Download - Devonport Dockyard Project Profile

Details:CONTEXT• Devonport Royal Dockyard, a central part of Britain’s naval history since 1690, occupied a vast

300-acre site along three miles of the river Tamar. Its 14 docks and five basins were used to repair and refit up to 60 percent of the Navy’s vessels including nuclear submarines and surface ships such as aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, survey ships, Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, and vessels from visiting navies. At its peak, 25,000 employees made it central to the region’s economy as the biggest employer across a range of design, engineering. and manufacturing jobs.

• In the early 1990s, the UK Ministry of Defence reviewed how to maintain Britain’s nuclear de-terrent. After a lengthy competitive process, Devonport was chosen as the designated refit and refuel base for the new generation of larger Vanguard Class submarines. This major upgrade would aslo require the overhaul of two docks to accommodate the smaller, existing class of submarines.

• The government conceded the dockyard was inefficient and wanted an industry partnership to find massive savings. In order for it to survive in a more competitive environment for refitting and refurbishing surface ships, it would need to be set on a commercial footing, bidding for work from foreign governments and non-military clients.

Continued on following page

Devonport Royal Dockyard

Injecting Private Sector Expertise into a Critical Public Sector Facility

Client: UK Ministry of Defence

Entities: Devonport Management Ltd (DML) - a consortium of Brown & Root, Balfour Beatty, Weir Group, and Barclays de Zoetre Wedd

Location: Devon, UK

Scope: Program Management, Engineering, Construction

Status: Completed - 2007

Devon, UK

Details:ANALYSIS• For the nuclear safety upgrade, the MoD brief was a single page of “Cardinal Points” - detailing only the

number of submarine facilities needed, and the dates they were required by. The DML consortium, led by Brown & Root, undertook a detailed scoping exercise to meet the vast range of complex challenges, including civil engineering, nuclear engineering, risk & safety, environmental, stakeholder management, and personnel issues.

• Paramount was the need to upgrade the docks to mitigate the risk of an earthquake, which had the potential to cause catastrophic nuclear spillage.

DESIGN• Brown & Root applied three decades of experience managing large, complex offshore oil & gas projects

to implement a cultural change in management, control, safety, and regulatory standards and systems. Managers from the oil & gas side of the business were brought in. The key was an integrated, collaborative approach, with shared objectives.

• To boost private business, the consortium developed an exclusive service for wealthy private clients wanting to design, build, or refurbish large, be-spoke yachts - exploiting the size, security, and secrecy that the dockyard offered.

• For the nuclear upgrade program, the consortium formed an Alliance - another key learning Brown & Root had pioneered in the oil & gas sector. This risk and reward system pooled the methods, costs, risks, and profits of the five principal contractors, thus aligning them to shared objectives to make the project as efficient and effective as possible.

• The Devonport Alliance Redevelopment Team (DART) was made up of DML, Brown & Root (project and program management), BNFL (radioactive material and fuel experts), Rolls-Royce (reactor design and construction experts), Strachan & Henshaw (mechanical handling experts), and Babtie (civil engineering consultants).

EXECUTION• Approximately 10,000 public sector staff were transferred into the private sector (using “TUPE” process), resulting in improvement in pay and condi-

tions.

• Management processes and controls were streamlined and tightened; Brown & Root assumed overall management of the dockyard covering security, design, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning.

• Commercial directors were appointed ot drive more effective and efficient business practices.

• Devonport Yachts was established as the largest yacht building yard in Europe, specializing in three areas: refit and alterations; new-builds of 150+ ft yachts costing up to £20 million; and conversions of commercial vessels to motor yachts at around £10 million each.

• Brown & Root led the program management of more than 100 separate contractors for the largest nuclear construction job in Europe in many years. Up to 2,700 personnel were security cleared and brought on to the site. Operations were maintained at the dockyard during the project.

• Two battleship docks - 14 and 15 - were built to strengthen the existing concrete structure with a forest of 100ft-long solid rock anchors.

Highlights:• Succesful transition of the first naval and critical nuclear facility to a private sector partnership (Government-owned, Government-operated) and later to

full privatization; UK’s nuclear deterrent maintained without compromise

• Transferred systems and experience from vast projects in oil & gas sector to defense; facilitated cultural change in the management and operations of the dockyard

• Savings of £123 million achieved in the initial seven year contract

• Major efficiencies found in workforce and changes achieved without any industrial action by the 17 trade unions on the site

Continued on following page



Location: Devon, UK




Devon, UK

Highlights:• Brought in £6 million in outside business in the first year - against a target of £1.5 million - including

an eight-week fefit of the Royal Yacht of Oman and the refurbishment of 28 power units for high-speed British Rail trains

• The Dockyard continues to successfully broaden its commercial horizons in military and non-military vessels. In 2005 alone, the company won competitive work worth £175 million.

• Devonport Yachts became one of the UK’s leading yacht companies. Additional to the earnings “taken ashore” by the yacht yard’s employees, subcontract work was established across the West Country, and further afield, from fabrics and furnishings for vessels, to timber, transport, and accommodation for the many visitors.

• Commercial expertise also expanded considerably in field such as subsea engineering, optical and weapons systems, nuclear engineering, electronic design and computer control systems, and specialist fabrications.

• Adapted to a major change in the seismic specifications for the nuclear facilities upgrade, which increased the cost, but still delivered docks 14 and 15 on time.



Location: Devon, UK




Devon, UK

Download - Devonport Dockyard Project Profile

Top Related