by setting clear and appropriate outcome-based contract specifications, rather than defining upfront how infrastructure should be delivered Developing a consistent and mutually beneficial relationship with industry, moving away from a confrontational approach towards stronger relationship and contract management that will deliver continuous improvement over time Further embedding digital technologies to standardise the approach to generating and classifying data, data security and data exchange, and to support the adoption of the Information Management Framework and the creation of the National Digital Twin Better benchmarking to understand the whole life cost, value of a project and get an estimate range of what projects should cost Better allocation of risk between the sector and public buyers to mitigate risk being inappropriately managed or passed down the supply chain Based on the Outsourcing Playbook, the Construction Playbook has been developed over several months with industry and government collaborating through weekly workshops with Dale Evans, chair of Project 13. Implementation Project 13 is part of the Infrastructure Client Group (ICG) programme and is therefore a key vehicle for achieving the objectives of the Construction Leadership Council's Infrastructure Industry Working Group, led by the ICG. The group is governed by a programme group that includes senior representation from the Construction Playbook and so Project 13 will continue to play an active role in the extensive implementation plan. The Playbook is mandatory for all central government and arm’s length bodies (such as Highways England or Network Rail). It will be rolled out on a 'comply or explain' basis, with a Cabinet Office team monitoring and guiding implementation. It is therefore a significant step for Project 13’s aim of transforming the industry. Dale Evans, chair of Project 13, said: "The Construction Playbook is a really important step that provides clear and progressive direction on how government wants to work with construction. Project 13 is highly aligned with the principles set out in the Playbook and we look forward to supporting the next phase." Nirmal Kotecha, chair of the ICG management board and CLC task force member, said of its focus on an outcome-based approach:<br> "Defining clear outcomes from infrastructure investment is going to become a key competence for clients in future and this will form the basis for driving significant change in the way we procure and commercially incentivise organisations through the value chain to ensure they are fully aligned in the pursuit of the desired outcomes."
0 replies · Posted by Adam Kirkup,
- capable owner
- organisation
- governance
- integration
- digital transformation
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Project 13 and World Economic Forum united in drive for new infrastructure delivery model
2021 will see continuing impetus in the partnership between Project 13, the World Economic Forum and the Engineering and Construction Risk Institute to improve the quality and performance of infrastructure projects through the adoption of collaborative delivery models. Project 13 was initiated by the UK’s Infrastructure Client Group. In partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), Project 13 aims to help underpin collaboration, particularly as the world looks to infrastructure investment as an important part of the recovery from Covid-19. Governments looking to stimulate economies via infrastructure investment will want to make sure every penny counts. Old-school transactional, confrontational procurement will not deliver on that aim and the WEF is advocating a fresh approach. Oliver Tsai, platform curator at the World Economic Forum, said: “In our discussions with industry and government leaders about key objectives for the infrastructure sector, limitations of the conventional delivery model have consistently been identified as a challenge to improving outcomes in sustainability, resilience and technological innovation.” Following the 2020 annual meeting in Davos, the WEF launched its Collaborative Infrastructure Delivery Initiative , which seeks to address imbalances in risk sharing under current contract structures and improve collaboration between the public and private sectors. The WEF has partnered with Project 13 and the Engineering and Construction Risk Institute to advance the adoption of best practice in collaborative infrastructure delivery. The partnership between the World Economic Forum and Project 13 was officially announced in May 2020. Under this initiative, a series of online panel discussions and workshops to promote collaborative principles and the Project 13 approach among international project owners, engineering and construction companies, clients, partners and other industry stakeholders started in May 2020. It will continue in March 2021 with a panel consisting of infrastructure financiers and investors. The elements of Project 13 that will particularly help to meet the WEF’s ambitions are: Its focus on delivering better asset performance through a focus on outcomes rather than price Its collaborative procurement approach, using aligned supply chains to work together as an enterprise set up to deliver on those outcomes Its ability to better allocate risk. Tsai said: “An imbalance in risk allocation between public and private sectors under traditional contract structures poses a significant challenge to effective delivery and performance of infrastructure projects and it inhibits much needed innovation in the industry." The aims of the joint programme are to build a global community of proponents of collaborative delivery, to improve understanding of the challenges involved and to investigate and prioritise solutions needed to drive reforms in the infrastructure sector. Through the workshops, the WEF is aiming to