Infrastructure Client Group

Established under ICE's guidance, the Group helps to support the implementation of the Government's Infrastructure Cost Review Report 2010. This highlighted the opportunity to improve the delivery of major infrastructure projects and make efficiency savings of at least 15 per cent by 2015.

The group addresses client organisation and supply chain issues. These are often barriers to innovation and sustainability of the supply chain and significant drivers for higher cost. So far, opportunities to reduce costs and deliver greater value have been identified. These include:

• improving the commissioning, procurement and delivery of projects
• more effective collaboration at all levels of the infrastructure supply chain

From Transactions to Enterprises

ICG has just launched this major report that sets out a new strategic approach to delivering high performing infrastructure.

Meet the group

The Infrastructure Client Group is made up of experts from across a range of sectors, not of all of whom are ICE members. Find our more about the group chair and details of individual members.

• Panel chair: Andy Mitchell

  

  In May 2014, Andy Mitchell was appointed Chief Executive of Thames Tideway Tunnel Limited. He brings to the role almost five years’ worth of experience as Programme Director of Crossrail.

What are we working on?

The group is a forum for driving client-led initiatives. It enables major infrastructure clients to share experience and develop guidance and best practice materials in order to improve delivery of UK infrastructure. Work is currently underway on:

• Delivering high performing infrastructure (aka Project 13) split into five workstreams:
  • Governance – led by Richard Threlfall, KPMG
  • Organisation – led by Dale Evans, Anglian Water and Nirmal Kotecha, UK Power Networks
  • Integration – led by Mark Reynolds, Mace
  • The capable owner – led by Phil Wilbraham, Heathrow
  • Digital transformation – led by Mark Enzer, Mott MacDonald
• Implementing the Project Initiation Routemap: led by Simon Lawrence, IPA and Denise Bower, MPA. (More information below).
• Best Practice in Alliancing - led by Dale Evans with John Grimm and Neilan Perumal, all Anglian Water. The Alliancing Best practice in Infrastructure Delivery report was launched at the IUK Infrastructure Client Group Symposium in October 2014
  • The Alliancing Code of Practice, with a step-by-step guidance and nine case studies, was launched in October 2015. There is a excel-based Alliancing self-assessment tool too, to identify areas that need improvement when conducting an Alliance, either before or during the Alliance.
• Supplier performance measurement led by Keith Waller with Julia Lydall, both IPA.
• Tracking and lowering infrastructure carbon led by David Riley, Anglian Water.
• Unifying and simplifying Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI): led by Manon Bradley, MPA.
• Unifying and simplifying Health, Safety and Wellbeing: led by Alasdair Reisner, CECA.
• Supporting and using the Infrastructure Industry Innovation Platform (i3P): led by Andy Mitchell with Nick Sumption, both Tideway.
• Improving infrastructure risk management through the Infrastructure Risk Group (IRG): led by Simon Adams, Crossrail 2
• Collaborative project teams - These collaboration products may have a different area of focus, but do set out a consistent set of collaborative principals, which the ICG endorse. They are equally useful for Alliancing and for wider collaboration. They are not sufficient on their own but are a good start. For more information on these, please contact management@ice.org.uk.
  • The Production Management in Design and Construction guide was launched in July 2015. This guide describes how collaborative methods can be used to improve the design and construction of infrastructure projects.
  • a series of webinars was held on collaboration:
    • Lean Construction Management and BIM: How to speed up construction by Patrick Theis, DS Consulting, and Martin Cowell, TfL; recording.
    • Managing Change in Complex Projects: Configuration Management, Asset Information and Big Data by Jennifer Whyte, with Miles Ashley, recording.
    • The role of the owner Graeme Winch recording.
• Implementing Alliancing using NEC contracts: Clear guidance on how to use NEC3 contracts for alliance arrangements has been produced. Find out more and download the free guide.

Related work

Cost Review

IUK, which became the IPA, was responsible for the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 and the Infrastructure Cost Review 2010. The IUK Cost Review is a three year efficiency programme targeting a 15 to 20% reduction in the cost of infrastructure delivery in the UK. The July 2014 report is available to download.

Water Cyclicality

A sister group of the Infrastructure Client Group is addressing the issue of water investment cyclicality. In July 2012 they produced a report Smoothing investment cycles in the water sector.

Infrastructure UK and Ofwat wrote this study after conducting detailed interviews with three water companies; Anglian Water, Southern Water and United Utilities.

Work continues to develop and implement the recommendations set out in this report. It is estimated that the effect of cyclicality in water investment is between three and five per cent lower productivity.

Project Initiation Routemap

The Project Intitiation Routemap enables a client organisation to assess their delivery capability in relation to the complexity of their project or programme.

The Project Initiation Routemap is part of the suite of assessment tools that IUK put in place in 2014. It provides a coherent approach to assessing and building an effective delivery environment, combining best practice tools and case studies.

The Project Initiation Routemap handbook and factsheet.

The Project Initiation Routemap Governance module.

The Project Initiation Routemap Organisational Design and Development module.

The Project Initiation Routemap Execution Strategy module.

The Project Initiation Routemap Requirements module.

The Project Initiation Routemap Procurement module.

The Project Initiation Routemap Asset Management module.

The Project Initiation Routemap Risk Management module.

IUK has formed a Steering Group to support the development of the Project Intitiation Routemap and address issues during early adoption including:

IUK Steering Group

University of Leeds
Crossrail
The National Audit Office
Transport for London
Anglian Water
Constructing Excellence
Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme (HMEP)
Major Projects Authority
Institution of Civil Engineers and
IUK Client Working Group