When it comes to decommissioning our legacy facilities, having the right information is vital. We have drawings and data sheets, but often these are out of date and could be misleading.

Site walk-arounds and up-to-date measurements are vital, but what if you can’t access the site you’re working on?

That was the problem facing the team working on our iconic “golf ball” facility, the Windscale Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor.

They were due to have just such a walk-around at the end of March, but had to cancel it when the nationwide lockdown hit. With the team needing accurate information to work from home, they hit on a novel solution to getting it.

A full scanning team couldn’t gain access to the site, but there were people going in for routine maintenance. The question was – could they do the work and get the detail needed?

And the answer was – yes, with partners from our Decommissioning Delivery Partnership (DDP) coming together to develop a solution.

Darren Grears from Atkins Global explained:

We decided to capture data using 2 devices – a handheld laser scanner and a 360-degree camera.

The scanner can get information up to about 10mm accuracy and is capable of scanning a 3 storey car park in less than 30 minutes. The camera can capture images to simulate a walk-around.

Working with specially-developed user guides, a maintenance team completed the scans and video during an inspection in March, taking 116 images and performing 2 laser scans of the entire building in under 2 hours.

The scans and footage gathered will now be used to guide the removal, cleaning and painting of cladding from the building, which will extend its life and ensure it is safe.

Darren added:

This is about ‘bringing the site home’. Before we can do any work, we need to identify the location of services and assets, look at potential areas for the temporary work enclosure, determine distances between adjacent buildings, scope out space for crane access and generally make sure the access is sufficient.

This will all feed into the concept design for the project and the type of temporary works enclosure required.

DDP Programme Manager Simon Martin said:

This has been a great example of people coming together to find a solution in a time of change and uncertainty. By engaging with our partners in the supply chain we were able to find a solution which has put the project back on track.

The leaders from 25 councils have joined the ranks of those pledging their commitment to ensuring vital building safety work continues where this can be done safely and in line with public health guidance, Building Safety Minister Lord Greenhalgh has announced today (6 May 2020).

The Pledge, so far signed by 26 councils and 5 regional mayors, sets out a commitment to improving the safety of residential blocks while ensuring those working on site are given clear information and support to guarantee their own safety and limit the spread of COVID-19.

The new signatories to the Pledge include representatives of 18 London councils, as well as leaders in Manchester, Slough, Leeds, Sheffield, Salford and Liverpool.

This follows the Housing Secretary securing an agreement with regional mayors and other local leaders to sign the Pledge earlier this month. This included the mayors of Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, London, Liverpool City Region and the West Midlands.

Building Safety Minister Lord Greenhalgh said:

We are bringing about the biggest change in building safety in a generation backed by our unprecedented £1 billion fund for removing unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings, in addition to the £600 million already made available.

In order to ensure the safety of residents, building safety work must resume where it can be done safely and in line with public health guidance.

The agreement reached with local leaders from across the country is an important step that demonstrates a shared commitment to ensuring this vital work continues during the pandemic.

John Biggs, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said:

As a borough with more high-rise buildings than almost anywhere else in the UK, we know how important the issue of fire safety is to our residents.

Almost 3 years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, delays and inaction on the part of private property owners means there are still too many people forced to go to sleep at night not knowing if they are safe in their homes.

It is right that we are focusing as many resources as possible on our coronavirus response, but where work can continue safely, it is also essential that we continue to make progress on vital fire safety work.

The government has provided sector specific guidance on how to apply social distancing in the workplace in England.

This was also reviewed by Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive and includes updated guidance for construction workers making clear that ‘work on-site can continue if done in accordance with the social distancing guidelines wherever possible’.

Where work continues on-site, detailed guidance is available from the Construction Leadership Council on further reducing the risk, including measures for maintaining high standards of hygiene.

In order to support this vital work, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has appointed a firm of construction consultants, Faithful & Gould, to advise those planning and doing ACM cladding remediation work, including identifying and increasing awareness of safe practice under current COVID-19 restrictions.

The National Fire Chiefs Council has also published revised guidance on waking watch interim measures, in the context of coronavirus, that reflects higher rates of occupancy and vulnerability due to people staying home for an extended period of time.