build a community of advocates of collaborative delivery models. The intention is to work with all parts of the value chain in recognition that the change demanded requires a joined-up response. There will be a focus on specific groups or geographies where appropriate, with feedback from each workshop informing the next steps as an ongoing development process. “We are delighted that the Project 13 principles first set out by the Infrastructure Client Group are resonating with the global infrastructure community,” said Project 13 Chair Dale Evans. “The WEF partnership provides us with the opportunity to increase the potential sources of learning that will benefit all Project 13 practitioners.” Project 13 was launched in the UK in 2018 by the Infrastructure Client Group – a community of the UK’s most progressive infrastructure investors, government and industry. Along with the WEF, Project 13 has been adopted by clients including Network Rail, the Environment Agency, Heathrow, National Grid, Openreach, Anglian Water, East West Rail, Yorkshire Water, Sellafield Ltd, Sydney Water and British Antarctic Survey. About Project 13 Project 13 aims to shift the delivery of infrastructure to focus more clearly on outcomes for society. Achieving this will also help to boost productivity and certainty in delivery and to support a more sustainable, innovative, highly skilled construction industry. Key to it is the adoption of enterprise delivery models for infrastructure programmes and projects, moving from transactional, cost-driven procurement to value-driven, collaborative enterprises. Project 13 is underpinned by a framework of five capability pillars: capable owner, enterprise governance, organisation, integration and digital transformation. There are associated Project 13 principles and a maturity matrix that explains the journey necessary for participating organisations. Project 13 and the Infrastructure Client Group are hosted by the Institution of Civil Engineers.
0 replies · Posted by Adam Kirkup,
- capable owner
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A Systems Approach to Infrastructure Delivery: ICE report calls for technological focus
A major ICE-commissioned review explains how systems thinking can be used to improve the delivery of complex infrastructure projects, citing the Project 13 approach and the Principles underlying it. Download A Systems Approach to Infrastructure Delivery The current approach to delivering complex infrastructure projects is facing obsolescence. The sector is struggling to deal with projects that require complex systems to be planned, delivered and, most importantly, integrated to provide the mobility, energy, sanitation and other infrastructure services on which people depend.<br style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#574a46;font-size:16px;padding:0px;"><br style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#574a46;font-size:16px;padding:0px;">In these projects, traditional civil engineering, while still a large capital cost, exists to support a system that is made up of multiple physical, digital and human components. A new tunnel, for example, exists to support a system such as a railway that includes physical trains, stations and track; digital signalling, safety and communications; and human components such as the procedures followed by drivers. At the report's launch, Andrew McNaughton, steering group chair and former SYSTRA group chief operating officer, said: Interconnectivity is influencing infrastructure The use of technology to maintain and operate infrastructure networks means that interconnectedness has grown substantially in recent decades. Today, even relatively small projects are best seen as interventions into existing complex systems that provide the services needed by millions of people. In the future, the increasingly technology-based functionality of infrastructure systems will mean that a different mix of skills will be needed to execute these interventions. Access to infrastructure services has never been more important. Delivering the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, executing the transition to a net-zero economy and levelling up economic opportunity between countries and regions are all vital for our future. This report is a review into the benefits of applying systems thinking to the delivery of complex, major infrastructure projects and brings together a literature review and 30 interviews with project practitioners from the infrastructure, aerospace, defence, oil and gas, and technology sectors. ICE has used this insight to create a Systems Approach to Infrastructure Delivery (SAID), a model that can be used to help deliver better outcomes for infrastructure owners and users. Find out more about the SAID report and model by revisiting the ICE Strategy Session: A Systems Approach to Infrastructure Delivery. ICE_Systems_Report_final.pdf
0 replies · Posted by Adam Kirkup,
- integration
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Project 13 will help to rebuild a more sustainable construction industry
