The Environment Agency has awarded IPL and Manhattan Atrium a £9m framework contract to implement a new system to manage the upkeep of its flood and coastal defence assets.

The first phase of work under the framework will be to implement Manhattan Atrium’s Enterprise Asset Management System, which will transform and streamline the management of  over 150,000 flood and coastal defence assets across England

The four-year programme will enable the Environment Agency to focus more funds on the upkeep of these crucial assets by reducing the administrative cost of maintenance planning, delivery and reporting.

The new system will give the Agency  a single view of all maintenance activity nationwide, enabling it to create efficiently prioritised schedules based on local need and available funding.

The programme will be delivered by IPL, a full-service IT organisation and Manhattan Atrium, who specialise in the development, implementation and support of a leading, fully-integrated Enterprise Asset Management system.

As prime contractor, IPL will manage the project, and provide Business Intelligence and Java development expertise to build the links between Manhattan Atrium’s off-the-shelf Asset Management platform and other Environment Agency systems.

By enabling the Environment Agency to manage its maintenance through a central system, the Agency will be able to produce more up-to-date reports on the condition of assets, and manage short, medium and long term maintenance schedules more effectively.

Jim Barlow, Deputy Director, Asset Performance and Engineering at the Environment Agency, said:

“I am looking forward to working with IPL and Manhattan Atrium to implement their proven enterprise asset management system which will enable the Environment Agency to adopt latest industry best practices and help us make step changes in the way we plan and deliver our services for the community.”

Paul Jobbins, CEO at IPL added:

“As recent events prove, this programme is of huge national importance, and we’re pleased that the Environment Agency has selected IPL to deliver it. We look forward to bringing our long-established expertise in creating business-critical systems to this high-profile programme to create something truly exceptional.”