Contract Journal articles from September 2005

Contract Journal archives from September 2005

Eastern promise.(bridge construction contracts)
September 1, 2005... After an eternity of waiting, the East London Line extension finally got the green light earlier this year. Taylor Woodrow was awarded the first package - the enabling works - and Will Mann walks the route of the line to see what lies ahead....

Merseyside merger.
September 1, 2005... Nuttall and HBG Construction are working together on a new transport hub on the West Coast Main Line near Liverpool's John Lennon Airport. The [pounds sterling]18m scheme was supposed to herald a new era of collaboration between the two Royal...

Cheap labour directive failing, claim employers and unions.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The European Posted Workers Directive, which aims to create a level playing field by curbing the use of cut-price imported labour, is not proving very effective in practice, according to employers and unions. In a joint statement, the European...

Derailed?(railroads)
September 1, 2005... The decision by Network Rail to take rail maintenance in-house will have a significant impact on the procurement of road-rail plant. Paul Howard investigates the consequences. There is enormous concern in some sectors of the plant hire...

back bites.(Grand Canyon)
September 1, 2005... Glass bottoms The news that a 21m-long horseshoe-shaped skywalk is being considered for the Grand Canyon's south rim provoked a mixed reaction in CJ Towers. Some staff considered the opportunity to view the rock strata 1,200m from the canyon...

Fitzpatrick in a jam with Blackwall tunnel delays.
September 1, 2005... Firm faces hefty fines as the southbound tunnel is unlikely to be completed until December at the earliest. Fitzpatrick has missed a fourth completion date on its [pounds sterling]15.5m refurbishment contract of east London's Blackwall...

Single status.(construction equipment)(Interview)
September 1, 2005... The decision to break its ties with Mouchel Parkman in the highways market leaves Amey fighting its own corner for new roads work. Ross Pearman speaks to Amey's Chris Webster to find out more about its future in the road market. As with...

On track for growth.(Interview)
September 1, 2005... Birse Rail is combining its sector expertise and its relationships with the rest of the Birse empire to expand beyond Network Rail framework contracts. Helen McCormick talks to managing director Ivor Lewis. Created shortly after the...

Editor's comment.(contractors)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... ProCure 21: take the medicine If Sir John Egan had a dream about how things would work when he wrote his report seven years ago, then ProCure 21, with its partnering approach and early contractor involvement, must surely embody it. Now, though,...

Retrofit DPFs won't affect CE certficates.(diesel particulate filters)(construction equipment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Smaller machines and those already sold without a DPF will be exempt from certification. CE certification will not be compromised by retrofitting a particulate filter (DPF), as it certifies conformity only when a machine is first sold in...

Plant hirers risk insurance liability claims.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has warned its members against becoming involved in projects as subcontractors, as it could see hire companies adopting 'serious financial responsibilities.' CPA chief executive Colin Wood said the...

Persimmon on a high with profit of [pounds sterling]240m.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Persimmon, the housebuilder, has made a record interim pre-tax profit of [pounds sterling]240m ([pounds sterling]220m) as the operating margin inched ahead to 23%. Financial results for the six months to 30 June 2005 show turnover higher at...

Under the bridge.(Tony Gee and Partners )
September 1, 2005... The ageing Hammersmith Road Bridge crosses three rail lines and is part of one of west London's busiest roads. When the time came to strengthen the weakening structure, the use of specialist materials kept disruption to a minimum. Helen...

Ausa makes 6t UK debut.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The UK's first 6t Ausa dumper has been delivered to Plant & Engineering Services of Exeter. The machine extends Ausa's dumper range above the previous 4t machines and is the first of a number of units designed by the Spanish manufacturer for...

60-second interview.(Brief Article)(Interview)
September 1, 2005... Kevin Malle, eastern area manager, Alfred McAlpine Special Projects team Where did you go to school and what qualifications did you come away with? I went to King Edward VII Grammar school in Kings Lynn and came away with nine O-Levels...

How to.(interview)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... handle difficult interview questions By Scott Beagrie A survey last year by recruitment consultancy Office Angels revealed that 90% of employers ask 'killer' questions in interviews. How you respond to questions designed to catch you...

Firms rubbish rules on plasterboard disposal.
September 1, 2005... Introduction of '10% rule' by EA set to leave demolition firms with disposal problems. Demolition firms will be left stranded if the Environment Agency (EA) swoops to enforce plasterboard disposal rules, claim landfill operators. The...

