The recently introduced Procurement Act 2023 is a solid piece of legislation that clearly benefits from considered collaboration between public and private sector organisations. Bringing simplification and greater transparency to public procurement is a win-win situation and this ethos shines through in Sections 16 and 17 of the Act, where there is an open invitation for ‘preliminary market engagement’.
Essentially, these two sections advocate for organisations to get together at the earliest stages of a project concept, to bring expertise, insight and increased accuracy to the tender process. In Sections 16 and 17, the government recognises the importance that early engagement plays in the successful outcomes of capital projects. A partnering mindset, from project inception, creates significant value up and down the procurement process, setting the right conditions and behaviours for success.
Public Private Partnering (PPP) is perhaps one of the few issues that unites our two largest political parties in the UK, with ongoing support from the Labour government on reforms first developed by Professor David Mosey under the Conservatives. So, what can partnering deliver beyond traditional one-off procurement approaches?
If we take the life safety sector as an example, landlords face a highly dynamic legislative environment in the post-Grenfell Tower era. While there are common remediation themes, every UK Housing Association and Local Authority faces a unique set of challenges based around their individual asset portfolios, resident composition and financial status.
We know that a high proportion of remedial activity in the social housing sector is reactive and often driven by the Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) pathway. This approach regularly leads to piecemeal procurement on a case-by-case basis, facilitated by traditional procurement methodologies. Projects are often delivered in isolation and via multiple suppliers, with inconsistencies in outcomes and with limited opportunity to collaborate and innovate. Learnings are inevitably lost and the cycle starts from zero again with the next project.
There is a better way. Trailblazing organisations across the UK are now viewing life safety as part of a holistic asset management strategy, bringing in expertise at the earliest possible stages to advise and collaborate. Programmes of work are developed through a data-driven risk hierarchy methodology based on direct appraisal and building typology modelling. Leveraging economies of scale in materials procurement and forward programme visibility enables budgets to be managed effectively and appropriate grant funding explored in a timely manner.
Exemplar partnering encourages seamless integration between client and supplier teams, working together in a shared endeavour, with a common culture and values. This integration enables innovation to flourish through shared experiences and knowledge and unlocks value beyond the traditional scope, maximising social value and sustainability outcomes with real community impact.
Managing risk is a key imperative in the life safety sector and here partnering brings significant benefits to the collaboration. Risk ownership and accountability is profoundly simplified under a partnering model and this has major benefits for golden thread compliance. With full-service providers, like Harmony Fire, there is one accountable entity responsible for the design, compliant installation and onward maintenance of critical life safety assets and systems. This results in consistent, high-quality golden thread information for auditing processes and regulatory scrutiny.
Moving from transactional procurement to partnering also brings myriad opportunities to trial new innovations and technology, future-proof and co-create new systems and processes alongside client building and facilities management teams t ensure ongoing fire safety compliance.
A recent example of this in practice is the co-development of a new change management system for a Scottish Local Authority to ensure future building works are signed off and permit approved to avoid compromising fire compartmentation. Under a partnering regime there is greater openness to collaborate and explore cutting-edge solutions, building trust and confidence to move to live trials of innovative safety systems efficiently, like the Auro Door – the world’s first fully integrated IoT fire door.
Consistent and integrated teams work more effectively, have a greater depth of knowledge and understanding of project challenges and opportunities, delivering better outcomes through continuous learning and sharing. The cost benefit ratio is also compelling, with a recent client procurement exercise identifying a 30% programme reduction and a £1 million saving alone in procurement costs associated with a direct award partnering agreement.
With housing sector budgets always under pressure and the increasing impact of new legislation on stretched resources, the ability to simply demonstrate significant cost and efficiency savings through partnering is highly compelling. Partnering also locks in a culture of perpetual efficiency, through insight and data-driven decision making with compounding savings and a focus on risk prioritisation from day one.
In a fast-paced regulatory environment, partnering with a trusted sector specialist is an investment in knowledge and expertise that informs planning and programmes. Early engagement, through the partnering model, is the clearest way for landlords to unleash the full potential of specialists and break the cycle of inconsistency and cost holding back the sector and ultimately impacting resident safety outcomes.
A version of this article was published in Housing Executive.
