FNew customers can offer working pipelines that stretch decades ahead, but Sellafield has projects planned for up to a century for the safe storage of nuclear waste long after plant operations have ceased.
It needs talent across a range of construction disciplines, not all with nuclear experience, and recognizes it is in a highly competitive market, with other major infrastructure projects such as Hinkley Point and HS2.
Sellafield has £7bn of capital projects planned over the next 20 years, mainly on complex facilities to store and treat nuclear waste to replace those built decades ago.
Around £1.8 billion is spent annually with its supply chain on works of all types, 38% of which is directed at SMEs.
Sellafield has developed its Program and Project Partner (PPP) model as a 20-year vehicle for project delivery. PPP includes Sellafield, KBR (project services), Jacobs (design and engineering), Morgan Sindall Infrastructure (civil construction management) and Doosan Babcock (construction process management).
These partners have in turn brought in 10 long-term tier two partners: Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick, Sir Robert McAlpine, Altrad Babcock, Parker Technical Services, Seddon, Severfield, Hare, NG Bailey, with two more to be appointed this autumn.
Project manager Andy Sharples says: “We are competing for talent in the UK infrastructure, heavy
civil engineering and mechanical engineering, and we have a portfolio of infrastructure projects to deliver over the next 20 years.”
Despite being involved with Sellafield on and off for decades, Sharples says: “The scale and size of what we’re doing blew me away, even though I’d been told verbally what to visualize.”
Sharples stresses that the need to build a large number of storage buildings means that not all contractors require experience in the nuclear industry.
He says: “A lot of what we do is normal, heavy work, civil engineering, mechanical and electrical qualification and earthworks. So we have chosen four partners for the PPP, but we are not limited to them and we are in the process of letting a wider supply chain work as the amount of support we need exceeds our five organisations. “
For those interested in bidding for Sellafield work, the route goes through the designated partners, who “many suppliers are currently talking to, and what makes them different is the longevity of the period they are working on and across multiple projects across Sellafield. It used to be ‘do one project and move on to the next’, but this portfolio offers lasting work for the next 20 years.”
Sellafield’s operations focus on robotics and modern construction methods because the site is only 2.5 km.2 and has more than 1,000 buildings.
West Cumbria’s relatively remote location has meant that the pandemic-era shift from suppliers to remote working has endured, “much of our design work is done from a base in Warrington and those who don’t need being on site they work remotely. from other places in the region,” says Sharples.
For those who need to be there, West Cumbria’s location close to the Lake District means it is an attractive place to live for many who are looking for new challenges.
Those working on site can expect a strong emphasis on safety and being assessed for their suitability to work on a nuclear site, both from a capability and safety perspective, as Sellafield is a highly for sure.
For companies large or small that can deliver what Sellafield needs, the prospect of a 20-year portfolio of work will be attractive.
SPONSORED BY SELLAFIELD
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