4.4 The time that has elapsed since completion of the upgrade has been too short to use performance data to judge the likely outcome of the contract. However, under the contract, when GeneSYS took over responsibility for the Agency's telecommunications services, it had to demonstrate that the reliability and availability of its services were better than the average results recorded over the previous year before migration.
4.5 GeneSYS and the Agency told us that there is a fault reporting problem that needs to be resolved. Some of the Agency's monitoring equipment that GeneSYS incorporated into its systems has been generating reports of faults for the services being monitored, even though in many cases the services are functioning normally. GeneSYS was thus presented with a large volume of fault reports, only some of which were genuinely attributable to GeneSYS's services. Because GeneSYS was being swamped by the volume of such fault reports, subject to £100 per hour deduction, it was at risk of missing genuine faults within its network.
4.6 In view of the fact that the reported faults do not result in any loss of service, the Agency has not, so far, made any deductions. The Agency has agreed, with the contractor, a work programme to reduce each month the level of reported no loss faults. If the contractor does not meet its programme of improvements, the Agency is entitled to levy deductions, though at a rate of £1 per hour per device. The contractor has agreed to resolve fully the problem within 12 months. These arrangements are designed to incentivise the contractor to overcome the problem and to avoid driving it into insolvency for no loss faults. Faults that result in a real loss of service do not receive similar relief.
4.7 The continuity of the Agency's staff and advisers from procurement through the build phase and into the operational phase of the contract has provided the Agency with the ability to act as a knowledgeable client. GeneSYS recognises that the Agency's team understands the contract and this understanding has contributed to a good working relationship. Moreover, GeneSYS is keen to maintain its good relationship with the Agency, to meet the aspirations of the contractor's major shareholder, Fluor Corporation, which wants to expand its client base in the UK beyond Network Rail and London Underground.