Our Supply Chain
MWH Treatment operates in 6 major frameworks for Anglian Water, Scottish Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water, Thames Water and United Utilities all with established supply chains working daily to our high standards. While our clients value our direct labour delivery, we equally recognise and appreciate the importance of our integrated supply chain supporting the often specialist nature of our projects in the water sector.
MWH Treatment’s evolution
Treatment’s service offering has significantly evolved from AMP1 through to AMP7. This reflects the changing demands within the water sector from public ownership to privatisation of the sector in 1989, from our clients’ needs to Ofwat’s requirements and the increased awareness for the need to deliver safe, sustainable solutions that offer the end customer value for money. In AMP1 Products and Processes were 80% of our effort, whereas today in AMP7 80% of our effort is on Design and Build. Throughout the AMPs we have led the way in our thinking and application, not least of which was the foresight to create a company by pulling together the expertise of Ames Crosta, Whitehead & Poole and Farrer in readiness for the privatisation of the water sector.
In AMP1 our process skills were used to research, develop and apply novel treatment processes for niche applications dislodging traditional treatments. We manufactured a product range for proven treatment elements, our design-build work was focused on project MEICA elements, with a small internal plant support function and our own fitters delivering the installations. Supply chain offerings were limited in AMP1.
AMP cycles 2-5 saw client models change, towards turnkey delivery, with a rise of integrated design-build schemes and programmes, this suited our process skills across a wider offering. Leading the market, we developed our internal construction and commissioning capabilities, to complement our offerings as a total solutions provider. We re-balanced our research and development and product range as our supply chain started to mature in this arena. We also added an asset management offering around leakage to broaden our scope of services.
AMP6 moved towards outcomes, putting even greater focus on leakage and particularly design-build of solutions and innovation. This led us towards focusing on the integration and performance of ever more innovative supply chain treatment processes using our in-house skills, developing digital modelling capabilities to aid this collaboration.
AMP7 is now fully outcomes based, with a shift in models to a more collaborative working approach with supply chain, harnessing the best of our combined organisations. This collaboration provides our clients with innovative, sustainable solutions, reducing waste and driving higher levels of productivity through initiatives such as digital twins and off-site manufacture for on-site assembly.
Working collaboratively
MWH Treatment’s focus remains the UK Water industry. We engage our supply chain strategically and collaboratively. In 2018 we spent the equivalent of 50% of our revenue on the procurement of subcontracted services and goods. We manage large and complex programmes for six top UK Water Companies. Our suppliers are key to our overall success as a business. Ensuring we create the right commercial models and operational environments with our key suppliers is essential, if we are to secure innovation through early engagement.
Our central procurement office drives strategy and we remain agile and flexible regionally to support our clients and deliver on our promises. Our philosophy is to work collaboratively in a strategic and sustainable way with our suppliers to innovate and add value to our solutions. We will continually review and develop our supply chain thinking. We believe the quality of our supplier relationships will be a clear differentiator to our services.
Supply Chain Resources
We have helpful resources for our supply chain listed in the links below:
People Matters Charter
We are signed up to the Supply Chain Sustainability School People Matters Charter, which you can find out more about in the link below.
Modern Slavery
At MWH Treatment we have zero tolerance to Modern Slavery and understand the specific risks faced by the construction sector as a target industry for human trafficking. We are committed to taking all steps to try and eradicate Modern Slavery or human trafficking from our organisation and supply chains.
Please take a look at the Supply Chain guide for Modern Slavery below which we ask all our Supply Chain to follow and consider in how they operate.
Leading the way with innovation
50% of our innovation is initially created by our supply chain.
Listed below is just a small sample of the innovation harvested from early strategic and collaborative engagement of our critical supply chain partners. We aim to create an ecosystem that supports our supply chain to generate ideas across our projects and programmes.
Coagulation & Clarification Batch, Severn Trent
Standardised designs for polymer dosing rigs across 9 schemes in the Coagulation & Clarification batch programme for, Severn Trent, developed collaboratively with Colloid resulted in unit cost reductions of £50k per rig.
Minworth, Severn Trent
Working collaboratively with Dunphy Combustion we produced an off-site constructed optimised boiler house. Using BIM and digital install rehearsals we optimised the delivery plan. The Boiler House was constructed in 4 days saving 5 weeks on an optimised programme and 30 weeks against traditional methods.
