Opinion – Page 626
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Mediation mapped
The legal context in which mediation takes place is becoming more complex and more coercive. Here's a guide to where we are now, and an idea of where we're going
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The banality of error
How can a party to a dispute be right and yet lose? Answer: the adjudicator makes the wrong decision. Obvious, isn't it? So why is everyone so surprised?
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Firing the smoking barrel gang
It's easy to demonise labour agencies. The stereotype is straight out of a Guy Ritchie film: grubby back-street office, battered white van and dodgy-looking paperwork. Such outfits have no place in the world of integrated supply chains. But still, every contractor knows that if they need five brickies in the ...
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The truth hurts
At last week's urban summit, John Prescott went in for a spot of housebuilder bashing. In fact, the real villain of the housing fiasco can be found closer to home
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Eyes wide shut
If we're going to seize our inauspicious economy by the horns, companies need to stop kidding themselves that things are better than they really are
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Do the best you can
What does an adjudicator do when they do not have time to reach a view on the evidence? One judge suggested they resign, but there is a better option …
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Up the resolution
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution's new procedure presents a flexible way of solving disputes that leaves the parties in control for as long as possible
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A landmark protocol …
The Society of Construction Law has just launched its Delay and Disruption Protocol. It's a splendid guide to solving extension of time and compensation problems
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… but fundamentally flawed
John Sims Admirable in some ways, the protocol has it got it badly wrong in the advice it gives on the subject of float as it relates to extensions of time
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The end of the affair
Where – if anywhere – does Amey go from here? After a turbulent five months, during which two finance directors made spectacular exits, the support services firm's largest shareholder has called for the group to be broken up or sold. Amey is resisting such a move, but that hasn't silenced ...
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Stay out of it
By getting involved in Wembley the government ended up flat on its face. If only it would stick to what it's good at and leave construction projects to others
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Don't hold back, now
The archaic practice of retention is senseless, unfair and damaging to all parties – and there are much more agreeable alternatives. Let's stop it once and for all
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Cry freedom
Just how can a contract administrator be expected to be impartial when they answer to the client? Exempting them from liability would set them free
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A hit or miss affair
PFI contracts often include incentives and penalties to ensure good performance on services. But if they are not well targeted, they'll miss the point
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Pass master
Accelerating Change is a clarion call for risk-sharing. Some hope, when Jarvis and others are busy amending the standard form of subcontract to pass the risk downstream
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What's a computer for?
What is it with construction firms and IT? In the 1990s, many of the big players spent millions installing state-of-the-art systems only to find they had wasted their money. Staff didn't know how to use them, they quickly went out of date and were incompatible with their business partners' software. ...
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On a permanent high
National Construction Week highlighted the positive developments taking place in the industry. All we have to do now is keep this spirit alive all year round