Contract Journal articles from May 2002

Contract Journal archives from May 2002

Work winners this week.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Who's winning the work?Contracts Hotline is your at-a-glance digest of the latest contract awards around the UK. Data supplied by ABI Building Data. London & South East Sawston flats Work: Flats Location: Sawston,...

Handing over the reins.(Interview)
May 1, 2002... The Civil Engineering Contractors Association has acquired a new chairman. Will the change at the top mean policy changes or does the association intend business as usual? Geraldine Faulkner talks to outgoing chairman Trevor Walker, and his...

Towards a succesful claim.(construction industry litigation)
May 1, 2002... Despite the best efforts of the Construction Act, litigation still remains widespread in the industry. George McNeill of Hornagold & Hills gives some pointers on how to increase your chances of putting together a successful claim. If...

TCP and Solar team up.(Taylor Construction Plant, Solar Highways)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Companies' jv will market the GenSun traffic light system TCP (Taylor Construction Plant) has formed a joint venture with Solar Highways to market the Gen Sun solar-powered temporary traffic light system. Manufactured by Diss-based...

Tax lobby funding under threat.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... by John d'Arcy The future of construction's powerful industry tax lobby, the Joint Taxation Committee (JTC), is looking uncertain following moves to strengthen its financial backing. The committee represents a wide range of...

Union decries outsourcing.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... UCATT leader demands DLOs should be given fair chance against private sector by John d'Arcy Direct labour organisations (DLOs) can, and often do, outperform private sector contractors, according to George Brumwell, general secretary...

Amey scotches rumour of ?400m bid for Anite.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... Amey has scotched rumours of a planned ?400m bid for Anite, the computer services firm. Analysts recognise that such a move is the direction Amey wants to move in, but doubt its financial capacity to take such a step at the moment. "I can...

Ashfield firm to manage home stock.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... Ashfield District Council has formed a wholly-owned housing services company, or Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), to act as landlord for its stock of nearly 8,400 homes. Construction partners for three districts will be chosen in...

Volvo plans China factory.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is to establish a ?10.7m factory in Shanghai, China, to build construction equipment. The new 70,000m2 facility will begin production in spring 2003, initially employing 150 people assembling crawler...

'Sterile' debate returns.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Specialists' chief says Strategic Forum is not a talking shop Sir, I refer to the article on 17 April under the headline "SEC and NSCC to fight for a seat at Forum". On reading the article I immediately suffered a massive bout of...

NEWSBRIEF.(various briefs in construction industry)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Case leaves doncaster site Case is to close its Doncaster site and relocate its construction equipment team. The sales and marketing team headed by Rick Morris will move to new offices in Doncaster, while technical support, parts and...

Demonstrating concrete.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Concrete Show brings products to life with demonstrations every 30 minutes One of the highlights of SED this year will be the Concrete Show, which like the main show itself, places the emphasis on demonstration. Throughout the three...

Ingersoll-Rand unveils tower.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... An anticipated market growth of between 3% and 5% has encouraged Ingersoll-Rand (IR) to diversify its generator-based products with the launch of a UK-specific lighting tower and updates to its generator range. The new lighting tower,...

Stenoak turnover hike.(Stenoak Associated Services)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Stenoak Associated Services, the rapidly expanding transport infrastructure services group, has doubled its turnover to ?115m. A former fencing contractor, Stenoak has transformed itself as a result of recent acquisitions. The latest...

NEWSBRIEF.(various briefs in construction industry)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Latest MAC road contract up for grabs The latest managing agent contractor (MAC) road maintenance contract has been advertised by the Highways Agency (HA). The contract for Area 4, worth between ?25m and ?30m a year, is for all trunk roads...

Willmott to go the PFI way.(Willmott Dixon, social housing negotiations)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Willmott Dixon will make its first foray into PFI this year. The company is negotiating its membership of an equity partnership to bid for social housing PFI schemes. Incoming chairman Rick Willmott declined to name the other party, but...

Ramesys and BIW in joint e-business.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Companies work together to give best project collaboration deal to clients by John Leitch Ramesys, the construction software group, has announced that it is to collaborate with BIW, the e-business group specialising in project...

Wrekin takes over Filcom.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Wrekin has acquired Filcom, a fibre optic and cabling contractor, a move that will push Wrekin's turnover from an anticipated ?85m to more than ?100m this year. Wrekin Construction and Filcom currently act jointly to provide services under...

