More news – Page 4486
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Features
The real story
Malcolm Clarke says construction isn t all big boys and cowboys. The NFB boss wants to tell clients and government about the smaller firms that make up 85% of the industry.
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Comment
Bridge over denial
First person First a recumbent wheel, and now a swaying bridge. The difference is, the wheel team avoided dishing out blame.
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Comment
Missing the mark
Second opinion The quality mark is like Constructionline: a good idea that s going to struggle to arouse much enthusiasm.
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Features
‘I have worked in construction all my life and now I have given my life to it’
While more and more companies are paying attention to site safety, there has been precious little headway in on-site health and workers are paying the price.
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Features
21st-century classic
Foster s design for a covered square in the heart of the British Museum meant the engineer had to sit 800 tonnes of steel and glass over the world-famous and grade I-listed Reading Room.
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Features
How the roof is supported by the existing structures
Spanning the British Museum s central Great Court and encircling the grade I-listed Reading Room with a delicate steel and glass roof was an immense challenge for the project s engineer, Buro Happold. Not only did the weight of the roof have to be carried by the surrounding listed buildings ...
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Features
Green for life
Envest, the BRE s new software program, gives architects instant estimates for the environmental impact of their designs. How well does it work?
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Features
How much of what?
When you send your builder a notice saying you aren t going to pay the full amount asked for, do you have to say what you re withholding the money from? Well, it depends on the contract
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Features
Is the act bankrupting us?
Despite healthy orders, insolvencies seem to be on the increase. Are firms pushing the self-destruct button to avoid paying when they lose adjudications? And if they are, what can you do to get your money?
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Features
Why clients need carrots
Incentives to get a job done on time usually rely more on punishment than reward, but a little hard-nosed calculation might persuade clients that profit is the better motivator.
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Features
The ties that bind
Does making a partnering agreement contractually binding contradict the whole idea of partnering? Not necessarily: it can demonstrate both parties commitment to the process.
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Features
The big softie
In the drive to maximise profits and increase global competitiveness through mergers and acquisitions, companies often lose sight of soft issues an oversight that can cripple the whole project.
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News
Swaying bridge is ‘engineering tragedy’
Top engineer says closure of Foster/Ove Arup s Millennium Bridge is a body blow to UK engineering.
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News
Milburn halts London PFI hospital after beds rethink
Health secretary puts Amec and Balfour s £160m UCL scheme on hold as fears emerge about bed numbers.
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News
Partnerships UK launched this week
The government body charged with building on the work of the Treasury s private finance initiative taskforce was formally launched this week. Treasury minister Andrew Smith, speaking at the launch of Partnerships UK, said one of its principal roles would be to advise public sector clients on markets in the ...
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News
Four in race for Hull stadium
Four architects are in the running to design a £38m stadium to house Hull s professional rugby league and football clubs. It is understood that HOK+Lobb, Miller Partnership, Atherton Fuller and KSS have been shortlisted for the scheme. Three architects will be selected to submit concept designs. Drivers Jonas has ...
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News
MEPC may dump Laing after £20m Cardiff row
Developer s decision to sack contractor on Wales office could threaten long-term relationship.
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News
CIC warning over student numbers
The Construction Industry Council has warned that declining student numbers will lead to future skills shortages. Latest figures for applications for construction-related courses show that there were 9700 in 1997. This is a fall of 22% on the number applying in 1994. Professor John Bale, chair of a CIC committee ...