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SMEInnovations

tkins’ Dave Wilson, market lead for decommissioning North, showcases some of the smaller businesses who are thriving through collaboration

with larger firms and the initiatives that are driving innovation.

The nuclear decommissioning industry in the UK spends £1.7 billion each year on procuring goods and services across its UK sites. One-quarter of that spend is with small and medium-sized suppliers, and it plans to increase the figure to 31 per cent over the next three years. Smaller businesses bring sought-after expertise and an innovative approach to the waste management supply chain but they often struggle to find the best route to market or to have enough cash in reserve to advance their technology and to survive the inevitable ups and downs.

We are working closely with several entrepreneurs in Cumbria to ensure they have the support they need to bring their products and services to the decommissioning market, whether that’s providing business advice, help navigating compliance for working in the nuclear industry or sheer moral support. In each case, the genuine relationship that has been built has delivered significant benefits for our clients: it has enabled us to reduce hazards, improve efficiency, and deliver value for money solutions. But there is more to it. Below, company directors from two leading companies in our supply chain, describe how they have grown within their communities, in the industry and even across sectors.

Forth EngineeringBased near Maryport in Cumbria

In the early 2000s, Forth Engineering was approached by engineers at Sellafield who were seeking an innovative solution to a very specific problem. “They wanted to size reduce scaffold poles that were six metres underwater,” explains Forth’s commercial director, Martin Lewis. “So we devised a remotely operated tool that would do that for them. From there they said it would be good if they could see what was going on in the depths of the pond, so we added a camera. And then it was dark so we added some lights. And from there the business evolved.”

Fourteen years later, the company’s remote engineering and robotics business has expanded to include a large deep-recovery facility. The state-of-the-art complex, which has been developed in partnership with Atkins, is a scaled-down version of the legacy ponds in the nuclear estate. It is almost 30 metres long, 10 metres wide, and six metres deep, and is serviced by a 10 ton overhead crane.

Together the companies have created a safe place for people to trial and learn about the equipment, meaning they spend as little time as possible in hazardous environments. In addition, any modifications that need to be made in response to the testing can be done on the Forth site. “We have engineers and technicians here on-site who can react quickly and make modifications to equipment to allow the clients we are working with to deliver projects efficiently,” explains Martin.

Since the early years, Atkins has maintained the license on the facility, enabled Forth to run it as their own and committed to using Forth to fabricate and test Atkins designed components for clients. This has created a steady flow of income for Forth Engineering, which is always welcomed by smaller firms. But according to Martin, the benefits of the partnership only start there.

“It gives us the confidence to look at projects that we probably wouldn’t consider if we operated on our own. Knowing that we have Atkins in the background means we’re open to opportunities that we would previously have disregarded because we thought we were too small,” he says.

For example, last year, Sellafield announced its new decommissioning delivery partnerships. “As one of Atkins’ strategic partners we’ve found ourselves to be quite a key player in the delivery of that programme. On our own, we wouldn’t have been considered. But now we’re seeing work coming from that particular partnership into our facility.”

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people across the UK try to turn their good ideas into sought-after products and services. Collectively, these entrepreneurs make an important contribution to the economy, and some, to the nuclear supply chain. But how do fledgling businesses navigate the complex and regulated waste management industry and who do they turn to for advice?

Refining supply chain gold

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knew he could help. ‘Two years earlier, I had been trying to develop equipment that would pick up cockles from just below the surface of the exposed seabed,’ Andy explains. ‘We did a great job of collecting everything but we couldn’t select the cockles from the sand fast enough for the fishermen. When I got the enquiry from the engineers I suddenly realised that this technology, while it hadn’t been suitable for its original purpose, would allow us to remove radioactive sludge from the bottom of a nuclear storage pond. That’s because it could pick up everything and that’s exactly what they wanted to do.’

Andy decided to refocus his business, gradually moving away from the fishing industry and into nuclear waste management. ‘I was already looking to enter a new market to ensure my business didn’t suffer from the seasonal fluctuations that are inevitable when you’re working in the marine environment. Living close to Sellafield, I had heard about the challenges of decommissioning - how can we collect the sludge and what can we do with it? Solving that problem was already in the back of my mind.’

He says that while there are many parallels between the two sectors, especially regarding hazard reduction, he still needed support from big business to help him navigate the new landscape. ‘We just embraced the uncertainty of moving into a new market but the learning curve is steep. To start from scratch and then move to a position of being a trusted supplier is very, very difficult. Without guidance from companies like Atkins it would have been even more challenging.’

