SP Engineering Consultancy is the dedicated engineering division of Shirley Parsons, providing expert support to organisations across the water sector.
Across AMP8, water companies face unprecedented pressure to accelerate capital programmes, reduce delivery risk, and secure accountable partners for design. Traditional resourcing models, based on supplying individual engineers, cannot meet the scale or speed required.
SP Engineering Consultancy’s Option A / NEC3 delivery model solves this by taking responsibility for complete design packages, not just providing people.
What Option A (NEC3) really means.
Option A under NEC3 is a Priced Contract with Activity Schedule. In practice, it provides:
- A clearly defined scope
- Activity-based milestones
- Predictable, output-based pricing
- Measurable progress and governance
- Reduced commercial exposure for the client
This model forces clarity, discipline, and accountability – which is exactly what AMP8 demands.
Why Option A delivery is becoming the standard in AMP8.
For the UK water sector, Option A addresses the biggest programme challenges:
Speed of mobilisation: Large consultancies struggle to scale quickly. Option A enables specialist partners like Shirley Parsons to assemble multi-disciplinary teams in days.
Certainty of outcomes: The model is built around deliverables, not time spent, reducing risk and improving confidence in programme schedules.
Commercial transparency: Predictable pricing helps water companies plan, budget, and control spend across volatile investment periods.
Clear ownership: Under Option A, accountability sits with the supplier not the client. This drives stronger governance and higher-quality outputs.
What we deliver under Option A / NEC3.
We support clients by delivering complete engineering design packages, often covering:
- Strategic pipelines & trunk mains
- Distribution network upgrades
- Pumping stations & rising mains
- Treatment works expansions & compliance upgrades
- MEICA design
- Civil, structural & geotechnical packages
- Reservoirs, storage, resilience and raw water assets
This is not staff augmentation, it is outcome-based engineering delivery.
How our delivery model works.
- Scoping & Activity Schedule Development
We work with the client to define the package scope and build a milestone-driven activity schedule that aligns with NEC3 governance.
- Multi-Disciplinary Team Assembly
We assemble a complete design squad- civil, mechanical, electrical, process, project controls, matched to the scope and timeline.
- Design Governance & Leadership
Our leads manage:
- Programme structure
- Technical coordination
- Risk management
- Design assurance
- Communication with client and stakeholders
- Progress Reporting & Milestone Validation
Every activity is tracked to NEC3 requirements, ensuring commercial and technical transparency.
- Delivery of the Final Package
We hand over fully QA’d, multi-disciplinary design outputs ready for the next stage (construction, procurement, or further design).
Why water companies choose Shirley Parsons for Option A Delivery.
Multi-Disciplinary Capability: We draw from a deep network across civil, mechanical, electrical, process and geotechnical engineering, tailored to the asset class.
Rapid, Scalable Delivery Teams: We mobilise quickly, adjust as scope evolves, and provide teams that flex across programme peaks.
Outcome-Based Accountability: Clients trust us because we take responsibility for delivering the design, not just the individuals doing it.
Deep Water Sector Understanding: Our teams understand AMP8 drivers:
- Resilience expansion
- Nutrient and quality compliance
- Reinforcement of network capacity
- Drought planning & national infrastructure links
Cost-effective, efficient delivery model: We combine consultancy-level design capability with the agility and efficiency of a specialist delivery partner.
Partner With us on your AMP8 Design Packages.
If you need a partner who can move fast, take ownership, and deliver outcomes, our Option A / NEC3 model is built for exactly that.
