4.1 Following award of the contract on 16 September 2005, GeneSYS had two years to complete the upgrade of the Agency's telecommunications systems. The upgrade included laying 110 kilometres of fibre optic cable alongside the M3, M4 and M62 motorways to complete the core network of fibre optic cables. The work also included refurbishing 149 transmission stations with new digital technology equipment. Although GeneSYS still had to complete some non-substantial outstanding works, including the production of some supporting documentation, the Agency accepted that the build phase of the contract was completed on 3 October 2007.
4.2 GeneSYS suffered disruption to many of its activities:
■ Environmental planning consents delayed commencement of GeneSYS's cable laying activities particularly along the M3 motorway where it encountered dormice and other protected species. To recover time, the contractor increased resources used on the project, for example through additional working shifts.
■ The contractor experienced the loss of existing cable that was stolen from surface troughs. To reduce the risk, it decided to bury the vulnerable cable, at its own cost, rather than re-lay it in the troughs.
■ GeneSYS took nine months longer to obtain factory acceptance of its proposed technology. To avoid potential delays to the overall programme, the contractor decided, at its own risk, to roll out the proposed technology while it resolved the technological problems.
4.3 Despite the problems that it encountered, GeneSYS resolved them without bringing any claims against the Agency for additional payment or extensions of time. The contractor complied with its obligations sufficiently well to avoid activating provisions that entitled the Agency to recover damages. The level of its non-compliances never exceeded the second of seven recordable levels which was three levels below the point at which the Agency could levy damages (Appendix 3). In executing the upgrade of the Agency's telecommunications systems, GeneSYS's health and safety record was also good.