Case Study

Transforming NEC4 Contract Management for One of Europe’s Largest Infrastructure Project: The Oosterweel Link

Oosterweel Link is a new 15km-long motorway connection being developed by Lantis for completing the Antwerp ring road R1 in Belgium. It consists of five sub-projects, including Linkeroever, Zwijndrecht, Scheldt tunnel, Oosterweel junction, Canal tunnels and R1-Noord.

The main construction works for the project commenced in February 2018. The new highway infrastructure on the left bank and the Zwijndrecht will be completed in 2024, while the Scheldt tunnel will open to traffic in 2027. The entire Oosterweel connection is scheduled to become operational in 2030.

The Antwerp ring road is a key part of the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) Core Network. The Oosterweel link will resolve bottlenecks and mobility problems on the ring road. It will be used for heavy truck traffic and will shift important southern side traffic to the northern side while reducing congestion.

Client

Lantis

Location

Antwerp, Belgium

Value

£2.8bn

Duration

2017 -2030

Contract

NEC4 ECC Option C

Solution

FastDraft

The Challenge

Lantis sought a Contract Management System (CMS) and provider who were not only familiar with NEC4 contracts but who could also make the process of delivering the contract as straightforward as possible for their delivery team.

Lantis had several key challenges they needed Built Intelligence to overcome. These included:

High-paced project and delivery team inexperienced in working with NEC contracts.
Required a partner with extensive NEC experience to help implement the solution in under 8 weeks
An extensively modified NEC4 ECC contract to reflect the unique scale and scope of the project, requiring significant customisations to our CMS’ workflows
A project delivery team working primarily in Flemish, requiring the platform, all written materials and most briefing sessions to be delivered bi-lingually
As a 10-year project, Lantis needed to know that the chosen CMS would not only have longevity but could also adapt and change to match the project requirements
As a critical infrastructure project, Lantis needed a secure ISO:27001-certified system to provide high-quality data security

Contract Solution

The NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) Option C is being employed and includes option X22 for early contractor involvement (ECI). In addition to option X22, each of the pioneering NEC contracts uses 14 other X clauses, W and Y clauses adapted to Belgian legislation, and a series of customised Z clauses.

The BI Toolkit Solution

Lantis recognised that Fast Draft was the CMS most capable of managing the immense complexity of the project while simultaneously making the NEC4 delivery process as clear and user friendly as possible.

Using an agile implementation methodology the BI Team were able to successfully deliver all required client outputs within six weeks, including:

Hosting translated meetings with client experts to ensure all contractual variations were captured
Building customisable Fast Draft workflows that mirrored the extensive amendments Lantis had in place within their NEC4 contract
Integrating Fast Draft with third party systems, including ASITE (the client’s document management system and common data environment)
Translating Fast Draft’s User Interface into Flemish
Designing and hosting bilingual training sessions with the core project team to introduce them to NEC4 and Fast Draft
Securing Single Sign on (SSO) and Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) access for the project team

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Outcomes

As well as delivering a fully translated version of FastDraft that was adapted to the unique requirements of Lantis’ NEC contract, Lantis have seen the following significant benefits:

The flexibility to manage and maintain the platform settings to get new projects and users up and running promptly saving time with online training aids
Allowed the team to hit the ground running once the project started
Sped up learning how to use the system as there wasn’t a language barrier
Ensures compliance to reduce risk and costs which has helped improve financial and operational performance whilst minimising risk.

As a sign of their trust in Built Intelligence, Lantis are also beginning a Pilot Programme to deliver a version of our 100% web-based NEC4 training course. This will help ensure that 100% of the delivery team are fully cognisant of how NEC4 contracts are designed and operated, further ensuring successful project delivery and contractual adherence.