Working together in partnership

Working together in partnership
Combining research and development
About the partnership
AMEC, one of the world’s leading engineering, project management
and consultancy companies and The University of Manchester’s
Dalton Nuclear Institute, winner of the 2011 Queen’s Anniversary
Prize for its research and skills training for the nuclear industry, have
launched a strategic partnership, strengthening the UK’s position as
a world-class centre of nuclear expertise.
Combining first-class research with unparalleled development opportunities is essential for the future of the UK’s
nuclear industry.
This innovative, cutting-edge partnership makes the relationship
between AMEC and Dalton Nuclear Institute official, providing greater
and more focused opportunities for world-class collaboration within
the nuclear industry.
The University of Manchester has established, through its Dalton Nuclear Institute, the most advanced academic
nuclear research capability in the UK and is a leading centre for higher learning in nuclear science and engineering.
After working together for many years, both organisations began to realise the benefits of collaborative working, not
just for themselves, but also customers and future generations who will enter the nuclear industry.
AMEC’s technology business at Birchwood is the UK’s largest commercial laboratory and test rig facility dedicated to
the nuclear market. It provides technological and analytical services to customers and subcontractors through worldclass radiochemistry laboratories.
The partnership brings together interdisciplinary collaboration, with AMEC playing a key role in development and the
Dalton Nuclear Institute providing the research and academic insight. Working together to deliver a low-carbon future
through nuclear energy, the partnership will help to drive innovation across the entire nuclear fuel cycle.
Through the partnership, both parties will combine their expertise to drive forward academic research and industry
leading development opportunities that will support the delivery of the UK’s Nuclear Industry Strategy and broaden
services offered to respective customers.
Partnership objectives
Customer benefits
Working together through the partnership will provide
the opportunity to:
While the partnership will work to support the development of the Nuclear Industry Strategy, it will also work to
enhance the benefits to respective customers.
■
The partnership will:
Bring together the UK’s leading nuclear research and
higher learning academic institution with the UK’s
leading nuclear engineering, project management and consultancy business
■ Strengthen the UK’s position as a globally-recognised centre of
excellence for science, engineering and technology with an initial
focus on the nuclear industry
■ Create a recognised hub for customers to receive independent, expert advice working on world-leading projects
■ Support the delivery of the Nuclear Industry Strategy, helping to meet the skills capability requirements for future and existing UK nuclear needs
■ Ensure profitable growth through the development of innovative technology solutions for customers by developing new or improving existing technologies
■ Provide customers with access to world-class academic leaders, research and advanced experimental facilities
■ Increase and harness a community of practitioners
■ Work collaboratively to develop the next generation of people coming into the nuclear industry
■ Provide students with the opportunity to apply research to the real world through workplace experience
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Partnership achievements
In 1999, The University of Manchester joined forces with AMEC and Rolls-Royce to launch the highly successful
Project Management Professional Development Programme (PMPDP).
The PMPDP is a technology-based, distance-blended learning programme in professional project management,
specifically designed for people wanting to build on their practical experience.
Originally only available to students from the consortium partners, the programme is now open to other companies.
Its objectives are to:
■ Provide education in the management of projects
■ Improve the competence profiles of both delegates and their organisations on a continuous basis
■ Support professional career development in the management of projects
■ Raise the profile of project management in participating organisations
■ Create a group of project management professionals and develop and sustain communities of both learning and practice
AMEC is a member of the industry-academic Steering Group for the course and has sponsored many graduates who
have enrolled. AMEC’s employees continue to register on and benefit from the course today.
Through the partnership, AMEC and The University of Manchester will continue to extend present collaborative
activities, including the PMPDP, while venturing into new projects that will recognise the UK’s future requirements
for nuclear new build. This includes Reactor Technology Development, which will take the world-class technology
developments from The University of Manchester and put them into industry application through AMEC.
The University of Manchester and AMEC collaborated to take university innovation through to impact in industry
within the field of structural integrity of nuclear plant.
The evaluation of internal residual stresses, the variation of material properties throughout a weld and their
combined influence on failure mechanisms, such as fatigue and fracture, pose a significant challenge when
assessing the integrity of welded structures.
To maintain its leading structural integrity capability, AMEC must have exposure to, and produce, state-of-the-art
methodologies for nuclear operating companies.
The University of Manchester was able to develop cutting-edge methods in these areas through diverse projects
funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), but faced barriers to research
application without a clearly defined route for translation of academic knowledge into applied safety procedure.
Through a Knowledge Exchange ‘Exploitation Secondment’ funded by EPSRC and AMEC, and undertaken by Dr.
Robert Hurlston, recommendations covering improved guidance on weld characterisation, new methods for the
acquisition of weld properties, and important additions to testing techniques were made to the nuclear industry
R6 Development Programme Management Panel for inclusion in the R6 document, which outlined internationallyrecognised and validated procedures.
John Sharples, Consultant and Business Manager, AMEC, said: “The project has clearly illustrated the advantage of
industry working closely with academia in order to ensure that R&D output is fully exploited for practical application.”
