All Building articles in 1999 Issue 15
View all stories from this issue.
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Features
Surviving specification
The spec writer's lot is not a happy one. Ignored most of the time, they often get it in the neck when things go wrong. But there are ways to maximise the positive and minimise the brickbats.
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Features
What's the score?
Five years after it opened, the McAlpine Stadium is still regarded as a class player among football grounds.
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Features
The Professionals
The Federation of Recruitment and Employment Services' Christine Little on how a recruitment consultant can help employers find the best staff.
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Features
Pedalling your wares
Cycle and car-parts retailer Halfords has plans for 15 new stores worth £500 000 each this year. How can you become a preferred contractor or consultant?
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Comment
Option paralysis
Second opinion There can be such a thing as too much choice. If the client wants one solution, make sure that's what it gets.
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Features
The joy of specs
Eganised construction of average quality meets the requirements of standard contracts, but don't you think it's a bit joyless? So, how about a standard form that specifies top-quality craftsmanship?
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News
Report praises industry progress
Overall clinet satisfaction with the construction industry is improving, says a report for next week's National Construction Week. Called The Improving Performance of the UK Construction Industry,* the report will be launched by construction minister Nick Raynsford on Monday. It says clients are 16% more satisfied with main contractors' performance ...
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News
Housebuilder league mooted
The National House Building Council may introduce league tables of housebuilders along the lines of the government rankings for hospitals and schools. The idea to create a national league is thought to have been suggested to the NHBC by the DETR as part of its quest to improve consumer protection. ...
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News
Raynsford hails Quality Mark
Construction minister Nick Raynsford has launched a wide-ranging consultation on the merits of a Quality Mark to distinguish reputable firms from cowboy builders. The consultation will seek views on a report drawn up by a working group led by Stent Foundations chairman Tony Merricks, which called for the Quality Mark. ...
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Comment
Joining forces
First person The deal between QS Currie & Brown and Ernst & Young has revived the debate about alliances with accountants.
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Features
Forbidden and forbidding
The Competition Act, which comes into force next March, prohibits a number of business practices and could hit Egan-inspired agreements.
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News
Steel firm for sale in Kvaerner shake-up
Construction chief blames the strong pound and lack of infrastructure projects for the decision to dispose of steel fabricator Cleveland Bridge.
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News
Union slams majors' employment practices
Senior Unison official threatens to weed out PFI bidders with poor employment records.
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Features
A new dimension
If Ray Crotty ruled the world, IT would revolutionise the construction industry and all buildings would be designed in 3D.
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News
Interest rate cuts and PFI lift growth forecast
Interest rate cuts and investment in private finance initiative schemes have prompted the Building Material Producers to issue a more optimistic growth forecast than in December. It expects construction output to pick up in the second half of 1999 and has forecast growth of 1.5% for the year (up 1% ...
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Features
New, improved National Construction Week
Are you ready? National Construction Week, such a risible non-event in October 1997, has a fresh start on Monday. This time, the week will last five days, not 10 (ouch) and there s stacks of sponsorship. After all the television exposés on cowboy builders and the millennium project ...
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News
Construction orders plummet in first quarter
Infrastructure sector hardest hit as new orders drop 26% on last three months of 1998.
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News
March figures confirm falling workloads
A year-on-year fall of 43% in contractors' work won deepens market fears.
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News
Bovis to build SmithKline HQ
A team that includes Bovis and developer Stanhope has been named preferred bidder to fund, build and operate a £135m headquarters for pharmaceuticals giant SmithKline Beecham. The team, which also includes investment bank Schroders, pipped Amec to the project. Mowlem, with developer Heron, finished third. Development Securities/Mace came fourth. The ...
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Features
Bob the Builder
What with his own Miss Moneypenny, crane Lofty and hell-raising scarecrow Spud there's never a dull moment in Bob the Builder's yard. But is it enough to save the image of construction?