Balfour Beatty has entered into a collaborative design partnership with three of the UK’s leading consultants: Atkins, Mott MacDonald and WSP.

 

Designers and engineers from the four companies are also expected to collaborate on innovative solutions in key areas such as health and safety and value engineering.

 

Balfour Beatty claims that customers will benefit from earlier engagement with a coordinated team and improved, consistent working practices which will reduce construction and programme costs.

 

“This partnership will draw on decades of industry experience and combine it with the modern day technological expertise of our engineers and designers to deliver a truly lean, expert, trusted and safe way of working together as an industry,” commented Balfour Beatty’s major projects managing director Stephen Tarr.

 

Mike McNicholas of Atkins – which has recently been acquired by Canadian firm SNC Lavalin – added: “Infrastructure investment continues to be a high priority for the UK, but clients couldn’t be clearer in their message to industry that we need to deliver it differently to provide better value and outcomes.”

 

Important in achieving this, he said, will be “industry leading companies coming together to innovate and collaborate more effectively”.

 

Mott MacDonald’s Stephen Lawrence added that the partnership “will provide access to our global network of experts to offer new ideas and drive value and efficiency into the design process”.

 

WSP’s Alistair Kennedy said: “We look forward to working together to challenge the status quo for design build contracting in the UK.”

 

(Photo: Balfour Beatty)