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Graduate recruitment
The future of the UK’s nuclear industry is reliant on those that will lead it and
their capabilities. Through the partnership, students from The University
of Manchester will be given the opportunity to work with industry and
understand the real world challenges.
The partnership will help to shape the nuclear leaders of tomorrow; AMEC has
ambitious growth plans for the future and is recruiting high calibre graduates to
drive forward the UK’s nuclear industry, while The University of Manchester is
educating and training that skilled workforce.
Furthermore, through the partnership’s Project Management and Nuclear
Professional Development Programme (PMPDP), industry professionals will
continue to have access to first-class continuous development programmes.
Our people
Shane Forth - Head of Function - Project Controls, AMEC
Shane started his career in project planning more than 30 years ago and completed
his MSc through distance learning with The University of Manchester’s PMPDP.
During this time he continued in full-time employment as Head of Project Controls
for AMEC’s Clean Energy Europe business.
Shane was able to draw on his experience and network of industry contacts to
complete his dissertation: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Network Analysis
Techniques in the Engineering and Construction Industry.
Since completing his MSc, Shane has received recognition at a national level,
winning the Association of Project Management (APM) Geoffrey Trimble award for
the best Masters postgraduate dissertation. This followed Shane having already earned the Steven Wearne Award
from the PMPDP consortium for Best Overall Performance, achieving the best results on both taught modules and
dissertation.
Shane said: “I enjoyed the experience immensely and made some great friends among fellow participants. The support
I received from all involved at MACE, including course co-ordinators, the programme team, academic staff, course
administrators and my dissertation supervisor, was tremendous. There are many situations where I have been able
to bring that learning into AMEC. A good example of this is the System Engineering Module, where I have applied
the concept of ‘use cases’ to project audits and I’m providing support, on behalf of project management, to a related
initiative that is currently underway in AMEC.”
As an ambassador for AMEC, Shane continues to maintain contact with the University and has been appointed as a
visiting lecturer. To date, he has delivered five enrichment lectures to over 400 full-time civil engineering and project
management students. Shane is also associated with the School of MACE Performance Management and Evaluation
Research Group.
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Our people
Our organisations
Jelizaveta Korikova - Business Commercial Manager, AMEC
About AMEC
Jelizaveta enrolled on the Management of Project Programme run by The University
of Manchester in 2009 as a part-time student. Completing her course in 2012,
Jelizaveta gained her MSc in Commercial Management.
AMEC (LSE: AMEC) is a focused supplier of consultancy, engineering and project management services to its
customers in the world’s oil and gas, mining, clean energy, environment and infrastructure markets.
Jelizaveta said: “I was supported by Professor Gale who was my dissertation
supervisor and Rob Reid, my line manager at AMEC. The topic of my dissertation
was ‘Factors Contributing to Multi-disciplinary Conflict in Understanding
and Communication of Risk Information at Portfolio Level in Internal Project
Organisations’. Its primary objective was to explore the role of the mid-level of
an organisation (portfolio, programme, multi-project, strategic business) in the
identification and communication of risk information.”
The project took place from March 2011 until March 2012 and involved research, discussions with focus groups,
interviews and regular meetings with Professor Gale.
Jelizaveta added: “The knowledge I’ve obtained throughout this collaboration is directly relevant to my day-to-day job
and supports my involvement in various risk management initiatives within Clean Energy.”
With annual revenues of some £4.2 billion, AMEC designs, delivers and maintains strategic and complex assets and
employs more than 29,000 people in around 40 countries worldwide.
AMEC has been working in the nuclear sector for more than 60 years, providing a full range of services spanning the
entire lifecycle.
Today, AMEC has more than 3,000 nuclear specialists who support customers around the world in providing solutions
to complex problems and is home to some of the best and most renowned world experts in the industry.
www.amec.com
About Dalton Nuclear Institute
Winner of the 2011 Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its world-leading applied nuclear
research, higher learning and social engagement, the Dalton Nuclear Institute provides the focus for The University of
Manchester’s capabilities across the full range of nuclear science, engineering, policy and business.
Through academic, national laboratory and industrial interdisciplinary collaboration, The University of Manchester,
along with other UK academic institutions, plays a key role in providing the high-level knowledge and skills needed
by the nuclear sector; covering undergraduate courses, postgraduate qualifications and research, and professional
development courses for industry.
The Dalton Nuclear Institute encompasses The University of Manchester’s nuclear research centres, including the
Materials Performance Centre, the Modelling and Simulation Centre, and the Research Centre for Radwaste &
Decommissioning, and offers a range of world-class R&D facilities, including the flagship Dalton Cumbrian Facility.
www.manchester.ac.uk/dalton
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AMEC
Booths Park
Chelford Road
Knutsford
Cheshire
WA16 8QZ
United Kingdom
The University of Manchester
Dalton Nuclear Institute
Pariser Building, Floor G
Sackville Street
Manchester
M13 9PL
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1565 652 100
Tel: +44 (0)161 275 4431
Fax: +44 (0)161 275 4396
Email: dalton@manchester.ac.uk
www.amec.com
www.manchester.ac.uk/dalton