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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	NIA_NGGT0047
Title	Resource and asset reuse toolkit
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Refining, transport and storage of oil and gas) 100%;
Research Types	Applied Research and Development 100%
Science and Technology Fields	ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 75%; Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions) 25%;
Principal Investigator	Project Contact No email address given National Grid Electricity Transmission
Award Type	Network Innovation Allowance
Funding Source	Ofgem
Start Date	01 February 2014
End Date	01 February 2016
Duration	24 months
Total Grant Value	£189,000
Industrial Sectors	Information Technologies
Region	London
Programme	Network Innovation Allowance
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Project Contact , National Grid Electricity Transmission (99.998%)
	Other Investigator	Project Contact , National Grid Gas Transmission (0.001%) Project Contact , Cadent Gas (0.001%)
Web Site	http://www.smarternetworks.org/project/NIA_NGGT0047
Objectives	The objectives of this project are to develop a toolkit that facilitates an increased level of resource and asset reuse within National Grid, including providing a clear evidence base on the opportunities, barriers and solutions to adopting Circular Economy principles. Publication of the strategic review report published.
Abstract	National Grid is committed to integrating sustainability into decision making to create value, preserve natural resources and to respect the interests of our communities. We want to identify and deliver Circular Economy opportunities, and circulate and preserve the value in materials resulting from our activities (see http://www. ellenmacarthurfoundation. org/business/reports. ) Our Environmental Policy 2013 has the following commitment:"We will look for ways to use resources more efficiently through good design, use of sustainable materials, responsibly refurbishing existing assets and reducing and recycling waste" There have been significant successes to date on this commitment, with a number of initiatives delivered by different business units. Of particular note is the Surplus Material Working Group (SMWG) which has developed a spreadsheet to itemise resources for reuse and the Circular Economy Asset Reclamation Project which has sought to identify asset classes that might be suitable for re-use. These initiatives illustrate the developing cultural change and appetite within the business for increasing resource reuse, however, they have been developed on a piece meal basis, often in isolation. The problem with this approach means: There has been little cohesion and opportunity for shared learning between different initiatives; There is a risk of duplication of effort and different interpretations of reuse and the Circular Economy; Initiatives have been relatively small scale, often working in only one part of the business collating data on a small number of resources. This limits the visibility of resource availability and quantity of resources identified, overall resulting in reuse opportunities being missed; Working within one part of business means that there are regulatory issues associated with the sale or transfer of assets between different lines of business have not been addressed through the small initiatives that have taken place to date. The approach has been reactive and unsystematic, dealing with challenges/barriers/limitations to reuse as they arise; Tools and mechanisms developed to date are only appropriate to manage small quantities of data and have limited technical functionality. This limits the number of resources and assets they can contain, and the amount of information that could be included for assessing the suitability of a resource or asset in another project or activity. It is unlikely that these tools could be scaled-up across the business to facilitate greater resource reuse; Opportunities for identifying wider resource re-use potential in the transmission and distribution sector as a whole have been limited. There also remain many complex barriers to working effectively between UK businesses (and ultimately the wider business and the transmission and distribution sector as a whole); a degree of behaviour change and engagement is required to realise greater resource reuse. The strategic review has been successful to date however there is a requirement for additional time to complete due to the complexities of working across businesses with different drivers and priorities. The initial phase is a strategic review, an in-depth analysis of the toolkit concept and issues to consider when deciding to reuse - only this element of work has been costed at this stage. If successful, phase 2 will involve development and testing of a practical toolkit, focused around a Resource Portal and Functional demonstration pilot of the toolkit, to test its fitness for purpose. This work is not costed at this stage. In the context of this project, a resource is a material (e. g. aggregate) which may otherwise be a waste; an asset is surplus or part used equipment / capital item retaining usable operational life. Strategic Review The Strategic Review will explore the concept for a Resource and Asset Re-Use Toolkit, consult with business stakeholders to better understand how to facilitate greater reuse within National Grid and to inform the functionality of the toolkit, through a series of study topics including consideration of resource and asset mapping, lessons learned, barriers and opportunities. This stage will require the identification of stakeholders that can influence increased reuse throughout the whole life of that resource or asset, i.e. specification & design, procurement, financial allocation, construction, operation (maintenance, repair) and de-commissioning. As such, information gathering will be achieved through interviews with representatives of the key directorates and project office site visits. Development of Resource and Asset Re-Use Toolkit and Operational Pilot It is intended that the toolkit will comprise a resource and asset portal with accompanying guidance and a separate End of Life (EoL) Asset Assessment tool. It will be a practical decision support tool which provides the proof of concept for a more sophisticated delivery mechanism for facilitating greater resource and asset reuse, compared to the current spreadsheet based approaches. The strategic review will inform the scope of the toolkit enabling it to meet the needs of the end users who require and generate resources. The strategic review phase has now completed and hence phase 2, development of the toolkit and operational pilot, has now been costed. In order to overcome certain barriers identified during the first phase of work, new processes have been adopted that will enable the project team to embed the reuse methodology within each directorate. In addition, a functional specification has been created for a data visibility aid. Deliverables for phase 2 development of the identified solution and the operational pilot scheme include: Information Technology support to map existing in-house tool to SharePoint 2010; add search functionality; add data fields per business requirements; purge historical data no longer relevant for current tool Continue toolkit development to ensure fit for purpose within the pilot environment; develop clear processes to support use of the tool across the separate directives Supporting the three business areas in stakeholder engagement and process development to imbed the pilot toolkit in accordance with meet business requirements, manage, monitor and disseminate pilot process and successes. It is intended that the toolkit will comprise a resource and asset portal with accompanying guidance and a separate End of Life (EoL) Asset Assessment tool. It will be a practical decision support tool which provides the proof of concept for a more sophisticated delivery mechanism for facilitating greater resource and asset reuse, compared to the current spreadsheet based approaches. The strategic review will inform the scope of the toolkit enabling it to meet the needs of the end users who require and generate resources.Note : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	11/12/18