Balfour tops A8 list.(Glasgow-Edinburgh, Scotland, trunk road project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Balfour Beatty is about to hit the road for a ?20m-plus design, construct and maintain scheme in Scotland. Insiders say the firm is now favourite to clinch the A8 Glasgow-Edinburgh trunk road project, which is being let on a fixed-price,...

Concrete register.(quality register)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Concrete contractors are latest group to jump on quality register bandwagon by John d'Arcy Specialist concrete contractors are the latest sector of construction to set up a quality register of independently assessed and accredited...

Transco picks ten.(firms to help with gas pipeline and plant construction)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... International line-up makes it onto firm's list for gas pipeline and plant schemes by Brian Warner Transco has gone for an international line-up of construction heavyweights to tackle ?1bn-plus worth of gas pipeline and plant schemes...

Carillion bosses set for windfall.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... Directors and senior managers to scoop ?17m if share price rises by just 60p by John Leitch Carillion's current share price only needs to climb by a further 60p for the group's founding directors and senior managers to scoop a...

The use of e-commerce.
May 1, 2002... Sir, Your most interesting article on e-business (CJ 24 April) must beg a major question: Is the industry not losing focus of the real issues? Can e-commerce assist and speed up the procurement process? Answer: yes. Is Dutch...

Back bites.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Network fail In case further proof was needed of the state of Britain's rail network, a German train manufacturer has spent ?7m damaging its test track to replicate the dilapidated railways used by its British customers. Siemens,...

Firms get picky on big PFI deals.(private finance initiatives, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Wealth of schemes means companies will stick to their specialised markets by Brian Warner Clients can expect low levels of interest from contractors as increasingly massive PFI schemes are rolled out, according to major players in the...

Balfour wins MoD deal.(UK's Ministry of Defense)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Replacement contractor Balfour Beatty is finally set to sail away with a ?40m Ministry of Defence prime contract in Portsmouth. The firm is tipped to clinch the HMS Nelson naval base deal, leaving Bovis Lend Lease, its only remaining rival,...

ICE dares to question value of safety spend.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... But HSE applauds engineers for breaking industry taboo by Tim Wood The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) stands accused this week of being "totally irresponsible" after it questioned the necessity of the construction industry...

Government clients close in on Best Practice targets.(Deryk Eke, Office of Government Commerce United Kingdom)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... Exclusive by Ross Pearman The government has hit back at claims that its departments are failing on Best Practice. Speaking exclusively to CJ, the Office of Government Commerce's (OGC) construction director Deryk Eke said the performance...

Intel site work to resume.(expansion of European headquarters)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The ?1.4bn expansion of US computer giant Intel's European headquarters in Leixlip, County Kildare, will resume on site in the next couple of weeks. Intel halted the project over a year ago when the hi-tech market slumped. As a result,...

NFB calls for league tables to go public.(National Federation of Builders, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Report reveals local authorities "having difficulty" with strategic procurement Exclusive by Laura Hailstone The National Federation of Builders (NFB) is calling for league tables to be published ranking local authorities by their...

Corus seeks US tariff exemption.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The tariff imposed by President Bush on steel imports into the US is affecting 160,000t of UK steel exported by Corus. Of that figure, 130,000t is produced by Rotherham-based Corus Engineering Steels (CES). "It represents 10% of CES'...

NEWSBRIEF.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... Tenders out for Birmingham road project The Highways Agency is inviting contractors to pitch for a ?23m to ?28m early design and build scheme in Birmingham known as the M56/A5117/A550 Deeside Park junctions improvement. The project involves...

Largest CTRL contract now at St Pancras.(railroad station to be refurbished, London, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The ?141m CTRL Contract 105 to extend London's St Pancras station, which was awarded to a Costain, O'Rourke Civils and Bachy Soletanche joint venture in August last year, has been merged with a new contract to refurbish the same area. ...

LAs not spending cash.(local authorities have personnel shortages, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... by Glenda Thisdell Staff shortages are preventing local authorities from spending their full statutory highways maintenance allowance, despite a backlog of work, which has increased to some ?7.4bn over the last 12 months. Figures...

