Changing The Way We Manage Capital Investment Portfolios: Urban Utilities' Programme Management Approach

Robert Wilson - Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd

Water utility providers are increasingly looking to not only adapt but transform the way they plan and deliver vital capital infrastructure to ensure the liveability of our cities and regions. Balancing the requirements of population growth, climate change impacts, net zero initiatives and ageing asset bases is vital to delivering sustainable value-for-money outcomes that provide services that really matter to customers into the future.

Since 2017, KBR has worked with Urban Utilities to co-design and implement their Program Management Approach (PMA) and transform their 5-year capital investment portfolio management approach. Now implemented across the 5 year $1.5B portfolio, the PMA transformed Urban Utilities’ approach to capital investment and provided a step change in investment and delivery performance; an inclusive business wide framework; a constructive and commercially focused culture; and dramatic increases in efficiency.

The PMA has enabled more than $100 million in savings through efficiency, performance, and accountability improvements. It has also seen an uplift in delivery performance with 91% of projects completed on cost and time; and pre-market efficiency and effectiveness significantly reducing cost, saving $19M in FY21 compared to FY19.