Defence Online

First new FDIS contracts comes into force in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Land December 29, 2021

The first of the new Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contracts has now come into service.

The £160-million contract, which will provide key maintenance work, repairs, servicing, and hard facilities management to more than 4,400 Defence buildings across Scotland and Northern Ireland, is being delivered by Mitie on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO).

It is the first contract to come into service as part of the FDIS Programme, which is transforming DIO’s approach to maintaining the Defence estate and aims to bring improvements to the experience of Service personnel.

DIO has worked closely with Mitie, outgoing supplier Amey, and its Armed Forces customers to ensure readiness for the new contract and to do everything possible to minimise disruption to personnel as the new arrangements come into effect.

The new contract aims to make a real difference to Service personnel. It has been designed with customer satisfaction at its heart and includes performance incentives, which will encourage continuous improvement throughout its seven-year duration.

The new arrangements allow for more efficient processes and the quicker delivery of high volume, lower value works, ensuring increased value for money. They also move away from ‘fix-on-fail’, instead focusing on delivering preventative maintenance and a lifecycle replacement regime. The contract is aligned to industry maintenance standards and will provide improved data management to support better decision making.

DIO’s Chief Operating Officer David Brewer said: “DIO is committed to delivering the best service it can to its Armed Forces customers and today marks an important milestone in the FDIS programme, as the first of the new contracts comes into service.

“Through collaboration between DIO, Mitie and the Armed Services the FDIS contracts will make a real difference to the experience of personnel, including improving accountability, increasing agility and providing better value for money.

“We look forward to working with Mitie to ensure that we deliver services that fully meet the requirements of our Servicemen and women.”

Phil Bentley, Chief Executive Office, Mitie, said: “As proud supporters of the British Armed Forces, we are honoured to have been selected by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to provide these vital services. By combining our exceptional frontline colleagues with our industry leading technology, we will deliver safe, efficient and sustainable sites across Scotland and Northern Ireland and better places for the people of our military to live and work.”

Air Cdre Ady Portlock, Assistant Chief of Staff Infrastructure (Air), said: “The roll-out of the first FDIS contract is a significant milestone in Defence’s ongoing journey to improve the condition of our infrastructure. The new contract is a major step change in the way we manage the Air and wider Defence Estate and I look forward to working with DIO, Mitie and the other FDIS contractors as each of the regions mobilise in the coming months.”

The contract for Scotland and Northern Ireland is part of the £3-billion FDIS Programme, which is delivering new contracting arrangements for the Defence Built Estate, accommodation services and the Defence Training Estate.

The next Built Estate regional contracts to come into service will be the Central and South West regions in February next year.

If you would like to join our community and read more articles like this then please click here.

DIO FDIS

Post written by: Matt Brown