Gordon Bennett! ; What a thing to say!(Liz Bennett, Institution of Civil Engineers)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
May 1, 2002... Liz Bennett has walked into a storm of criticism. The chairman of the Institution of Civil Engineers' health and safety board claims to have "broken one of the biggest taboos in the construction industry" by questioning the value of spending...

[0] NEWSBRIEF.(developer news)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Mclean emerges as brum favourite David McLean Developments has been chosen as preferred developer for the ?220m Masshouse scheme in Birmingham. The 93,000m2 scheme comprises a mixture of large floorplate commercial office space,...

Geoff Brewer of Brewer Consulting considers set-off against adjudicators' decisions.(contract law, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Until very recently I held to the view that the payment and adjudication provisions of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act (HGCRA) were working very effectively and that no adjustment was needed. Recent decisions of the courts...

Geoff Brewer of Brewer Consulting considers the requirement for mediation of disputes.
May 9, 2002... Part 1.4 of the Civil Procedure Rules requires the court to actively manage cases in order to further the "overriding objective", which is stated to be a requirement to deal with cases justly. Part 1.4 goes on to state that active case...

Full marks for ambition.
May 9, 2002... Stoke-on-Trent's ?75m PFI education scheme includes every single school in the city. The project is both ambitious and extremely complex, as most of the work involves refurbishment on sites occupied by the city's 30,000 school children. James...

Accident or design?
May 9, 2002... The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has been vocal in criticising designs of PFI buildings. But will its concerns result in changes to the PFI procurement process? Will Mann weighs up the arguments. Urban...

Worcester's new source of pride.
May 9, 2002... Last month the Bovis Lend Lease-led Catalyst consortium completed its second PFI hospital. The process culminated in a massive logistics exercise which involved moving patients from three old sites to the new Worcestershire Royal Hospital over...

Engineers call for better pay system.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... SEC sets agenda after demise of Constructors Liaison Group by John d'Arcy Rudi Klein, chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors (SEC) Group, has named the group's key priorities in the wake of the demise of the united...

The only game in town.(private finance initiative)
May 9, 2002... PFI is now the dominant procurement route for major public sector projects.Over the next 17 pages CJ highlights the latest developments. First, James Atkinson, examines the arguments over standardised contract forms, which will set the template...

Lost in the dark.(procurement strategies for local authorities)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Are local authorities losing the plot when they put work out to tender? Laura Hailstone investigates. Local authorities came under attack in last week's CJ from the National Federation of Builders (NFB) and the Institution of Civil...

Duo left in Irish race.(Ireland's National Roads Authority to award road construction contracts)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Erin Route and EuroLink chasing ?650m-plus road schemes by Brian Warner Only two consortia are left in the chase for one of the biggest deals in the Republic of Ireland's National Roads Authority's (NRA) ?650m-plus programme of...

Move to eradicate homes blight.(government program looks at derelict housing)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... More than 800,000 houses are the target of a major government programme to eradicate inner city housing blight. Under the programme, nine local authorities will put together pathfinder projects to tackle the problem of communities blighted...

EU agrees good vibrations.(European Union)(mechanical vibrations safety directive)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Final agreement has been secured on the shape of an updated European Union directive on employees' safety from exposure to mechanical vibrations, which will ultimately reflect calls from the construction industry for realistic protection for...

Architects in firing line of concrete debate.(encouraged to use in situ concrete)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Concrete specialist David Bennett has thrown the gauntlet down to architects that prefer to specify pre-cast and rendered concrete instead of in situ concrete. In a speech next Tuesday at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Bennett...

May Gurney/Hyder jv targets MACs.(Hyder Consulting)(joint venture)(Managing Agent Contractor)(highway maintenance)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... May Gurney and Hyder Consulting have teamed up to form MGH Highways, in a bid to pursue Managing Agent Contractor (MAC) deals with the Highways Agency. Of particular interest to MGH will be the ?50m-a-year Area 12 contract for North and...

Bovis strict supply terms accepted by contractors.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Warm welcome for measures aimed at making firm's sites 'better and safer' by Laura Hailstone The strict new contract terms Bovis Lend Lease introduced to its supply chain earlier this year (CJ 13 February) have been "accepted well by...

Portakabin welcomes prefab plan.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... by Laura Hailstone Portakabin has welcomed housing minister Lord Falconer's plans to build thousands of modular homes for Britain's key workers. "We are keen to win people over to the benefits of modular construction. We think this is...

