All articles by Terry Wright
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NewsWhy it's so hard to get a quote from a subbie
Contractors complain subcontractors don't respond to enquiries, but their treatment of the smaller firms is cause of all the problems
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Comment
Why it's so hard to get a competitive quote from a subbie
I was on a site doing a pre-tender survey recently when two of the contractors I favour (because they actually pay on time!) “bumped” into each other. The conversation went quickly to the recent upturn in enquiries. Much was made of the fact that the contractors had ...
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NewsWhy it's so hard to get a quote from a subbie
Contractors complain subcontractors don't respond to enquiries, but their treatment of the smaller firms is cause of all the problems
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Comment
Pats on the back at the Plaisterers' awards
Do you know what a livery company is? Do you know what they do? Do you know their relevance to the construction industry in the 2009?In my sector, plastering and drylining, I regularly ask that question. Sadly my queries are often met by blank stares which are particularly disappointing ...
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Comment
Payment excuses are getting more inventive
The cheque is in the post has a whole new ring to it given the industrial relations at Royal Mail. Where has all the money gone? It is certainly not circulating in the Construction Industry and I don’t think it is just in a sorting office in London.Given that ...
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NewsPayment excuses are getting more inventive
A run-down of some of the worst reasons not to stump up the cash
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NewsPat on the back: the Plaisterers awards
Recognising excellence in training provision is an essential step in buoying up the industry
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Comment
Health and safety – time to get real
Today’s blog will probably get me branded as a heretic, or worse. You see, I think that the biggest source of waste (of time and money) in the industry is the proliferation of health and safety paperwork. I also think that the touch screen test is next to useless and ...
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NewsHealth and safety – time to get real
Let’s stop hiding behind tiresome paperwork and start talking to each other again instead
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Comment
Hold on to your cash
You know you are too old for a recession when you measure how well we are doing not by profit versus loss, but by the speed at which we are approaching the abyss. It really does not matter, because whatever the scenario, things are still getting worse. Yet somehow ...
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Comment
ConstructionSkills' three-card trick
Has anybody out in the real world actually spotted the three-card trick that the CITB is pulling on the industry that is taxed by government to pay its staff wages?We all pay a building-industry-only tax. The only two sure things in life are death and taxes, and since in the ...
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NewsCITBs' three-card trick
Training grants to employers go down, but the construction training levy stays level - somebody should resign!
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NewsValue engineering exposes me to cowboys
There is no professionally prepared tender that cannot be beaten by a lump sum price from a desperate cowboy
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Comment
Now is the time to protect the specialist
Much of my time as the owner manager of an architectural mouldings contractor is spent with clients and architects helping them realise their dreams.We are always expected to do this for free. When I first entered the industry in the early eighties we would get fully-designed finishes that required us ...