Opinion – Page 528
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CommentDouble your risk
A fitter’s mate who stepped on some ductwork in a Tyneside factory inadvertently overturned 200 years of legal tradition – and greatly increased contractors’ liability
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Hold your horses
It was interesting to note Christopher Linnett’s comments on the increasingly short periods of time being allowed for contractors to tender for design-and-build enquiries (14 October).
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If you can’t stand the heat …
Perhaps, as Mr Linnett considers it bad practice to tender within such periods, he should stop working in the hot kitchen and retire to the dining room immediately.As a front-line contractor’s estimator, I’m the first to agree that a contractor’s bid team is up against it when undertaking such a ...
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The race still running
Your article “Four housebuilders pull out of ‘onerous’ grant process” (28 October, page 22) took a somewhat sensational line and missed at least some of the point as a result. Opening bidding to private developers for the first time was always going to be about testing the market. We expected ...
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Completion equals confidence
Congratulations to Trevor Hursthouse for defending the indefensible – that is, retentions – (7 October) but I suppose as chairman of the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group he had no alternative.
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Credit control where it’s due
Colin Harding and fellow travellers should remember one important fact before attempting to have retentions outlawed: contractors usually get paid 95% or 97% of work done to date in advance of completion, once a month.
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CommentTales from the pit
Our thanks to George Fordyce, head of engineering policy at the National Home Building Council, for sharing this fine example of ladder craft.
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CommentWonders & blunders
Des Lynam analyses the performance of two very different domes – and as usual, Italy scores big points while England gets a red card …
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Defining a contract
The defendant engaged the claimant builder to carry out work at his home in Beaulieu. Work carried out was in excess of £500,000. Initial letter of intent provided for a limited amount of work to be carried out. However, that letter of intent said that the work would be carried ...
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CommentA nuclear spring
To plug the energy gap, Britain’s ageing nuclear power stations must be replaced. This is what government and industry has to do to get them up and running in time
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CommentWinning on penalties
Construction may one of the worst offending industries for wasting energy, but criminalising firms won’t necessarily protect the environment
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The dawning of an age …
Saturday night on Channel 4 boded well: baby off to bed nice and early, settle down with the wife and a nice glass of rioja, Kevin McCloud’s learned tones and a deserved early win for the Stealth House.
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… Crossed wires
… Crossed wiresThe Treasury castigates government contracts for being monstrously late and over budget.
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Strength in numbers
Ian Abley confuses co-operation with submissiveness in his attack on collaborative working (14 October).
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Nothing personal
Ian Abley’s column got me to challenge my thinking as a proponent of non-adversarial teamworking.
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Get to know each other better
I was interested to read recently published research by consultant Deloitte that highlighted the worrying yet unsurprising fact that “two-thirds of UK businesses do not even ask for detailed reporting” from suppliers.
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Don’t look up …
This is a photo from Khan el-Khalili in Cairo. The public (including us) thought nothing of walking under this JCB while it was in operation – it was being used for lifting concrete drainage sections. (It was a nice gesture that the guys stopped to smile at the camera.)