Play safe or pay up, contractors warned.
September 1, 2005... Injured Paul John Construction employee wins [pounds sterling]185k after negligence claim is rejected. Contractors will need to pay greater attention to site conditions following a recent case in which a firm failed to prove negligence on...

Funds boost for Worcester library.(Private Finance Initiative and Advantage West Midlands)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Plans for a [pounds sterling]43m library and history centre in Worcester have taken a big step forward with the news that [pounds sterling]33m has been made available for the project under Private Finance Initiative. Worcester County Council...

Laing's portfolio rises to [pounds sterling]340m.(John Laing)
September 1, 2005... First-half 2005 figures show a 9% rise in the value of PFI/PPP investments, with 47 schemes either operational or in the pipeline. The total value of John Laing's PFI/PPP investments rose by 9% to [pounds sterling]340m in the first six...

[pounds sterling]2.5m jackpot for Cemex.(CONTRACTS)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Cemex had a lively month in August, winning [pounds sterling]2.5m of contracts for regeneration schemes in Sheffield and Glasgow. The company won a [pounds sterling]1.5m contract to supply surfacing materials for phase two of the Sheffield...

Smart card roll-out possible by spring.
September 1, 2005... Firms could face bills of thousands of pounds for installing CSCS biometric technology. Biometric readers and Smart cards could replace traditional Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards on site by as early as next spring....

CITB plans apprentice qualification scheme.(Construction Industry Training Board )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The pilot programme aims to upgrade students' basic college skills to NVQ level 2 status. A number of leading construction employers have expressed interest in a new scheme aiming to qualify the workforce. It will be piloted by...

Corus thrives - but steel prices still set to rise.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Steel buyers are facing further price rises this year, despite record profits from main UK supplier Corus. Corus's profit almost tripled in the first half of the year, despite falling demand, and rose from [pounds sterling]156m in 2004 to...

New clients boost NMC's turnover by 50%.(North Midland Construction PLC)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... North Midland Construction (NMC) has enjoyed a surge in turnover of almost 50% this year, largely as a result of winning work with new clients. Finance director Mike Garratt said: "We've put a strong focus on marketing and have targeted growth...

Bovis lands [pounds sterling]80m Glasgow windfall.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Contractor sees off rivals to win Pollock shopping centre scheme. Bovis Lend Lease is understood to have held off two rivals to clinch the main contractor's role on a major redevelopment deal just outside Glasgow. The [pounds...

HBG construction arm bailed out by property.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... HBG's UK construction division suffered a dip in its profit margin to 1.7% last year, after running at 2.1% in 2003. The [pounds sterling]730m of construction turnover produced a profit before interest of [pounds sterling]12m. However, the...

14 contractors to share [pounds sterling]58m bonanza in Leeds.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... A total of 14 contractors are set to share [pounds sterling]58m worth of window and re-roofing work in Leeds. The work will be carried out for the city council's six arm's-length management organisations (ALMOs). These are: Leeds East; Leeds...

Supervisor role threatened by CDM update.(construction design and management)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has welcomed proposals for updating the Construction Design and Management (CDM) safety regulations. But it is warning that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is going to be hard-pressed to...

[pounds sterling]350m NW housing deal split four ways.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Four contractors have the key to [pounds sterling]350m-worth of housing new build and refurbishment work in the North West. Keepmoat, Gleeson, David Wilson and Bellway are on board for the scheme involving Wirral, Sefton and Liverpool city...

Quarry death prompts HSA investigation.
September 1, 2005... The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has begun an investigation into the death of a nine-year-old boy who was killed in a quarry accident in Donegal last week. The boy, Joseph McDevitt, was at the quarry near Annagry, West Donegal, with his...

Industry rounds on cancer liability directive.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Proposed EU legislation will make building bosses liable for all skin cancers suffered by their workers, no matter what their cause, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned. An FMB report condemns as "over-regulating" the proposed EU...

Healthier profit for Michelmersh.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Michelmersh, the specialist producer of handmade-specification bricks, enjoyed a more comfortable interim pre-tax profit of [pounds sterling]210,000. In the same period last year, there was only a wafer-thin return of [pounds sterling]13,000....

Five chase [pounds sterling]28m Essex college deal.(Epping Forest College)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Five contractors have made it to the next stage of the contest for a [pounds sterling]28m education scheme in Essex. After interviewing seven candidates, Epping Forest College will now send out tender documents to Kier, Amec, Willmott Dixon,...

