Consultants Focus – Page 5
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FeaturesThe 2012 consultants' salary survey: The measure of things
The Building/Hays Construction salary survey shows that infrastructure work has provided one of the few escapes in another sobering year for consultants, but the adoption of BIM technology is hitting technical experts hard. Building reports
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Features
Lead times: January-March 2012
Lead times remain extremely low across all trades, with any bottlenecks being absorbed by the pre-construction programmes of contractors eager to win work. Brian Moone of Mace reports
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FeaturesMy working day: RLF surveyor James Fozzard
The building surveyor’s work is fun and varied, and includes treasure hunts around Covent Garden
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FeaturesThe RICS' new rules of measurement
Next month, the RICS launches a suite of guidance and standards that is set to transform the way that costs are managed through the life-cycle of a building. Stuart Earl explains how it works
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FeaturesInfrastructure: Biomass energy
The biomass sector is gaining momentum and should prove easier for construction firms to break into than either off-shore wind or nuclear energy. Simon Rawlinson of EC Harris and John Busby of Arcadis examine this emerging market
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FeaturesArcadis' Neil McArthur: This is just the start
When Arcadis bought EC Harris last year, it became the 10th largest design consultant in the UK and gained leverage in Asia and the Middle East. Now it’s brought in Neil McArthur to spend a further £100m on acquisitions and turn it into an even bigger global player. Building asked ...
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FeaturesMy working day: RLF QS Kat Hurworth
The young QS on a placement at RLF took on the nickname ‘the golfer’ even before she began work
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FeaturesMott Macdonald's Keith Howells: 'It's a bit like star wars'
How should the UK’s largest independent consultant respond to the ‘evil Empire’ of consolidated corporations taking over the market? Mott MacDonald chairman Keith Howells tells Building about the company’s plans to strike back. Tom Campbell photography
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FeaturesCost model: Standardised schools
As the James Review made clear, the future of schoolbuilding lies with low-cost standard solutions, much as it did in the fifties. Darren Talbot and Stuart Francis of Davis Langdon, an Aecom company, offer an overview of this burgeoning market and consider the costs
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FeaturesCharles McBeath on Ramboll growth: Why stop now?
For Charles McBeath, head of Ramboll UK, the secret to growth is acquisition and last year he doubled the size of his company by acquiring engineering firm Gifford, boosting turnover from £35m to £58m. But that, he tells Building, was just for starters
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Features
Market forecast: That sinking feeling
Construction output looks set to fall by 5% in 2012 as new work dries up and the UK, like the rest of Europe, slips back into recession. Peter Fordham of Davis Langdon, an AECOM company, reports
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FeaturesGreen Deal: Does it add up for homes?
The Green Deal aims to reduce energy consumption at no upfront cost to homeowners, but which measures meet the ‘golden rule’? Phil Birch and Richard Quartermaine of Cyril Sweett report
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FeaturesCountry focus: The Balkans
The republics of the former Yugoslavia were hit hard by the global recession in 2009, and now the EU debt crisis is threatening their recovery. Sasa Trajkovic from EC Harris reports
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FeaturesPredictions for 2012: The year of the groundhog
So what does 2012 have in store? Well, there’s the Olympics, of course, and some potentially interesting developments in nuclear power and infrastructure. But mostly it will be a year of battening down the hatches. There will be recklessly low bids for work, some firms will go under, others will ...
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FeaturesHigh drama: Review of 2011
It’s been a year of break-ups, make-ups and dramatic exits against the backdrop of a bleak economy and widening gap between the rich and poor. Building looks back at the plot and its main players
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FeaturesThe oven gloves are off: The Great Building Bake Off
Take four industry teams, add gingerbread, cake mix, icing and an awful lot of chocolate, mix well, set the timer for an hour-and-a half, and stop when you smell burning … Emily Wright and Iain Withers invite you to sample the Great Building Bake Off. Images by Astrid Kogler
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FeaturesMy working day: F+G QS Astrid Andersson
The quantity surveyor at consultant F+G in Leeds juggles a busy work schedule with her love for horses
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FeaturesThe tracker: Gloom, then more gloom
As the days get darker so does the industry outlook, with the latest figures from Experian Economics showing a deterioration in all sectors and construction activity hitting a three-month low
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FeaturesDonald Lawson: Bigger and better
Faithful + Gould boss Donald Lawson knows a thing or two about consolidation thanks to Atkins’ takeover 15 years ago. He tells Building how it got the firm to where it is today
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FeaturesPublic sector cuts: Client feedback
Public sector clients slashed projects in response to the chancellor’s swingeing cuts. But as the results of the Constructionline Building Index show, the pain is by no means over