Water sector assets and infrastructure

Managing major infrastructure programs and projects involves complex challenges from inception through planning, delivery to handover. It  requires expert leadership, management and oversight to align projects to an organisation's strategy and ensure benefits and successful outcomes.

Ricardo’s team offers project advisory services that are multidisciplinary and tailored to help clients. We know how to recognise what’s important, where to focus effort, how to work efficiently toward desired outcomes and maintain strategic direction. Our team has decades of experience working with clients to identify their preferred option that both aligns with their strategy and is also deliverable.

Ricardo experts apply a combination of project understanding and decision-making tools to ensure opportunities and benefits are identified and not missed, remove bias, manage uncertainties and risks and combine quantitative and qualitative aspects of projects to improve decisions.

We are able to use our experience and expertise to provide strategic reviews before projects commence, gate reviews during projects or post-implementation reviews to help clients avoid issues, course correct and learn from experience.

Our team uses our expertise to improve program and project governance, reporting, and can provide advice in relation to improving organisational systems, process and practice.

Two-thirds of projects fail to deliver their outcomes. They either exceed their budget, schedule or do not deliver on intended benefits. Implementing fit for purpose project management principles can dramatically improve project outcomes.

Ricardo offers independent, qualified, certified and experienced project managers who work diligently in the client’s best interest. We can support from inception to handover of major infrastructure projects, integrating into the project professionally and seamlessly, working as part of the client team.

We also offer program leadership and planning, project procurement and functional expertise across project knowledge areas including risk and benefit management and exceptional stakeholder engagement. We are also able to review, reset and rescue programs and projects.

Program and project management functions, systems and processes need to be tailored to client needs and be fit for purpose. Ricardo’s program and project management service are adaptable, offer value and are a cost-effective solution to help our clients deliver and manage projects.

Managing complex water resources and infrastructure requires a detailed understanding of constraints, limits, interfaces and forecasting techniques to ensure that models can be used appropriately to inform planning.

Ricardo’s team excels in developing diverse models for the water industry, mining, industrial, and irrigation sectors. Our services include creating and calibrating hydraulic models of transmission and reticulation networks as well as water balance models.

We also provide expertise in water quality modeling, water hammer and surge protection, surface water, stormwater, open channel flow, catchment hydrology, flood modelling and smart water networks.

Often a suite of tools may need to be used to support system planning work. Ricardo has experience in using a variety of different software packages and can work with clients to determine the best system or process to aid in planning decisions.

High-quality initial designs and effective management of multi-discipline engineering teams are crucial for ensuring successful project execution and integration.

Ricardo’s experienced professionals deliver initial design and expert engineering management for detailed designs across multiple disciplines.

We have specific capability in opportunity framing and development of engineering options using decision support tools that align project alternatives to strategic outcomes. This is most important during the early phases of a project where we can undertake Front End Engineering Design (FEED), scoping, and concept design services.

We leverage our extensive expertise to ensure high-quality, integrated design solutions and effective management of engineering teams throughout the project lifecycle.

Ricardo offers independent peer review and owner’s engineer services across various infrastructure works and engineering design disciplines.

Our independent reviews enhance the quality of designs, providing clients with assurance that the designs are safe, functional, resilient, operable, and maintainable. We ensure that projects meet client expectations and adhere to required standards.

Developing and reviewing technical documents and corporate guidance to meet regulatory requirements can be a complex and demanding process.

Ricardo provides expert support to both essential services regulators and companies including utilities and private corporations in navigating regulatory requirements.

We assist in developing and reviewing technical documentation and corporate guidance to ensure compliance and support effective regulation. Our technical expertise covers water quality, asset management, health & safety, environmental aspects, pricing submissions and operational aspects.

Technical regulation does change over time and Ricardo can help clients identify the risks that this may pose to business and recommend controls to mitigate those risks.

Developing effective operational procedures, resourcing plans, and maintenance strategies can impact overall service delivery and success in securing long-term service contracts.

Ricardo offers comprehensive operational advisory services to enhance client operations and service delivery. We specialise in developing work instructions, procedures, and technical documentation, as well as creating resourcing plans, maintenance strategies, and cost structures. Ricardo can assist with implementing these plans to help ensure that KPIs and contractual requirements are met. Gaps in service levels need to be identified and acted on in a timely basis.

Our support extends to assisting clients in bidding for long-term service contracts and optimising their service delivery. We have experienced asset owners, operators and maintainers who have lived and breathed asset management and operations management for decades, giving you the confidence that we have empathy for your current position.

Effective asset management is essential for delivering value by ensuring that assets are utilised and managed optimally to support business goals whilst balancing asset performance, cost and risk.

Ricardo offers a suite of comprehensive asset management services, aligned to ISO55001. These services include:

• Development and review of AM frameworks and supporting processes and documents
• Asset verification and asset register development
• Whole-of-life-cycle renewal planning and budgeting
• Maintenance strategy review and development using various reliability approaches to developing maintenance tasks & budgets
• Effectiveness reviews of Asset Management Systems
• Assistance to gain ISO55001 standard compliance
• Assistance with Regulatory submissions & audit findings
• Asset risk management
• Asset Management Information Systems

Identifying and prioritizing critical assets and associated risks can be complex, impacting effective asset management and resource allocation.

Ricardo provides expert services in risk assessment and asset criticality determination.

Our approach helps clients identify and prioritize the assets of highest importance, allowing them to focus their resources and efforts on managing the most critical elements of their operations. Ricardo can provide a focus on blending asset risk management with corporate risk management processes.

The development and maintenance of business continuity plans ensures a strengthened organisational resilience and capability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from business disruption.

Ricardo leverages our experience to help develop business continuity policies and plans across a range of sectors and situations to uplift existing continuity plans or develop new continuity plans for our clients.