The Rail Electrification Alliance (REAL), is a major two-phase power upgrade between London & Edinburgh across the East Coast Mainline (ECML) delivered through an alliancing model of client/contractors/consultants.
In mid-2019, after a request from the project alliance board (PAB), we submitted our tendered rates & proposed methodology for consideration. In Oct 2019 we were awarded the commission & after a project start-up review with the PAB, we mobilised a 4–person team to carry out a broad commercial assurance & audit role. Covering off a backlog of unverified costs & legacy issues across all of the alliance members & driving the contract compliance question stringently to ensure the project was put back on the path of demonstrable governance & baselined against a strong value-for-money message. To support this, our legacy assessment also drew on our wider industry experience & lessons learnt as the Commercial Assurance provider to the Hinkley Point C project.
We ensured our innovations & cost challenge platforms developed through our analysis of over £3.6bn of sunk costs to date were also made available so that an effective forward & budget commensurate team was jointly reconfigured for phase 2.As a result, since tackling the legacy issues we have reduced the team size & embedded 2 FTE resources to act as “Commercial Auditors” in an expanded hybrid role of Commercial Auditor / Commercial Practice Subject Matter expert for the PAB on an ongoing basis. Reflecting our Senior Commercial Management experience in the rail sector to ensure that the client’s cost base is correct, the forecast is accurate, the risks are being managed in accordance with the contract & that change control is challenged effectively, keeping the target & cost parameters under commercial tension.
In doing this our team operate as experienced Commercial Advocates collaborating with & helping an enthusiastic but inexperienced client commercial team develop an assured scope of services by introducing MJA innovations, knowledge share & reflecting industry best practice across the project.
