Underwater Construction Corporation (UCC)
In 2017 Magnox Ltd appointed UCC as the contractor of choice to decommission the cooling ponds at Sizewell A power station using a combination of diving, hot and cold cutting and sludge suction removal.
“You did an exceptional job for us at Sizewell, and it was our luck to have found you. Thank you for all your attention to detail and going above and beyond in the whole navigation of this NEC3 contract. We certainly will look to you and your group for future support at Chapelcross and beyond. Thanks again for everything.”
JIM NICHOLLS, DIRECTOR, UNDERWATER CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION INC.
THE CHALLENGE
Blueprint were engaged to act as the project controls and commercial function for UCC as they entered the UK market. The challenges for UCC were;
The prescriptive approach that Magnox require its contractors to adopt in the use of a performance baseline to measure the progress of work against
The use of earned value metrics to underpin progress and cost performance
The use of the NEC3 contract, option C target cost
The need to maintain a costed schedule
The management of a baseline change procedure in conjunction with the NEC3 contract
The need to process a high volume of change
Cost pressure to deliver a service and demonstrate value for money
Blueprint’s challenge was to work with UCC to bring expertise to the management and control of the project using a methodology that UCC was not familiar with and wrap this up in in a flexible service that brought value to the project.
THE SOLUTION
Blueprint provided a Project Controls Manager to lead the Engineering project controls activities and to put in place a team to provide this service. The first step was to understand the scope, the organisational interfaces and the delivery model and to work with the key stakeholders to identify the requirements.
Key activities included:
Blueprint project controls team identified and embedded into the Engineering programme to provide Planning, Change Management, Performance Reporting and project controls oversight for the programme
Project Controls Improvement Plan developed and implemented
Establishment of weekly and monthly reporting and dashboards
Earned Value Management established to monitor and assess performance
Alignment of contract change, project change and risk management processes
Established drumbeat of performance reviews
THE RESULT
The key benefits realised were as follows:
A flexible service offering that meant significant savings in outsourcing project controls compared to permanent employment of a UK team
A satisfied end client, Magnox, had the work delivered ahead of schedule and well under budget and were able to maintain cost and schedule surety throughout the project lifetime
This enabled UCC to move to other UK work, with a successfully completed project as a great reference for other clients, of course with Blueprint in support
Steve Ingram
For more information regarding Blueprint services or to discuss how we can help your business, please contact Steve on +44 (0)1453 383211 or complete our enquiry form below.