How UMC works

Three shapes of engagement

A short review

A few days looking at what you have, ending in a findings register split into blocking, conditional and advisory, with an owner and a closure route against each one. This is the usual way to start when nobody is certain where the gaps are, and it is deliberately cheap enough to be worth doing before you know.

A fixed piece of work

A CONOPS, a procedure set, a ROC specification, a trials campaign, a regulatory roadmap, a competence framework. Scope, output, timescale and price agreed in writing before anything starts, so there is no drift and no surprise invoice.

Retained days

A set number of days a month, either as your acting head of USV operations or across a bid, a mobilisation or a capability build. Month by month, with a notice period, and written from the start to hand over cleanly.

Travel, on-site days and expenses are quoted separately and agreed before they are incurred.

What happens after you get in touch

• A short call, at no cost, to work out whether this is something UMC should take on. If it is not, you will be told so and, where possible, pointed somewhere better.
• A written scope: what is being done, what you receive, when, and what it costs.
• The work, with progress visible as it goes rather than a long silence followed by a document.
• A debrief with the people who actually have to act on the findings.

Working with your team

Directly, and in writing. UMC works inside your documents, your templates and your systems wherever you want that, so what you are left with is yours rather than a consultant's report you then have to translate.

What has been verified and what has been reported are kept apart and labelled. If something is specified but not fitted, the word used is specified. If two sources disagree, both are recorded rather than one quietly chosen.

Confidentiality and conflicts

Client names are kept private unless a client asks otherwise, which is why there are no logos on this site. Confidentiality agreements are normal and welcome. Work is declined where it would conflict with an existing engagement, and buyer-side and builder-side roles are never taken on the same programme.

Terms

Engagements run under your contract or a short-form agreement, whichever is quicker to get moving. Invoicing is monthly in arrears. Intellectual property created during an engagement is yours once the work is paid for. Either side can end an engagement on written notice.

Questions people ask first

What does it cost?

It depends on the shape and the scale. Tell me what you are trying to get to and you will get a written scope and price before anything starts. There is no charge for the first conversation.

How quickly can you start?

Usually within two to three weeks of a scope being agreed, and sooner for a short review. Say if you are working to a fixed date.

Do you work outside the UK?

Yes. International deployment planning and mobilisation into new countries are a normal part of the work, and the regulatory route mapping usually runs alongside.

Do you operate vessels for us?

UMC provides operational leadership, supervision and on-site support, and can help you specify, select and build the team you need. It is not a crewing agency.

Will you sign an NDA?

Yes, as a matter of course.

Are you a certifying body?

No. UMC prepares and supports the case. Approval always rests with your flag administration, class society, harbour authority and client.