Six to share workload on [pounds sterling]45m HM Revenue & Customs contract.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Six firms are to share out [pounds sterling]45m worth of work refurbishing HM Revenue & Customs properties throughout the UK under framework deals with property services group Mapeley. The company owns most of the Revenue & Customs estate of...

Duo to sue Stephenson.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... RMC Readymix and RMC Logistics Scotland are suing civil engineering firm Stephenson in a [pounds sterling]400,000 row over the supply of concrete. In a High Court writ, the two concrete companies claim West Sussex-based Stephenson has failed to...

Construction rates poorly in UK health statistics.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Updated statistics from the Health & Safety Executive confirm that construction has one of the worst occupational health records of any industrial sector in the UK. Construction's record is worse than the all-industry average in seven key...

Time pressures hit safety standards.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Pressure from clients for swift contract completions and a lack of authority given to health and safety are still affecting safety standards across the construction industry. The findings, from a survey of 68 health and safety construction...

Two remain in Peterborough schools deal.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Only two groups are now on the roll-call for a [pounds sterling]64m PFI schools deal in Peterborough. Land Securities Trillium (Kier/One Complete Solution FM/LSI Architects) and IIC Bouygues (Bouygues/Ecovert FM and Mill Group) will now work up...

CIS system will bring 'bedlam' without Revenue compromise.(construction industry scheme)
September 1, 2005... Construction Confederation warns that timescales are so tight contractors will face limited choice of software. Members of the Joint Taxation Committee (JTC) were due to meet HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) yesterday (Wednesday) to ask for a...

Win an Orient Express trip at the CJ Awards.
September 1, 2005... Fancy a luxurious magical mystery tour? Come to the Contract Journal Construction Industry Awards on 6 October and you could win a trip worth [pounds sterling]4,000 on the Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express. Everyone attending the awards has a...

Laing Homes in Cambridge land use row.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Laing Homes stands accused of unreasonable behaviour towards a homeowner in a dispute over the use of land in Cambridge. The dispute between the two centred on the land behind Lynette Burrows' house in Hills Road. For many years, she and...

Bickerton two may face disqualification.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Two of the so-called 'Bickerton seven' are facing civil proceedings, despite the collapse of the Serious Fraud Office's investigation earlier this summer. CJ understands that director disqualification civil proceedings are underway against...

Staffordshire Council roots out culprits.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Wrekin Construction is to be investigated by Staffordshire County Council (SCC), following an incident in which it accidentally destroyed seven protected trees while carrying out upgrade works on a [pounds sterling]60,000 cycle and pedestrian...

Carillion, Taywood, Balfour face chop.
September 1, 2005... ProCure 21 management team looks to offload three main contractors following principal supply chain review. Plans to ditch three of the 11 NHS ProCure 21 contractors are in the pipeline. Firms in the firing line are Balfour Beatty,...

Jarvis chief ready to move after mission impossible.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Alan Lovell, chief executive of Jarvis, is getting ready to move on from the company, but not before March 2006. Brought in to attempt the near-impossible, Lovell is close to the remarkable achievement of successfully pulling the group back...

Sports centres and libraries win PFI credits.(private finance initiative)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Six privately financed local authority projects to build library and sports centres have been given the green light by the Department for Culture Media and Sport. The councils given finance to build sports centres are: Leeds City Council, which...

company life.
September 1, 2005... what's going on within May Gurney How many days annual leave? Currently it's 25 days. But from 2006 we are reviewing this and hope to increase this level. Can you take holidays when you want them? Yes - apart from a stipulation that four...

Fraser banks on mini JCB.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Lanarkshire-based Fraser Tool Hire is the first Scottish company to purchase one of JCB's new 8014 mini excavators. The 1.5t capacity model joins an extensive JCB equipment fleet. This year, Fraser has purchased five JCB telehandlers, two mini...

HSS aims to expand further despite buying Laois chain.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Recent addition of three hire service outlets helps rental company increase its coverage of central Ireland. HSS said it is still looking for further Irish acquisition opportunities following the purchase of Laois Hire Services, one of the...

Payment of adjudication costs.
September 1, 2005... Neither the 1996 Construction Act nor the Scheme for Construction Contracts, which contains model terms for adjudication, provide for the payment of the costs incurred by either party in prosecuting or defending claims made in adjudication....

Remote air compressor.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Drillcorp has introduced Air-Cat, a self-propelled, track-mounted air compressor designed to overcome access problems on confined sites or where ground conditions make delivery difficult. The radio remote-controlled unit has an Ingersoll-Rand...

