All articles by Adrian Barrick
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FeaturesWhat makes Ray run?
Out of all the hundreds of thousands of labourers in the industry, a few thousand take degrees. Out of them, a few hundred start a business. But only one has turned that business into a global power in his own lifetime: Ray O’Rourke. We spent three years chasing him to ...
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Comment
Why we're too white
So Prince Charles thinks farmers are more victimised than blacks or gays.
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Comment
Labour's philosophical fog
So, health minister John Hutton has suddenly realised what construction knew months ago: it is already too late to deliver his new hospitals before the next election. His offer to subsidise bids, truncate tender lists and hire more Whitehall project managers has, therefore, the hallmarks of political panic (pages 28-29). ...
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Comment
Where will we live tomorrow?
First transport. Then hospitals and schools. And now housing. Our latest national crisis is the shortage of affordable new homes. London is worst affected, but even Reading's prices are out of reach of nurses and teachers. Once again, we are paying for decades of underinvestment. At a time when the ...
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News
John Lewis joins rush to ditch retentions
Retail company to stop withholding payments to suppliers in order to build longer-term relationships.
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News
Brick makers warn of 15% price hike in next year
Companies say higher gas prices and government legislation is to blame for steep rise in costs.
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News
Hold tight – the downturn has started say forecasters
The good times are still rolling, but economic experts downgrade output forecasts for next two years.
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News
Government set to insist on training quotas
Transport minister considering quotas to head off labour problems experienced on the Jubilee Line.
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Features
Fast food race hots up
The top four supermarkets are battling to cut build times and costs. But, as delegates heard at a Building-organised food retail conference on 16 June, one of the sector’s biggest challenges is to make sure savings don’t come at the expense of safety.
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Features
Does the Construction Act really work?
According to a Building/CMS Cameron McKenna survey, subcontractors are grumbling about its payment system, lawyers are using it to sandbag the opposition, and almost everyone has reservations about its adjudication rules. Two years on and with a review imminent, should changes be made?
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News
Civic pride should be new motto, says prime minister
Tony Blair tells Building Awards audience that designers and contractors must set the highest standards.
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News
Railtrack offers carrot, or stick, to consultants
Bonuses of up to 20% are on offer, but professionals may lose profit if they fail to perform well.
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News
Raynsford may use Regs to unsaddle cowboys
Construction minister tells conference fringe meeting that firms with quality mark may be able to self-certify.
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News
Fight over porters and cleaners threatens the PFI
Contractors say the PFI is not viable unless ancillary staff transfer from hospital control to PFI consortia.