Mark Hansford, ICE director of engineering knowledge, explains why Project 13 is central to efforts to rebuild a more productive, sustainable construction industry post-Covid-19. Led by the Infrastructure Client Group and supported by ICE, the industry-wide change programme Project 13 is intended to improve outcomes for the public and infrastructure customers, deliver a more highly skilled, innovative workforce and create a more sustainable, productive construction industry. The collaborative enterprise business model officially moved into its implementation phase in May 2018. Back then, in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of UK contracting giant Carillion, it was hard to argue that existing business models were not broken. Fast forward two years and introduce the biggest shock to the construction industry in living memory – Covid-19 – and the call for change is deafening. Embedding more collaborative working between the industry and its clients, building on initiatives such as Project 13, is a key plank of the Construction Leadership Council’s recovery plan for the construction sector and it is easy to see why. The reasons for embracing Project 13 are compelling. At its heart, it advocates delivering projects through enterprises – long-term relationships between owners, investors, integrators, advisers and suppliers – and aligning all involved around a set of agreed outcomes that they then work collaboratively towards achieving. Delivery through enterprises To be clear, these outcomes are customer outcomes. This, says ICG Project 13 Chair Dale Evans, ensures that the voice of the customer is clearly articulated and investment is focused on its needs. “Outcomes provide the starting point for engagement and creating alignment between the owners of infrastructure and the deliverers,” he says. The Project 13 philosophy is also based on earlier engagement between infrastructure owners and integrated supply chain teams. Evans places emphasis on the word 'integrated' here. “These integrated teams can then support the application of innovative technology and more productive methods of delivery, such as manufactured solutions, thereby enabling continuous improvements in productivity,” he says. Lastly, Project 13 promotes a more sustainable construction industry. It aims to change the business model, connecting infrastructure owners and their supply chains to one that jointly incentivises performance; aligns reward with delivery of outcomes, not on volume of work done; and promotes greater understanding of cost drivers and risk across all organisations in the enterprise, with commercial incentives for collaboration to jointly mitigate risk, not transfer it. So how is Project 13 faring? It's doing well, according to early adopters of the philosophy at ICE's Strategy Session, Turning Theory into a Reality. There, adopters ranging from Network Rail in the UK to Sydney Water in Australia described how the Project 13 principles were being brought to bear on major infrastructure programmes. Still, it is not as simple as going home on a Friday night in an old model and turning up at work on Monday and instantly converting to the Project 13 way of working. Both Network Rail's and Sydney Water’s Project 13 enthusiasts make clear that real and bold leadership is required to move to these new delivery models and that all organisations – and all of us individually – have to be prepared to tackle some of the key blockers along the way. It’s clear and obvious that moving to an enterprise approach requires owner commitment from the outset and that the approach has to be developed by working much more closely with partners. An environment must be created where all involved collectively pursue the clear benefits of greater integration and collaboration. A focus on the cultural and behavioural aspects is an essential part of creating this environment – and in overcoming some of the behaviours embedded in our traditional thinking.
0 replies · Posted by Adam Kirkup,
- capable owner
- organisation
What is Project 13?
Project 13 is an industry-led response to infrastructure delivery models that fail not just clients and their suppliers, but also the operators and users of our infrastructure systems and networks.
It seeks to develop a new business model – based on an enterprise, not on traditional transactional arrangements – to boost certainty and productivity in delivery, improve whole life outcomes in operation and support a more sustainable, innovative, highly skilled industry.
Recent Discussions
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Alan Mc replied to a discussion
Do you think smart contracts can enable a systems approach to infrastructure delivery?
Great subject Josh and something I've been researching for the last few years, through a PhD project with the University of New South Wales, which will produce a proof of concept later this year. Would love to hear more about EHAB. Feel free to browse our website www.icontract.ai which has a number of publications on the research project so far. -
Tim Beckh replied to a discussion
Being prepared for unforseen unknowns
Greg's point about diversity of thinking and background is a really good one and the Capable Owner pillar considered this in depth some time ago. Those organisations made up of people from different backgrounds and experiences working together to pool ideas are shown to be much more resilient when facing unforeseen circumstances. Sadly, as an industry we are not good at bringing in leadership capability from other sectors. But diversity of background and thinking is not the complete answer.- organisation
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Andy Allen replied to a discussion
Outcome-based Delivery
From the development sector, I liked the simplcity of the Log Frame approach when devising and planning the best approaches and activities to meet an goal that is heavily influence by environmental factors. Using standard creativity processes, ideas for methods and activities were developed with budgets set. Effectiveness was the primary goal - "what methods have the capability of delivering an outcome effectively in the current enironment" - and a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) fram- capable owner
- governance
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Tim Beckh replied to a discussion
Infrastructure Leaders - Born or Constructed?
In the world of the Capable Owner, to what extent is the industry developing its senior people to be effective leaders of complex businesses rather than leaders of complex programmes? What relevant lessons can we learn from other industries?
