National Grid's usual practice has been to issue contracts on a tender basis once much of the concept design work is complete, but a mutual realisation that it was missing out on the best possible solutions has led to a novel way of working, which the organisation has piloted with Siemens and other key contractors.
This awareness coincided with a strategic decision to significantly ramp up capital investment plans over the next few years, which in turn would be reliant on key suppliers like Siemens going the extra mile to ensure the efficient use of resources on all sides.
The Joint Activity Solutions (JAS) initiative now provides a collaborative framework for National Grid , Siemens and other suppliers to work as a team to deliver capital investment projects faster and more cost-effectively.
The approach enables National Grid and its suppliers to manage existing and future resources more effectively and assess any risks likely to occur during the project’s lifecycle so they can plan how to deal with them.
| “Siemens is one of the organisations with which we’d naturally choose to undertake a JAS project. Because of its size, stability and financial strength, it’s clearly going to be there for us in the future.” |
| Jon Carlton |
| Director of Network Strategy |
| National Grid |