Balfour unveils three-way business structure.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... by John Leitch Balfour Beatty unveiled its new business structure on Tuesday. Future workload will be split into three sectors: rail, building, and engineering. The changes were prompted by a surge of growth in turnover. Balfour's rail...

City Hall cost cuts deemed a disgrace.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... by Ross Pearman The ?45m City Hall project for the Greater London Authority (GLA) has again come in for criticism following the revelation that the building will not contain photovoltaic cells. Due to open in July, the building...

NEWSBRIEF.
May 9, 2002... nuttall wins ?13m bus scheme deal Edmund Nuttall has won the ?13m construction contract for the Fastway part-guided bus scheme for West Sussex County Council. The bus scheme is meant to improve public transport around Crawley, Gatwick and...

HSE orders 108 sites to down tools.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... by Ross Pearman Health & Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors visited 210 sites in London last week, issuing a total of 108 prohibition notices in the first blitz since the HSE's reshuffle (CJ 10 April). A total of 11 improvement notices...

Housebuilders reject price-fixing accusations.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... by Laura Hailstone The House Builders Federation (HBF) has hit back at accusations that the housebuilding industry is exploiting the property shortage and keeping the price of new homes at "astronomical" levels. "What our members...

Hours verdict spells'red tape nightmare'.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... Euro victory for unions - but 'disaster' for flexible industry by Carol Millett The construction industry is facing a "red tape nightmare" following the European Commission's decision to force Britain to fully implement the Working...

Working Time Directive or 'Wed Tape Disaster'?(Brief Article)
May 9, 2002... It was always a fair bet that the Working Time Directive (WTD) would bite the construction industry hard. It's not a typical nine-to-five business with a static location and a permanent staff, despite the growing trend towards off-site...

[0] NEWSBRIEF.
May 9, 2002... Carillion seals ?42m Barracks contract As tipped in CJ two weeks ago, Carillion has been appointed as preferred bidder for the delivery of a ?42m prime contract modernisation programme at the Ministry of Defence's Lucknow Barracks in...

Pick of the bunch.
May 9, 2002... The Pavilion has plenty to offer. It will host more than 80 exhibitors, and is the venue for the show's new Business Centre. Geraldine Faulkner and Laura Hailstone report. Visitors to SED can get free advice from leading industry bodies in...

Hitting a high note.
May 9, 2002... 2002 is a 'cranes' year at SED. Look up to find your way there. David Taylor looks at what will be revealed at the show. This year is dedicated to cranes and there is even more activity in the Cranes and Access Village. But there is no...

New and improved at SED.
May 9, 2002... There are lots of new products at SED this year, so we've only got space to give some of them a brief mention? The Showground Case will exhibit and demonstrate its 695 Super M backhoe loader for the first time at SED and launch two new...

FM market to grow '10% a year'.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 9, 2002... Growth in the UK facilities management market is set to continue at 10% a year from ?16bn last year to ?25bn by 2006 - still some way short of a potential market worth ?61bn. And while most of the growth potential is from within the public...

Good grounding.
May 9, 2002... There are new launches, demonstrations and a variety of products and services exhibited.Paul Howard finds out who and what will be there. New machines, and the chance to see them perform - that's what the showground at SED is all about. Of...

Keeping it clear.
May 9, 2002... With growing environmental concern over waste on site, the recycling industry is thriving. Ian Brown reviews the latest kit available at the Site Clearance Zone. The Site Clearance Zone at SED is such an established feature it seems as if...

Geoff Brewer of Brewer Consulting examines global claims within the construction industry.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... Most people involved in commercial matters in the construction industry will understand what is meant by the term 'global claim'. In the 1991 case of Mid Glamorgan County Council -v- J Devonald Williams the court held: "Where a claim is made...

Work winners this week.(building contracts in the UK)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... Who's winning the work?Contracts Hotline is your at-a-glance digest of the latest contract awards around the UK. Data supplied by ABI Building Data. LONDON & South East Tooting laboratories Work: Laboratories Location:...

Speaking as one.(Zara Lamont, chief executive of the Confederation of Construction Clients )(Brief Article)(Interview)
May 15, 2002... Six months after joining the Confederation of Construction Clients as its new chief executive, Zara Lamont sets out her plans for the future. She explains that, while clients can help, they are not here to save the construction industry. Ross...

