The brief
Cavendish Nuclear’s Process, Plant & Equipment (PP&E) portfolio supports major UK nuclear delivery, including the Monju Prototype Fast Reactor decommissioning contract in partnership with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Delivering that scope at risk-appetite confidence, while standing up a more mature in-house risk function, called for a senior risk specialist who could both model and coach.
SOMA was engaged to provide Principal Risk Specialist capability — leading risk management across the PP&E portfolio, advising on bid pricing through integrated cost-and-schedule risk analysis, and upskilling the existing risk team from Early Careers through to senior grade.
Our role
The engagement covers three overlapping tracks:
- Programme-level risk management — oversight of risk activity across the projects in the PP&E portfolio, regular Integrated Cost & Schedule Risk Analysis (CSRA), Joint Confidence Level advisory to inform CNL’s exposure position to the client.
- Bid pricing and baseline setting — using CSRA outputs to recommend the optimum bid price that covers risk exposure in line with the company’s risk appetite, factoring contingencies into baseline programmes and cost estimates, tracking drawdowns against remaining exposure.
- Supply-chain assurance — risk-focused assurance activity across Supply-Chain-delivered scopes of work, applied appropriately to each NEC contract type and framework arrangement.
- In-house capability uplift — regular coaching and formal training across the PP&E risk team from Early Careers through senior grades, plus introduction of Optimism Bias as a lighter-weight method of assessing risk on Fixed-Price Supply-Chain Work Packages where full CSRA is disproportionate.
Monju reactor decommissioning — bid win
As part of the engagement, SOMA led the risk input to Cavendish Nuclear’s bid for the Monju Prototype Fast Reactor decommissioning contract — a new alliance with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to support decommissioning at Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The bid was successful, securing the contract and the ongoing relationship.
Quality and governance
Assurance activity extends beyond the risk numbers: quality assurance on the deliverables being produced by CNL, consistent application of HM Treasury Green Book and the Supplementary Guidance on Optimism Bias, and clear governance reporting that stands up to internal and external scrutiny.
Outcomes
- Monju Reactor decommissioning contract secured with JAEA — a new international alliance for Cavendish Nuclear.
- Joint Confidence Level advisory gives senior stakeholders a defensible view of risk exposure to client.
- PP&E risk function matured from Early Careers through senior grades through coaching and formal training.
- Optimism Bias assessment introduced as a proportionate alternative to full CSRA on supply-chain-delivered work packages — accelerating governance delivery without compromising rigour.
- Contingency discipline embedded in baseline estimates and tracked against drawdown.
The result
The engagement is a long-running SOMA presence in UK nuclear — senior risk leadership, recognised bid-pricing advisory, and a maturing in-house risk team. Exactly the kind of embedded, capability-building work SOMA is built for.