Maureen Gaines Editor, WET News    The Cyclicality Working Group has been working away behind the scenes to eradicate the negative side of the five-yearly AMP cycles. Communication and innovation are key to the process going forward. I have been talking to the group’s chair, Richard Coackley, to find out more.   The Cyclicality Working Group were tasked with eliminating the downside of the regulated AMP cycle, which has resulted in up to 40,000 job losses as well as created uncertainty and inefficiency for contractors. He firmly believes the answer lies in communication and innovation.This is a big opportunity to change the way the industry operates in sharing forward information to increase efficiency and provide the customer with savings. The working group was established following the Treasury / Ofwat report Smoothing Investment Cycles in the Water Sector, published in July 2012 with the aim of finding a solution to the negative impact of the five-yearly cycles in the water industry’s supply chain. In setting up the working group, Coackley wanted to represent all aspects of the water industry. “I wanted to get a real cross-section of the whole of the industry.”  British Water and Water UK are key members of the group as the overall industry umbrella, also including the Treasury and Ofwat. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and Environment Agency were brought on board to provide a long-term legislative planning … to read more click here