16 Dec 03. Following recent media inquiries, AMEC, the international project management and engineering services company, can confirm it was appointed by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in August 2003, to provide alliancing expertise to the project team delivering the Royal Navy’s new generation of aircraft carriers. This consultancy work is now complete although AMEC is available to provide further assistance as required. (See BATTLESPACE UPDATE Vol.5 ISSUE 50, December 18th 2003).

AMEC carried out a nine-week evaluation of the structure and effectiveness of a major project alliance (comprising an MoD integrated project team, BAe Systems and Thales UK) being considered to deliver the carriers under the Government’s Carrier Vessel Future programme.

AMEC advised the MoD on how industry “best practice” could be used to enhance and develop the Alliance. Its work supported the MoD’s SMART acquisition strategy, which seeks to achieve optimum efficiency and value for money in defence procurement.

The alliance approach to delivery of complex projects was pioneered in the offshore oil and gas industry, where major quality, cost and programme benefits are achieved through alliance partnerships between clients, contractors and supply chain partners. As a major service provider to the oil and gas industry since the 1960s, AMEC is a recognised expert in alliancing, an approach which it has also used successfully on major onshore infrastructure projects in the aviation, nuclear, chemical and industrial sectors.