Construction News has reported that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from across Britain are winning work from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
As we previously highlighted, the ODA uses the “CompeteFor” electronic system to match companies with the projects and services that the ODA requires.
The official London 2012 website reports:
- 860 contractors have won contracts supplying the ODA with work worth over £3.5 billion in total.
- Over two thirds (69%) are SMEs.
- Just under half (46%) are based outside London.
- More than one in ten (13%) is based in the Olympic Park Host Boroughs.
- 98% are based in the UK.
- Over 54,000 (54,477) companies have registered on CompeteFor (94% are SMEs).
- 37,670 of companies registered on CompeteFor are based outside London.
- Over 1,700 opportunities have been advertised on CompeteFor to date.
With the recent furore over the nationality of workers at Total’s Lincolnshire plant and the “wildcat” strikes that followed across the UK in protest at contractors’ use of foreign labour to carry out large UK construction projects, the ODA has published figures showing that the Olympic Park workforce reflects the diversity of the local area and London as a whole. It has announced that in October 2008, 63% of its 3,000 strong workforce on the Olympic Park were British and 8% Irish citizens (or 86% are EU citizens and 14% non-EU).
Building reports that the ODA has prohibited all its “Tier 1” contractors from using retentions down the supply chain on London 2012 projects.
Construction News reports that Crossrail intends to use CompeteFor in its procurement activities. In addition, the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) are also considering using CompeteFor.