Andy goes on to say, ’The biggest issue that Atkins’ engineers helped us address was the

With a mission to deliver genuine value for money in the delivery of nuclear decommissioning, operators and supply chain alike are always on the lookout for new innovations from non-nuclear sectors that can deliver benefits. Who would have thought some of these innovations would come from a small business owner in the fishing industry and how did they make their way into the nuclear industry?

Cockle fishing and sludge retrieval: A match made in innovation heaven

EnergyMatters: The nuclear waste opportunity16

ave Wilson, Atkins’ market lead for nuclear fuel cycle, continues his exploration of the role big companies can play in refining

supply chain gold.

Andy Barr had been manufacturing trawling equipment for the scallop fishing industry when engineers from Atkins (formerly of EnergySolutions) asked him to help them address the challenges of decommissioning. He admits it was an unexpected request but he very quickly

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The now award-winning company has expanded into the oil and gas sector, taking its knowledge of remote inspection into other hazardous environments. But its directors also remember where they started. Martin says Forth Engineering, which now employs 33 people, is proud of its west Cumbrian heritage so it seeks to ensure the benefits of its growth filter into the community too. “Our directors are Cumbrian, and all our people are as well. We have strong links to this area and that is reflected in our business policies.”

Cumbria O&M Services (COMS)Based in Cleator Moor, near Whitehaven

“My business partner, Dave Garratt, and I had spent many years at Sellafield before we started our own company,” explains Cliff Woodman, business director at Cumbria O&M Services (COMS). “We had a lot of contacts on the site, we knew how it ran, we understood the processes that we would need to comply with, and that experience was invaluable. But we hadn’t developed an organisation from scratch and we recognised that we were going to need help.”

Their intention was to provide operations and maintenance, and project handover support to the nuclear industry. It is, they admit, a niche market that encompasses all pre-operations requirements from the technical documentation that organisations are required to hand over at the end of a project; to the manuals for the eventual operators and trainers; setting up maintenance and asset management regimes; detailing inspection requirements; and identifying the spares that will need to be held to enable ongoing maintenance. “Our offer was built around our core experience but other than that we had a blank canvas,” says Cliff. “An opportunity came up - we had work we knew we could deliver - but we didn’t have any commercial routes into the site.”

At the time, Atkins was providing design and engineering services for Sellafield and offered support through its existing contractual arrangements. “But first it challenged us in several different areas,” explains Cliff. “When we first met the team our company had not been trading

so we still had other jobs. Atkins encouraged us to think about our commitments, as well our resourcing strategy, insurance requirements and business continuity plans for example, so we did all of that in the background. It made us focus quite clearly on where we wanted to go.”

Over the years, COMS has grown from just the two founding members to a team of more than 30 people. Its relationship with Atkins has evolved too. It recently received notification that its joint COMS/Atkins bid for the Low Level Waste Repository design support contract has been successful. Cliff says, “This is a great example of a tier 2/small business collaboration and we are thrilled to be able to reciprocate some of the support Atkins has given us over the last three years. We have harnessed the combined strength of Atkins’ design and project management capabilities and COMS’ pre-operations and systems engineering expertise. We are also employing 100% local talent and are supporting graduate and trainee involvement.”

COMS recently opened a new office in Cleator Moor, outside Whitehaven and is pleased to support other local businesses. Its IT systems, office furniture and work wear are all supplied by Cumbria-based companies. Its website design, banking providers and nominated charities are also local.

Looking to the future, Cliff believes there are significant benefits in greater collaboration between SMEs and larger corporations within the nuclear waste management sector: “On a major project the client can deal directly with a respected and well-known industry leader and yet they are still able to access the specialist expertise that smaller providers can bring.”

On a major project the client can deal directly with a respected and well-known industry leader and yet they are still able to access the specialist expertise that smaller providers can bring

Cockle fishing and sludge retrieval: A match made in innovation heaven

With a mission to deliver genuine value for money in the delivery of nuclear decommissioning, operators and supply chain alike are always on the lookout for new innovations from non-nuclear sectors that can deliver benefits. Who would have thought some of these innovations would come from a small business owner in the fishing industry and how did they make their way into the nuclear industry?

ave Wilson, Atkins’ market lead for decommissioning North, continues his exploration of the role big companies can play in refining

supply chain gold.

Andy Barr had been manufacturing trawling equipment for the scallop fishing industry when engineers from Atkins (formerly of EnergySolutions) asked him to help them address the challenges of decommissioning. He admits it was an unexpected request but he very quickly

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