Opinion – Page 630
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Comment
Is there a draft in here?
The draft NEC Term Service Contract is a flexible little number, but it has gaping holes in it – on completion dates and liquidated damages – that you are expected to fill in
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Builders under fire
Will they never learn? A government-backed investigation has uncovered evidence that shoddy workmanship is exposing buildings – particularly those constructed using timber frame – to increased fire risks (pages 26-29). Experts are concerned that failure to properly install plasterboard drylining and fire protection is allowing fire to spread uncontrolled through ...
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It can be a wonderful life
Honest Victorian values need not be a thing of the past, as long as the roles of consultants and contractors can be integrated into one-stop construction teams
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Third time lucky?
All right, the draft delay protocol is far from perfect, but it contains some valuable advice and with sufficient improvements, could be something to welcome
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Heading for cover
When it comes to professional indemnity cover, a shift towards project insurance could iron out a current anomaly, while whole life insurance could be the future
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Assign! Assign!
If you are the beneficiary of a collateral warranty, be sure it has been properly transferred to you – otherwise you may find yourself unable to make a claim
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Architecture without tears
In that holy trinity of any building project – cost, time and quality – it is quality that causes the longest lasting headaches. Once a building is completed and worries over cost and time have subsided, it is quality, or the lack of it, that the client, facilities manager and ...
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Unbelievable hilarity
Heard the one about the new woman on site? No, didn't think so – there are almost none. So why does the press think recruiting them is such a giggle?
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Act of wisdom
When adjudication arrived with the Construction Act, it already had a track record and a growing reputation. Little wonder it has proved so robust
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Bully beef
After the World Cup, it is hard to argue for the immunity of referees. But the independence of decision-makers must be protected from intimidation
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Last lessons from the Harmon affair
The audit office has delivered its verdict on a parliamentary farce – and it make very uncomfortable reading.
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Don't forget to write
Whether or not you get a fair deal in a dispute will ultimately come down to the strength of your case – and whether you have the records to prove it
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Right – and wrong
A professional consultant does not have a duty to be right, but even if they are, they should warn their client that a judge may decide that they are not
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Desperately seeking Susans
The case of Louise Barton, the latest City high-flyer to sue her employer for discrimination, is a reminder of construction's perennial prejudices. With a booming industry fretting over labour shortages, the debate has centred on whether to assimilate foreign labour or retrain over-25s – mostly men, one suspects. Yet women, ...
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Overseas aid
Far from sponging off the welfare state, immigrant labour – perhaps even when it is illegal – is helping to keep the British economy in robust health
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The cricket test
It probably isn't a coincidence that England's cricketers started performing after they were given guaranteed places. And therein lies a moral for construction …
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Having a bawl
If a construction contract was signed before the construction act came into force, but varied after, can a party to it be dragged screaming into an adjudication?