The Pledge has today been agreed by the following:

• Cllr Daniel Thomas (Leader, Barnet Council)
• Cllr Muhammed Butt (Leader, Brent Council)
• Cllr Colin Smith (Leader, Bromley Council)
• Cllr Georgia Gould (Leader, Camden Council)
• Cllr Tony Newman (Leader, Croydon Council)
• Cllr Julian Bell (Leader, Ealing Council)
• Cllr Danny Thorpe (Leader, Greenwich Council)
• Philip Glanville (Mayor of Hackney)
• Cllr Joseph Ejofor (Leader, Haringey Council)
• Cllr Damian White (Leader, Havering Council)
• Cllr Ray Puddifoot MBE (Leader, Hillingdon Council)
• Cllr Richard Watts (Leader, Islington Council)
• Cllr Elizabeth Campbell (Leader, Kensington and Chelsea Council)
• Cllr Jack Hopkins (Leader, Lambeth Council)
• Cllr Debra Coupar (Deputy Leader, Leeds City Council)
• Joe Anderson (Mayor, Liverpool City Council)
• Sir Richard Leese (Leader, Manchester City Council)
• Rokhsana Fiaz (Mayor of Newham)
• Paul Dennett (Mayor, Salford City Council)
• Cllr Julie Dore (Leader, Sheffield City Council)
• Cllr James Swindlehurst (Leader, Slough Council)
• John Biggs (Mayor, Tower Hamlets)
• Cllr Andrew Western (Leader, Trafford Council)
• Cllr Ravi Govindia (Leader, Wandsworth Council)
• Cllr Rachael Robathan (Leader, Westminster Council)

The Pledge was initially agreed on 16 April by the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP (Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government) and the following:

• Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater Manchester)
• Kate Henderson (Chief Executive, National Housing Federation)
• Dan Jarvis (Mayor of the Sheffield City Region)
• Peter John (Chair of London Councils and Leader of Southwark Council)
• Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London)
• Steve Rotheram (Mayor of the Liverpool City Region)
• Andy Street (Mayor of the West Midlands)

ACA (Atkins Cavendish Alliance), KAD (KBR, Assystem, Doosan Babcock) and Nuvia have been chosen following a procurement process which included a measurement of collaboration and behaviours.

The Nuclear Technical Support Provider (NTSP) framework lasts 7years, with the option of a further 3 years. It will deliver specialist nuclear technical services valued between £250-million and £400-million to support DIO, Navy Command and other Ministry of Defence (MOD) organisations.

The framework will support the Clyde Infrastructure Programme (CIP) and wider Royal Navy and defence requirements. Its primary focus will be on delivering the refurbishment and upgrade of critical infrastructure at HMNB Clyde.

Charles Hoskins, DIO’s Clyde Infrastructure Programme Director, said:

“The NTSP is vitally important to the delivery of our major infrastructure programme and wider operations at HMNB Clyde. We welcome all companies from our new NTSP delivery partners to our infrastructure family within the Clyde Community.

“We look forward to them joining our delivery team and the collaborative approach that we are embedding into all work we undertake at HMNB Clyde. This collaborative approach and the expertise from our new partners will be crucial to our success as we move forward into the exciting and challenging next chapter of our programme.”

Andy Albutt, on behalf of the ACA, said:

“The Clyde Infrastructure Programme represents an incredible opportunity to help shape the UK’s defence capability and further strengthen the industry’s collective expertise in delivering highly specialised nuclear services.

“Atkins and Cavendish Nuclear are now focussed on working closely alongside the DIO and our framework partners to hit the ground running as part of this select delivery team.”

Ian Hudson, Framework Director for KAD Nuclear, said:

We are absolutely delighted to have been selected as a supplier for the NTSP framework.

KAD Nuclear has a clear and unique philosophy; we have the right people; we are ready to go and we will work collaboratively inside KAD and with other framework suppliers to find the best solution.

At the heart of it all we are incredibly proud to have the chance to work on some of the most nationally significant projects of our time and create world-class infrastructure that will serve this country for decades to come.

David Field, Framework Director for Nuvia, said:

This is a unique opportunity, one that Nuvia is proud to be a part of and contribute to. We look forward to working collaboratively across the framework and becoming part of the Clyde family.