The old business adage about picking any two from good, cheap or fast needs a rethink. Any business thinking that way leaves themselves vulnerable. What if a competitor can find a different way of doing things – so they are just as good (or better), cheaper and delivered faster.
But how are cheaper and faster defined? Are we talking about the cost and timing numbers in the bid, or real outturn numbers? For steel fabrications still using a traditional fragmented delivery model, there are typically huge variations between the two.
Meeting The Demands Of AMP8
For contractors looking at opportunities from the water industry’s AMP8, it’s a good time to ask these questions. There will be large projects on offer and the expectations for quality, cost and reliable delivery will be higher than ever.
Many schemes will include steel structures such as walkways and stairs and building, plant, and equipment supporting structures. Each will need cost-effective and buildable designs.
How likely is that to happen if delivery is fragmented across surveying, scoping, design, detailing, fabrication and installation? This is the traditional approach.
Well, we know the answer. If steel fabrications are delivered using this outdated model it’s highly likely you’ll experience project variances up to 50%, or maybe even more. Missed details and flawed assumptions during each stage accumulate. Eventually you end up with a fabrication that can’t be installed without significant and expensive modification.
An Integrated Approach Brings Certainty
Make the process integrated – as with FTE’s intelligent integration approach – and you can apply practical expertise during each step. This will identify more cost-effective designs that are detailed enough to ensure everything fits together seamlessly at the end.
This is a significant advantage when you’re looking at bid-level costs and timings and competitive pricing. It’s an even bigger one when you consider what happens in practice. No more variances and no more haggling over who picks up the bill.
By rethinking the steel fabrication process from end to end, we’ve proved it’s possible to achieve value for money without sacrificing quality or speed. Exactly what AMP8 needs.
If you like to explore partnership opportunities to help deliver steel fabrication projects for the water industry with greater certainty and control, head over to our information hub.
Or contact: info@fourtees.co.uk
