Serco has had an integral role in the UK civil and defence nuclear industries for the past 50 years.

Serco’s Technical and Assurance Services business provides specialist technical support to the UK nuclear industry. It provides expert safety, environmental, risk and asset management advice and operational solutions to many of the UK’s civil nuclear sites. For nearly half a century, it has been providing independent specialist nuclear safety advice to the Royal Navy in support of their nuclear submarine fleet.

Since 2000, Serco has been entrusted with the management of the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), which provides the warheads for the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent. We do this as part of AWE Management Limited (AWEML), a 25-year joint venture with Lockheed Martin UK and BNFL.

AWE is a complex nuclear facility on a 750 acre site at Aldermaston and an adjacent 225 acres site at Burghfield in Berkshire, and employs nearly 4500 people including scientists, engineers and skilled craftspeople.

Our primary role through AWEML is to provide advice and governance to the management of AWE plc and bring the experience and expertise of the parent companies to bear on AWE’s development.  

We have worked together to create a new nuclear programme and project management academy for AWE staff, which is now up and running, with almost a quarter of the staff being trained in the first year. 

One of the projects involves a multi-disciplinary team of project managers, commercial experts, scientists, engineers and construction specialists delivering a state-of-the-art laser facility to enable scientists to replicate conditions at the heart of a nuclear reaction.  The facility will also be used by civil scientists studying events such as the beginning of the universe.

Serco has also formed a consortium called SBB Nuclear with Bechtel and B&W to bid for the opportunity to be the Parent Body Organisation for Sellafield Ltd. The outcome of the competition being run by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is due to be announced in 2008.