Collaborative Excellence Award
Recognising world-class approaches to integrated working between supply chain partners and the role this plays in delivering resilient and efficient lifeline services.
Collaborative Excellence Award
Recognising world-class approaches to integrated working between supply chain partners and the role this plays in delivering resilient and efficient lifeline services.
Cadent Gas, ICS Consulting, 1000minds, Cogna, Probit
Cadent Gas formed a multi-disciplinary team with ICS, 1000minds, Cogna and Local Delivery Partners to codify expert judgement into a shared Complexity Index for mains replacement. Through co-designed workshops and a 1000minds survey of 123 practitioners, 30+ complexity drivers were ranked and weighted.
These weights now underpin planning and costing so every scheme reflects its Highway Authority, method and delivery constraints. Adopted across all five networks, the framework prices complexity transparently and feeds AIM, Cadent’s asset optimiser, to balance cost, emissions, safety and customer impacts to maximise benefits. It has reprofiled ~£5bn of investment and strengthened governance and confidence significantly.
Scottish Water & Atos UK
A groundbreaking collaboration between Scottish Water, Atos and supply chain partners is transforming wastewater management in Scotland. The Wastewater Intelligent Network (WWIN) is a digital platform that enables pre-emptive interventions to avoid pollution and flooding events by combining near-real-time from IoT sensors, hydraulic models, and weather services.
WWIN is a blueprint as to how specialist digital providers can work with water utilities to generate agile digital products that ensure service excellence and provide financial value and sustainability to the public. WWIN has cut environmental pollution incidents by 30% in deployed areas and continues to improve and expand.
South West Water & Glanville Environmental & Network Plus
South West Water’s £16m Infiltration Reduction Programme is the largest sewer rehabilitation scheme in its history, targeting the reduction of storm overflow across 175 high-risk sites. Delivered collaboratively with Glanville Environmental and Network Plus, the programme used advanced CCTV, AI diagnostics, and trenchless technologies to prevent over 4,800 spills in 2024 alone.
Over 50km of sewer lining and 2,000 manhole rehabilitations were completed with minimal disruption. A data-led, sustainable approach enabled agile deployment and real-time decision-making. This innovative, multi-partner model has set a new national standard for large-scale sewer infrastructure renewal, delivering measurable environmental improvements to coastal and inland water.
Southern Water & Samotics
Southern Water and Samotics have forged a powerful partnership to tackle pollution in environmentally sensitive areas, including bathing waters and shellfish sites. By combining Southern Water’s operational expertise with Samotics’ Electrical Signature Analysis (ESA) technology, the team created a seamless, data-driven approach to pollution prevention.
In just one year, over 1,250 sensors were deployed with a 97% first-time-right success rate, thanks to close collaboration with framework electrical partners. This partnership has already prevented multiple high-impact pollution events, protecting ecosystems, communities and public health. With plans to scale to 3,250 sensors by 2026, it sets a new benchmark for environmental protection.
SP Energy Networks and Lucy Electric
SP Energy Networks (SPEN) and Lucy Electric delivered a UK-first by energising the nation’s first non-sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) 11kV switchgear – the Sabre EcoTec ring main unit (RMU) – supporting grid decarbonisation ahead of anticipated 2026 legislation. Installed in Mid-Cheshire, this innovative, low-emissions solution meets UK Distribution Network Operator (DNO) specifications without requiring costly substation redesigns.
Co-developed through close collaboration between partners, the project exceeded objectives and has been operating flawlessly for over six months. It sets a new benchmark for sustainable network infrastructure, aligning environmental goals with future asset replacement needs – an industry model for collaborative excellence.
StormHarvester & Anglian Water Services
Anglian Water’s Dynamic Sewer Visualisation (DSV) programme, delivered in collaboration with StormHarvester and sensor partners, is the largest proactive sewer monitoring deployment in the world. Together, we integrated 50,000+ sensors and StormHarvester’s AI-driven analytics to predict blockages , enabling over 5,000 proactive interventions, 418% more than pre-programme levels.
This partnership transformed sewer management from reactive to predictive, reducing pollution risk, minimising flooding, and supporting net-zero goals by avoiding unnecessary infrastructure upgrades. The collaboration demonstrates how data, technology, and teamwork can deliver resilient, efficient lifeline services and set a new industry benchmark for proactive wastewater management.
VISION & MWHT
The WINEP5 programme demonstrates how innovative collaborative practices between Severn Trent, MWHT, Stantec, and VISION Consulting is transforming the delivery of critical water infrastructure. Using VISION’s Commitment-based Management™ approach, the partnership has accelerated projects to site 37% faster and achieved design approvals eight months ahead of schedule, an unprecedented milestone. By integrating supply chain partners from the outset, this initiative is delivering upgrades more efficiently, strengthening resilience of essential wastewater services, and freeing resources to support decarbonisation and AMP8 ambitions. This collaboration is redefining how utilities deliver lifeline services for customers, communities, and the environment.