Stonegrave orders Terex hybrid loader.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... A specially configured Terex-Atlas loader has been purchased by Stonegrave Aggregates for its recycling facility at Aycliffe Quarry in County Durham. The 17t Atlas 1705MI is a hybrid machine that combines the base of a standard 1705 wheeled...

60-second interview.
September 7, 2005... Jonny Harrison, CPCS instructor, Hewlett Civil Engineering What are your current day-to-day responsibilities? I'm a qualified City & Guilds and NVQ assessor and work at our training centre at Cross Green in Leeds. I'm responsible for...

How to.(facing a panel interview)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... succeed at an interview panel By Scott Beagrie It is inevitable that at some stage in your career you will come up against a panel interview. Increasingly, they are used because of their time-efficiency for both sides: several people at...

GAP secures Watson & Cox supply deal.(GAP Instrument Corp., Watson & Cox Construction)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Plant and tool hirer GAP has signed a preferred supplier deal with Wellingborough-based Wat-son & Cox Construction. The company will supply equipment to a number of on-going projects, including a new [pounds sterling]700,000 community centre in...

JCB wins [pounds sterling]18m order.
September 7, 2005... GE Equipment Services Plant Hire has placed its largest ever single order with JCB for more than 500 items of machinery. Worth in excess of [pounds sterling]18m, the deal consists of backhoe loaders, telehandlers, mini excavators, rough terrain...

back bites.
September 7, 2005... Not so pretty Polly Workers on Taylor Woodrow's East London Line project might be in for a rude shock over the next few months. In the arches of the main viaduct Taywood will be working on, one car repair business owns a parrot which perches in...

Single-drum rollers face a new round of scrutiny.(Highways Authorities and Utilities Committee )(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Doubts over on-site operator compliance could prompt a radical revision of HAUC recommended equipment. The suitability of single-drum rollers on reinstatement projects has again been called into question. This follows the Highways...

Highland mighty.
September 7, 2005... The Robertson Group traditionally operated in the north- east of Scotland, but its move into PFI has fuelled an expansion south of the border, with margins that would be the envy of most majors. Executive chairman Bill Robertson explains his...

Pre-fixed protection paves way for future.(Bluestone Project takes safe measures)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Fitting edge protection on the ground rather than at height saves a week for Bluestone. Time savings of up to one week per floor have been achieved on a Bluestone project by pre-fixing Combisafe edge protection to the perimeter steelwork...

Barford adds to network.(distribution in United kingdom)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Dumper manufacturer Barford has expanded its UK distribution network by completing an agreement with two JCB dealers to cover Wales and southern England. The deal with Holt JCB based in Cheltenham and Greenshields JCB of Farnham provide Barford...

Saint-Gobain launches hostile cash bid for BPB.
September 7, 2005... Saint-Gobain has made a solid move at long last, kicking off the first major hostile bid seen on the London Stock Exchange for several years. It wants to take over BPB and has made a cash offer worth 720p a share. BPB is a world leader in the...

Rexquote rolls out biggest conversion.(Gigarailer introduced)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Rail conversion specialist Rexquote has introduced the Gigarailer, its biggest road-rail excavator conversion to date. With an operating weight of 28t, the Gigarailer is said to have unrivalled stability, can lift up to 15t and is able to tow...

Olympics facing aggies shortage.
September 7, 2005... Aggregates firms don't have enough reserves to complete work. Olympic projects could suffer a shortage of aggregates if planning consents for quarries stand at their current level, according to a report published last week. The report by...

Clarification on use of recycled aggregates in precast.(Correction Notice)
September 7, 2005... Sir, Regarding your article about the quality of recycled aggregates available to the precast industry (CJ 24 August), may I correct Mike Watson of Wrap, who is quoted as saying: "Recycled aggregates are used quite a lot in low strength...

Training, not poaching, is the way to success.
September 7, 2005... Sir, I read your Access and scaffolding special report, which was in the 29 June issue, with great interest and was particularly struck by your feature on apprenticeships. I wanted to thank you for the support you have shown to apprentices, who...

Last chance for Cemex to curb Rugby pollution.
September 7, 2005... Cemex last week received a final warning from government officials for pollution from its Rugby Cement plant. However, the Environment Agency (EA) gave the company the go-ahead to burn tyres as fuel at the site. The EA issued the warning after...

Galliford Try continues relationship with E-Box.
September 7, 2005... Galliford Try Investments has signed up to a business system license with E-Box to provide ProjectNet, its web-based collaborative document management tool. Martin Stacey, Galliford Try IT director, said: "We have been a user of ProjectNet for...

