Thames Water taps Atkins as strategic delivery partner

Engineering consultancy Atkins has been appointed as a strategic delivery partner to Thames Water. The work will see the firm deliver asset management, project management and technical assurance services to support the utility’s transition to an ‘intelligent client’ model.

Atkins is a design, engineering and project management consultancies, employing over 19,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe. The company’s portfolio notably includes work on the controversial Hinkley Point nuclear power-plant, and Crossrail2 project. In 2017, Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin acquired Atkins, attracted by its 2016 revenue of £1.8 billion.

2017 also saw Atkins named among a cohort of professional services firms to become part of a new consulting framework for Thames Water, due to run until 2030. The list of advisory firms also included Mott MacDonald, Arcadis and Ricardo Energy & Environmentin its five lots, which will allow Thames Water to draw on the consultancy expertise of lot members to solve strategic conundrums over the coming decade.

Thames Water was founded in 1989, and provides water services to more than 9 million clean water customers in London and the Thames Valley, and sewage services to more than 15 million customers. As the firm looks to enhance its services to its clients, it has resolved to transition to an ‘intelligent client’ model, as part of the £9 billion AMP7 capital programme. In order to help realise this transformation, Thames Water has once more tapped Atkins, enlisting it to deliver asset management, project management and technical assurance services for the transition.

Andy Dunn, Chief Scientist and Head of Engineering at Thames Water, said, “We are pleased to have Atkins as part of our Engineering Delivery Partnership as we enhance our ‘intelligent client’ role within Thames Water. We have a challenging programme of work for AMP7 and I am looking forward to the support Atkins will provide as Thames Water rises to that challenge.”

Atkins is already providing engineering, commercial and environmental consultancy services to Thames Water, as part of the group’s long-term strategy to tackle challenges including population growth and climate change, while ensuring bills remain affordable. This new £20 million, five-year contract will see Atkins employees seconded into the asset management and capital delivery functions of Thames Water to advise on future work such as masterplanning, asset modelling, surveying, data generation and analysis and delivering a range of business-critical strategic studies.

Philip Hoare, President at Atkins commented, “This appointment will see us supporting Thames Water across a breadth of disciplines, providing technical capabilities to the utility company during its transition to an ‘intelligent client’ delivery model. We look forward to working closely with Thames Water over the next five years to explore more sustainable ways of working and deliver value to the customers of the biggest water and wastewater utility in the UK.”