How green is your roof?(innovative ideas at Riverhead Infants School)
May 15, 2002... Just off the M25 approaching Sevenoaks is Riverhead Infants School. It's still a building site with the usual mix of site huts, fencing, excavation and material stacks and a queue of construction vehicles. One curious difference is that the...

Site visitors get CSCS cards.(Construction Skills Certification Scheme making sites safer)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... Sites to be made watertight in effort to heighten health and safety awareness by John d'Arcy The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is set to make all sites completely watertight in terms of health and safety awareness...

Oil and Steel appoints UK distributor.(Grovegate Engineering)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... Access platform manufacturer Oil and Steel has appointed Grovegate Engineering as its UK distributor. According to Grovegate, Oil and Steel's crawler and truck mounted platforms are market leaders in Europe and employ an innovative...

CIS4 holders won't kill the golden goose.(letter)
May 15, 2002... Sir, I was touched by the contents of your leader in the 17 April edition of CJ. Yours and George Brumwell's concern for construction workers having holidays is very commendable. I find it hard to believe that people with incomes of...

ICE wants safety put into practice.(Institution of Civil Engineers' chairman Liz Bennett)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... ICE chairman says industry must take action to improve site health and safety by Tim Wood The chairman of the Institution of Civil Engineers' (ICE) health and safety board has this week reiterated her challenge for all branches of the...

Resonance-free piling for Dew.(Dew Construction purchases Institution of Civil Engineers' 18RF-ts resonance-free piling vibrator)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... Dew Construction has taken delivery of the first ICE 18RF-ts resonance-free piling vibrator. The twin-speed unit weighs 4.3t and has a 300kW power pack, allowing it to produce a centrifugal force of 1,050kN. Advantages of the machine...

JCB unveils new compact telehandler at SED.(introduces a roof truss handling boom)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... At SED, JCB has unveiled a roof truss handling boom and a compact telehandler that can place trusses on three-storey buildings. The new JCB 533-105 Loadall telehandler is said to combine high-lift capacity with compactness and...

Truth about safety test.(Amec PLC)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... CITB chairman responds to complaints from plant operators Sir, Your article (CJ 24 April) referred to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Health and Safety Test as "an extra layer of cost and bureaucracy rather than a boon...

OGC in effort to reduce disputes.(Office of Government Commerce)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... Expensive litigation caused by contractual disputes between government departments and suppliers could be "substantially reduced" under new guidance from the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). The updated version of the Dispute...

Islington housing list.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... The two bidders left in the frame for a ?20m private finance social housing deal in north London have also made it on to the shortlist for a second project of similar value. Last month, Islington Council chose Circle 33 Housing Trust and...

Minimum pay deal for apprentices agreed.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 15, 2002... Pay deal aims to ease skills shortage and help recruit and retain school leavers by John d'Arcy Employers and unions have finally agreed a new set of minimum rates of pay for apprentices under the terms of Construction Industry Joint...

Shareholders in fight against Amec support of Turkish dam.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... by Laura Hailstone Amec's AGM last Wednesday proved eventful with the company being grilled by its shareholders for two hours. A handful of protestors were escorted out by security for holding up red cards every time Amec answered their...

Balfour to build 584 naval digs.(Balfour Beatty Construction)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... Balfour Beatty Construction has been named as preferred bidder by Defence Estates for the ?36m HMS Nelson prime contract in Portsmouth. Construction, which is anticipated to start this autumn, includes single living accommodation for 584...

In the money at Taywood.(Taylor Woodrow)
May 15, 2002... Keith Egerton, chief executive at Taylor Woodrow until recently, received a total package of ?560,000 last year, a combination of his ?343,000 salary and a ?200,000 bonus. However, Taywood's financial statement for 2001, published this...

Project bank ends late payment.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... by Glenda Thisdell The fully transparent banking system used by Citex on its ?38m Ministry of Defence prime contract in Andover may herald the end of subcontractors' complaints of late payment. The system allows all contractors on the...

PFI hospital retendered.(North Glasgow University Hospital NHS Trust)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2002... A ?30m private finance hospital deal in Scotland is to be rebid - more than a year after it first came up for tender. Last March, the North Glasgow University Hospital NHS Trust shortlisted four firms to pitch for a new care and diagnostic...