A team from the Foster-Wheeler UK subsidiary Foster Wheeler Energy, part of the Global Engineering and Construction Group, has won the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board ACTIVE Cup.

Foster Wheeler announce that a team from its UK subsidiary Foster Wheeler Energy, part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has won the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) ACTIVE Cup. A record field of ten teams from the UK's leading engineering and project management companies took part in this year's competition. Foster Wheeler has participated in the competition since its inception ten years ago and this is the sixth time that the company has won the award.

The popular ACTIVE (Achieving Competitiveness Through Innovation and Value Enhancement) Cup is an annual competition-based learning event in project management.

The ACTIVE initiative was launched in 1996 with the aim of improving the performance of capital projects in the process industries and encouraging the sharing of good practice.

The ACTIVE Cup uses sophisticated technology to test teams from companies within the industry on their ability to put the ACTIVE principles to work when managing a substantial project.

The annual weekend event, sponsored by the ECITB, a UK organization, is based around a dynamic and interactive computer simulation managed by Cranfield University School of Management in the UK.

Teams are set the challenge of project managing the construction, from inception to client acceptance, of an 'environmental monitoring station' located in a remote area.

'The project is executed over a 20 to 25 'week' simulated schedule, with each week lasting 15 to 20 minutes,' said Matthew Morley, leader of the winning team, and proposal manager at Foster Wheeler Energy.

'The time pressures created by the simulation required rapid and accurate progress assessment and decision-making with respect to equipment and material procurement, workforce allocation and plant hire deployment.

The competition judges assessed team performance against actual project performance, namely achieving the highest profit against a fixed-price, lump-sum contract, the ability to meet both schedule and profit forecasts at key stages throughout the project and the continuous application of the ACTIVE principles'.

'Foster Wheeler is proud of its project management and project execution expertise and proven track record in 'real life',' said Steve Davies, chairman and chief executive officer, Foster Wheeler Energy: 'It is very pleasing to see a Foster Wheeler team demonstrate these same skills and apply the same commitment and professionalism in this prestigious competition'.

'The ECITB ACTIVE Cup allows us to simulate the life-cycle of a major project within a single weekend,' commented David Edwards, chief executive, ECITB: 'This, and the competition element, puts the pressure on and intensifies the learning experience.

The teams are tested across the spectrum of project management activity, including negotiating with clients, suppliers and bankers.

In winning, the Foster Wheeler team demonstrated a thorough understanding and application of the ACTIVE principles'.