Rockwool bags IKEA deal.(Rockwool A/S to supply roofing insulation materials)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Rockwool has won a [pounds sterling]33m contract to supply roofing insulation to a new IKEA distribution centre in Doncaster. The company is supplying 70,000m2 of material to the 133,000m2 project. Shepherd Construction used Rockwool's DuoRock...

Scaffold firms to get tough on skills cards.
September 7, 2005... Accreditation will only be available through formal training, rather than by assessment. Scaffolding employers are set to tighten their criteria for skills accreditation by ceasing to issue skills cards to experienced operatives through...

Six line up for [pounds sterling]10m Weston College deal.(new college building in Somersat)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Weston College in Somerset has lined up a list of six contractors to pitch for a [pounds sterling]10m design and build deal at Weston-super-Mare. Bluestone, Cowlin, Leadbitter, Mowlem, Pearce and Rokbuild should know during November which of...

B&CE promotes Easybuild pension scheme.
September 7, 2005... The B&CE benefits company is aiming to make 500 face-to-face presentations to 5,000 operatives this year to encourage them to join the industry's groundbreaking EasyBuild stakeholder pension scheme. "While our scheme has now grown to more than...

Genesis invites bids for [pounds sterling]500m housing scheme.
September 7, 2005... A London housing association is lining up contractors to join its [pounds sterling]500m framework deal involving new build, refurbishment and maintenance tasks. Under the terms of the deal, the Genesis Hosing Group will call on the firms to...

Rohcon denies Dublin aquatic centre leaks.(National Aquatic Centre)
September 7, 2005... Irish contractor Rohcon refutes claims by operator that it is to blame for leaks at Dublin's National Aquatic Centre. Rohcon has vehemently denied claims that the [pounds sterling]48m National Aquatic Centre (NAC) in Blanchards-town,...

Plasterboard project at Wrap.(Waste and Resources Action Programme)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Recycling funding body Wrap last week opened tenders for a series of projects designed to stimulate the market for reprocessed plasterboard and gypsum waste. CJ reported that there are few landfill sites accepting plasterboard in loads of 10%...

Gold star for Haymills at east London school job.(Haymills Construction Ltd.)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Haymills bags [pounds sterling]25m Bishop Challenor School; contractors vie for Hackney and Leicester academy schemes. Significant developments have taken place on educational sector contracts totalling almost [pounds sterling]57m. After...

Montpellier: 'No formal bid' on the table.
September 7, 2005... A 40p-a-share offer for the entire Montpellier group has not been tabled, the group's new chief executive Brian May said last week. May was speaking after the announcement that the Montpellier board has conditionally agreed to sell Bullock...

Willmott back for more in Bucks.(Willmott Dixon Holdings Ltd.)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Willmott Dixon has clinched the second stage of a three-stage [pounds sterling]50m redevelopment scheme in Buckinghamshire. The Anchor Trust deal is known as the Denham Garden Village project and the entire scheme consists of 300-plus homes,...

FoE protest delays New Tyne tunnel.(Friends of the Earth)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Contractors have reacted with weary resignation to the news of yet more delays to the [pounds sterling]185m New Tyne Crossing. After months of uncertainty, transport secretary Alistair Darling finally gave the green light to the PFI second Tyne...

Inspace scoops [pounds sterling]80m housing repairs deal.
September 7, 2005... Inspace holds the key to a responsive repairs contract for the London Borough of Hammer-smith and Fulham, which is worth a potential [pounds sterling]80m over ten years. The deal will cover repairs to approximately 6,000 homes in the south...

Highways firms target drink and drugs abuse.
September 7, 2005... HTMA hopes a zero-tolerance policy to alcohol and drugs on site will reduce accidents. A blanket approach to drug and alcohol rules and testing by civils contractors involved in highways maintenance work is expected to be rolled out in...

Travis Perkins toughs it out for [pounds sterling]110m profit.
September 7, 2005... Travis Perkins, the builders merchant which has 190,000 trade customers, turned in a "solid performance in tougher markets" in the first half of 2005. The acquisition of Wickes, the home improvement retailer, was completed in February, adding...

Sundial fined [pounds sterling]60k after site fatality.(Sundial Properties)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... A Scottish property company has been fined [pounds sterling]60,000 following the death of a construction worker last year. Sundial Properties, of Edinburgh, was prosecuted by the Health & Safety Executive for safety failures that contributed to...