Sizewell C Supply Chain Part 2: Bus & Coach Insights

Everything you need to know about the Sizewell Supply Chain Part 2

If you’ve read [part 1 of our article], “We talk to Suffolk Chamber to find out everything you need to know about the Sizewell C supply chain”, you’ll know that we’ve interviewed Ashley Shorey-Mills, Supply Chain Engagement Director at Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.

Ashley is kindly telling us the information you want to know about how you can get involved with the Sizewell C supply chain.

In part 1 of our interview, we talked at length about the tender process – what steps to take and how long you can expect your application to last.

Now, we’re turning our attention to the details that matter specifically to bus and coach companies.

In [part 3 of our interview], we’ll talk more about the staffing and contractual implications that you may need to consider.

As your road transport consultant, this is important information because it gives you the details of what you can expect in the next 5-10 years, and how the Sizewell C development will provide significant opportunities for your business.

Once again, we’d like to express our gratitude to Ashley and the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce for taking the time to talk to us in such detail.

Is there anything you can tell us about the evaluation criteria when those Tier 1 contractors start assessing bids for their transport and logistics partners?

“Ultimately, it will all come down to who can demonstrate that they can work on time and within budget. But it’s also about who can work safely and securely. There’s so much at stake on a project like this that safe working practices must be given the utmost priority.

Of course, there will also be ESG commitments and social value, but fundamentally, all work needs to be done without anyone getting injured while on time, on budget. That’s why they want transport teams to have their FORS accreditation, because they need to have reliable vehicles and reliable drivers.”

There is a lot of information about the limits on vehicles near Sizewell to protect the local area. Can you tell us anything specifically about what that might mean?

“Sizewell has limits to the number of vehicles it can put on the road each day.

It also has strict limits on the times at which they can travel.

Beyond that, it’s also worth mentioning that what is classed as an HGV on the Sizewell site is more stringent than it is on other projects. There are a lot more vehicles that will be classed as heavy goods vehicles compared to what you might usually expect, which means there are more restrictions around movement and the ways that goods can be moved.

Ideally, Sizewell is looking to prioritise rail and sea as much as possible, so as part of any tender process, businesses need to demonstrate how secure they are.”

Because you’re trying to actively reduce the number of cars on the road near the site, presumably that will mean you are busing in site workers to and from the development site. How will that process work?

“That’s correct. We will have two park and ride sites, one at Wickham Market and one at Darsham. The rules will be in place that if you are north of Darsham, or south of Wickham Market or to the West of the A12, you will not be allowed to drive to the site.

Sizewell will be running buses from around the county to get people to those park and ride sites. Each site will have a minimum of 1,250 car parking spaces.

What is interesting is that Sizewell has also taken over the former Pontins site at Pakefield, where there will be hundreds of workers staying. Sizewell has arranged for buses to run from Pakefield to Darsham, so wherever there will be a large proportion of workers who need to be on site, there will be buses running to reduce the number of vehicles on the road wherever possible.”

Has there been a lead bus provider appointed yet? If so, is there anything specific that we can tell our bus and coach clients?

“We are currently at the ITT stage of appointing a lead bus provider. Sizewell is procuring the buses themselves, so they will be responsible for the assets. Obviously, they have the ambition for hydrogen buses; they have four hydrogen buses currently on trial. They are also looking at some electric options as well, but ideally, they are looking to decarbonise passenger transport on this project.

Once the bus provider is appointed, we can then look at building a supply chain underneath them. It's not just the buses off-site, it's also the buses and minibuses for tours and for transporting people around on-site. There will be very localised transport needed, such as small shuttle buses as well as private hire vehicles and taxis, so there is a lot of different types of services that are required around passenger transport, including the maintenance, servicing and refuelling of them, which again will then require additional businesses.”

Do you have any idea of the scale of buses and coaches that will be needed within the project?

“Right now, the number of buses does change slightly from time to time. However, we estimate that it will be somewhere in the region of 150 buses in total that will be trudging around the Suffolk countryside or remaining on site in case of emergency.

They will again run broadly all day, but with particular peaks in the early morning and the late afternoon, early evening, when the biggest shift patterns are.”

Can we talk a little about the compliance, safety and performance standards that suppliers will need to adhere to? You’ve mentioned that suppliers must adhere to health and safety and environmental management systems, and there are many ISO certifications. Is there anything specific that bus drivers or HGV drivers will need to know?

“All vehicles will have tracking fitted as standard, and that’s part of the FORS accreditation process, so that isn’t necessarily something to worry about. But what we would always reiterate is that at Sizewell, we have approved routes in place. Anyone driving to or from the site must adhere to those pre-approved routes. There are no shortcuts or side roads, or local knowledge that you can use to change that journey. Anyone who steers away from those approved routes will quickly find they don’t have a future on site.”

What about emissions and environmental credentials? What can drivers be aware of?

“Sizewell is committed to decarbonising the project as much as possible. As part of the FORS silver and gold credentials, a lot of the work is already done, but beyond that, Sizewell wants to know – are businesses monitoring their scope? Are they monitoring scope two or even scope three emissions? If every business started to monitor their carbon impact, it’d make a huge difference.

We want businesses to be actively working towards PAS 2080 to ensure that everyone is really understanding of what can and can't be done. The beauty of the local supply chain network is that if you're using local firms, you’re already reducing your road mileage anyway simply by proximity.”

What can you tell us about the abnormal loads protocols? Will there be escort requirements, travel windows or community notifications?

“Of course, we’ll have detailed protocols in place, which will be run by whoever is chosen to be the AIL provider. We’ll be using local specialisms in certain areas because not everyone can do every single process. We’ve learnt extensively from what happens at Hinckley, and we know that these things take considerable planning. These abnormal loads may take nine months to plan correctly.

But we have to take that time to get it right.

There's a lot of consideration to happen here and huge amounts of work. Obviously, Suffolk police are integral to this project. They are on site and involved all the time because of what happens. You’ll notice their presence more at the moment because there are already a lot of AILs moving along the A12, particularly things like big diggers. They’re all listed as a community notification.”