Infrastructure AdvisoryDecisions
When the decision crosses disciplines
Some decisions cannot be handed to an engineer or to a commercial manager, because the difficulty sits between them.
01 / THE DECISION
What decision are you facing?
These are examples of the situations the practice is set up to examine. You do not need to arrive with the question fully defined — establishing the right question can be part of the engagement.
The question
“We are approaching a contract renewal, extension or close-out and need an independent commercial position.”
What must be established
- Asset condition
- Maintenance performance
- Strategic options and lifecycle cost
- Strategic options and lifecycle cost
- Contractual obligations
- Commercial exposure
- Operational requirements and readiness
Cross-cutting
- Governance and evidence
Some evidence is read by more than one practice. That is the point.
Independent synthesis
One independent view is documented: the position, the evidence that supports it, and the limits of that evidence.
Advice ends here.
The decision does not belong to the adviser.
The decision
The decision belongs to the organisation making it. It is a commercial judgement, taken by the people accountable for it.
Either course
Continue
renew · extend · re-bid
Renewing, extending or re-bidding means defending a forward position: what the asset will cost to keep, and whether the arrangement will hold.
Conclude
close out · transition
Concluding means closing a record and handing a function over: what is owed, what is carried forward, and whether the receiving organisation is ready.
The question
“Something is going wrong technically and commercially at the same time, and our internal teams disagree about which it is.”
What must be established
- Asset condition
- Maintenance performance
- Contractual obligations
- Commercial exposure
Independent synthesis
Technical and commercial evidence are considered together to establish where the positions differ, why they differ and what the combined evidence supports.
Advice ends here.
The decision does not belong to the adviser.
The decision
The decision belongs to the organisation making it. It is a commercial judgement, taken by the people accountable for it.
Where intervention is actually required
- Maintenance Regime Review “Is our maintenance regime right for this asset, at this cost, at this availability?”
- Contract Performance Review “Does our contract’s performance mechanism match how the asset behaves?”
- Independent Senior Review “We need one senior independent view on this specific question.”
The question
“We are bidding an O&M concession and need a cost and risk model that will survive diligence.”
What must be established
- Maintenance strategy
- Strategic options and lifecycle cost
- Strategic options and lifecycle cost
- Commercial exposure
- Operational requirements and readiness
Some evidence is read by more than one practice. That is the point.
Independent synthesis
One senior view: which assumptions are carrying the position, and which of them will not survive challenge.
Advice ends here.
The decision does not belong to the adviser.
The decision
The decision belongs to the organisation making it. It is a commercial judgement, taken by the people accountable for it.
The question
“We need an independent senior view before a board or funder decision.”
What we would examine
- Technical evidence The engineering or asset evidence relevant to the decision.
- Commercial evidence The contractual, financial or commercial position relevant to the decision.
- Operational evidence The operational implications and constraints.
Existing evidence is considered across the relevant disciplines and tested together rather than in isolation.
Independent synthesis
We challenge and reconcile the available evidence to identify what is known, what remains uncertain and which assumptions are carrying the decision.
Advice ends here.
The decision does not belong to the adviser.
The decision
The decision belongs to the organisation making it. It is a commercial judgement, taken by the people accountable for it.
A position that can be defended
02 / WHAT THIS MEANS FOR COMMISSIONING
The examination above is common to every course. What changes after the decision is what is commissioned next.
Each course leads to different work. Those are separate engagements, commissioned separately. Establishing the position first is what makes it possible to commission the right one rather than all of them.
Experience relevant to these decisions is set out separately.
Next step