More Focus – Page 573

  • Features

    Don't ignore the formalities

    1999-04-23T00:00:00Z

    Failure to stick to the precise procedural requirements of termination clauses in commercial contracts can have dire legal consequences. What can you do to reduce the risk ?

  • Features

    Timely reminder

    1999-04-23T00:00:00Z

    A recent decision on the Working Time Regulations 1998 confirms employees' right to do no more than a 48-hour week, unless they opt out.

  • Features

    Tender price forecast

    1999-04-23T00:00:00Z

    As the Far Eastern economic crisis recedes, the outlook for construction does not look as bleak as it did six months ago. Tender prices also likely to creep up, pushed by rises in wages, materials prices and workload.

  • Features

    Just the job

    1999-04-23T00:00:00Z

    Try Construction's hard-working commercial director tells Jane Garwood about his ambitious plans to improve the business and his motorbike.

  • Features

    Appointments

    1999-04-23T00:00:00Z

    Contractor Mark Roberts has been appointed managing director of Redruth-based Lark Construction. Kent-based Crispin & Borst has promoted Jim Menzies to estimating director. Consultants Amanda Harvey and Patricia Nathan-Amissah have been promoted to partners in the commercial litigation department of solicitor ...

  • Features

    IT: Design software Model behaviour

    1999-04-23T00:00:00Z

    Why is Amec modelling the building design process with the software that NASA uses to engineer spacecraft? To prioritise design tasks, and to get team members working together.

  • Features

    New, improved National Construction Week

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • Features

    Construction’s second chance

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    Next week, the industry has the opportunity to boost its public image. With a barrage of events planned for National Construction Week, will the event be more of a hit this year than last?

  • Features

    Bob the Builder

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    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?

  • Features

    What's the score?

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    Five years after it opened, the McAlpine Stadium is still regarded as a class player among football grounds.

  • Features

    Clear as a bell

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    Basildon's new landmark is a glass campanile that lets passers-by watch the bell-ringers at work. How did Buro Happold stop the lightweight tower swaying with the motion of the bells?

  • Features

    A new dimension

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    If Ray Crotty ruled the world, IT would revolutionise the construction industry and all buildings would be designed in 3D.

  • Features

    The joy of specs

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    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?

  • Features

    A slice of the action

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    Imagine if construction could develop a computer-generated picture of an evolving project, an auditable bank of information about its management. Disputes could be largely avoided. Stop imagining.

  • Features

    Forbidden and forbidding

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    The Competition Act, which comes into force next March, prohibits a number of business practices and could hit Egan-inspired agreements.

  • Features

    Surviving specification

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    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.

  • Features

    Pedalling your wares

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    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?

  • Features

    The Professionals

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    The Federation of Recruitment and Employment Services' Christine Little on how a recruitment consultant can help employers find the best staff.

  • Features

    Appointments

    1999-04-16T00:00:00Z

    Contractor Clugston Construction has appointed Peter Deakin director of its southern operation. Matthew Mercer and Anne Pugh have been made regional managers and Peter Dobson has become marketing manager for the region.Consultants Civil and structural consulting engineer Thorburn Colquhoun has promoted Colin McPherson to associate director.Peter ...

  • Features

    Sporting chance

    1999-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Manchester City Council is refusing to let funding problems scupper its ambitious plans for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Can it win the race?