Carbon Reduction working with our supply chain
We regularly hold focused workshops with our strategic supply chain including carbon. MWH Treatment has calculated its organisational carbon footprint for the last 10 years, which has been externally verified through the Achilles CEMARS and now named Carbon Reduce scheme. In 2019 MWH Treatment exceeded its 5-year target by achieving a 35% reduction in carbon emissions intensity (calculated as the tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, tCO2e, for every million pounds of turnover) , as well as a 41% reduction in absolute total emissions. For 2020 a new target has been set to achieve a further 20% reduction by 2024 (based on 2019 performance). In 2020 we have reduced our carbon intensity by 38% (when compared with base year 2012 -2014).
Relationship driven performance
Our supply chain’s performance is managed via our procurement performance team, using our online performance management system, covering health & safety, maximising positive environmental impact, commercial, right first time quality programme, collaboration and satisfaction. Project managers contribute feedback using our mobile phone app reporting monthly on their projects and this data is used to drive continual supply chain improvements, which ultimately influences future work allocation.
Our proactive auditing, expediting and communication of expectations with our suppliers resulted in the Watermark Systems Supplier Performance Score improving from 68.3% to 81.3% between 2015 and 2018.
Through close daily collaboration with GAP Group Limited, implementing permanent in office secondment of liaison staff, the Supplier Performance Score has steadily improved from 68.1% in 2014 to 78.0% in 2018.
Setting our future standards
Our business has committed to the Procurement Skills Accord initiative to address the industry’s technical and operational skills shortages by encouraging investment and training throughout the supply chain. Each year the signatories on-board at least one of their strategic suppliers to become signatories and work towards embedding the commitments.
In meeting the requirements of the Procurement Skills Accord. MWH Treatment have demonstrated once again that it is committed to investing in the technical skills of its own people and encouraging its supply chain to adopt the same value.
Security of supply
The Water sector represented 5.2% of the government’s £308bn national infrastructure spend in 2017*. Our central supply chain team maintains vigilance around understanding the macro view of the infrastructure procurement world, current and future trends and the impact these have on resource demand and materials prices across our sector. These risk planning activities drive our strategic sourcing decisions, at national, programme, batch and project level for our clients benefit.
*source ICE SoN Investment 2018
Enhanced supply chain value
Melbourne HLPS
This project was to mitigate significant risk at Melbourne High Lift Pumping Station. The solution required pipeline construction of 1.8m depth culminating in a complex connection arrangement. Forkers were identified and engaged early due to our previous working relationship, attitude and deep excavation skill sets.
“The collaborative planning process MWH Treatment initiated and continued from early solution stages through to commissioning drove down into the detail of what we all needed to deliver for the project and provided the platform for everyone to contribute; ensuring value ideas were embedded into the design. That is not always the case when we work with some clients. We believe this made a significant difference on this project.”
Duncan Brooks, Forkers Contract Manager
Minworth THP – Cambi
The £37m Thermal Hydrolysis Plant (THP) at Minworth was a critical asset project. Our supply chain performance team visited CAMBI’s factory throughout the manufacture and testing periods to ensure work was proceeding in accordance with the programme and appropriate standards were being maintained. This together with detailed collaborative planning and digital rehearsals with CAMBI, resulted in the plant being delivered 4 weeks early.
‘’Minworth has been a beacon for collaboration between supply chain and main contractor on complex technical processes, it has helped shape the way we deliver these schemes with others, particularly the use of 3D and 4D modelling, helping us all visualise the plan and manage the interfaces’’
Paul Whalley, Cambi UK
Supply chain learning exchange
We regularly look for opportunities to jointly develop our graduates and improve supply chain relationships and understanding. We recently utilised this with CEMA Automation, an approved MCC supplier, where one of our @one Alliance graduates spent time on secondment. It helped develop hands on skills and experience of MCC development and build, something that will help improve the procurement and design of MCC’s going forward.
‘’I’ve spent 2-3 days per week at their facility in Nottingham getting hands on in the development, build and testing of LV switchgear. This is proving invaluable. I’m learning so much about what goes into an MCC on our projects and how we interact with our supply chain today, seeing opportunities for improvement for the future that I can take back to our Alliance to implement.’’
Gareth Merrill, MWH Treatment, EICA Graduate Engineer
