Articles by Date : August 13 2001 - August 19 2001

Talking heads
According to a recent TUC report, teleworking - working at home with a computer - has failed to materialise. Is that true in your case? more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

DBF/RCF plan to unite
Design Build Foundation and Reading Construction Forum to share resources more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Lib Dems want PFIhospital freeze
PFI hospital schemes are to be attacked at the Liberal Democrat conference with an amendment calling for a freeze on the use of private money in.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Website to link firms and job seekers
Exclusive by Tim Wood Contractors and consultants are being urged to 'sign up or lose out' when a new user-friendly website is launched.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

NEWSBRIEF
SECOND QUARTER ORDERS FALL Orders in the year to June 2001 rose by 2% compared to the previous year, but orders in the second quarter of 2001.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Too many cooks and too many "Cs"
Once again the Scottish Executive is out of step with construction best practice on its roads programme. After it made a pig's ear of selecting.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Laing deal delayed again
Exclusive by John Leitch O'Rourke's formal acquisition of Laing Construction has been put back another month. The timing of the.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

More PFI defects
by Laura Hailstone A catalogue of design problems at the newly built Calderdale Royal Hospital, West Yorkshire, has sparked further.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

CITB sex and booze ads to hit billboards
Controversial recruitment ads show jobs in construction offer a "real career" more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Engaging the supply chain in R&D
Taylor Woodrow may have scaled down its construction activities, but it is still investing time and money in research and development programmes.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

NEWSBRIEF
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT 'too much hassle' Adverse publicity surrounding the escalating cost of the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood,.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

HA to announce MAC shortlists
Within the next four weeks, the Highways Agency will draw up shortlists for the first three managing agent contractor (MAC) road maintenance deals,.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Fear that Quality Mark may not deter cowboys
The Quality Mark (QM) initiative may not be the cowboy-deterrent that the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) hoped and could even be playing.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Revival for abandoned road plans
Road schemes, abandoned on the run up to the general election and at the top of protestors' hit list, could be reinstated. Long running.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Shepherd favourite
Shepherd is tipped to win the race to build a £20m new members' stand at York Racecourse, to be announced this week. Industry insiders are.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

NEWSBRIEF
Birse gets designs on road structure Birse Construction will spend the next four to five months working on the design and development for a new.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

OGC steps up job search
Exclusive by Carol Millett A major recruitment drive by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has been launched to speed up the.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Prince Charles backs craft skills
Prince Charles has stepped in with an offer of cash aid to help head off construction's mounting skills famine. A number of scholarships worth.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Bellway gets the cream to fill its top positions
Consolidation in the housebuilding industry has enabled Bellway to snap up 40 managers who were previously employed by their rivals. A.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Jarvis and Accord wait for decision on £21m job
The two rivals for a £21m PFI education deal in north London could finally know next month which of them has clinched the deal. Jarvis is.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Survey reveals NEC contract form failings
A survey of civil engineering surveyors has revealed that, while most regard the NEC/ECC contract form as a progressive document, one in five.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Interior gets £30m BBC Brum job
by Brian Warner Interior has tuned in to a £30m win on a prestige project for the BBC in Birmingham. Insiders say that the.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Site safety survey gets underway
The Construction Products Association (CPA) has started work, with the Health & Safety Executive and the Building Research Establishment, on.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Crime pays for Skanska
Prisons are being touted as one of the success stories of the PFI regime. Will Mann visited the newly-opened Staffordshire prison Dovegate,.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Upright passes operations control to US
UpRight UK's shareholders have agreed to pass day-to-day control of ongoing operations to UpRight Inc, its American parent company. The move.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

CECA calls for more deaths data
Exclusive by Tim Wood The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) has called for fatality statistics to be broken down further -.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

CECA slams d&b bidders decision
Court of Justice ruling to up number of bidders on d&b jobs unwise, says CECA more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Four vie for £2.9bn PFI MoD water work
Shortlist unveiled for the MoD water and waste water maintain and operate job more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Quality manager for Gleeson
The new appointment will 'widen the gap' over other contractors, says Muncey more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Brandon buys in
Brandon Hire has paid £1.1m for the half-share of the six existing Brandon Tool Hire outlets within Magnet DIY stores that was previously.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

EPI toolkit is downloadable
Sir, Good article by Ross Pearman on the launch of our EPIs (CJ 25 July). I'd just like to make it clear that the EPI toolkit is downloadable.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Irish hospital to get revamp
After 40 years Ulster hospital is set to undergo a £98m modernisation plan more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Industry losing outÉ
É by narrow definition of training standards, warns CITB more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

CPA runs plant roadshow
The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has announced plans for a roadshow to enable plant hirers to find out more about the CPA Model.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Concern over possible 'easing' of standards
Sir, You report (CJ 25 July) that concern has been expressed that a forthcoming Construction Industry Council/Construction Industry Training.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

PTP acquires boom fleet
PTP Access, owned by French plant hire company Loxam, has bought the The Ainscough Group's powered access boom fleet. The deal consists of 30.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

'Fools' dismiss tax
QPA expresses concern that contractors are unaware of the impact of the aggregates tax more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Job threat at Tetbury plant and parts factory
Up to 30 jobs are at risk at the Terex telehandler and Matbro parts factory in Tetbury, Gloucestershire as the two businesses are to be transferred.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Ruttle fined £10,000 after burning waste illegally
Ruttle Plant Hire of Chorley, Lancashire, has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £845 costs after being found guilty of disposing of.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Anti-theft register invitation ignored
Just two out of 28 plant manufacturers respond to government register request more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Haki slams imitations
Paul Brunt, managing director of Haki UK, has urged the industry to "declare war" on the growing use of imitation components for modular.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Back bites
No sex please Unlike many careers, construction allows you to get out of the office. Probably just as well if Rovacabin's survey of office.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Willmott Dixon offers training incentives
Graduates entering Willmott Dixon's training programme this September will be offered a new car and a £2,000, two-year interest - free loan..... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

KPIs - sprinkling gold dust on your bottom line
For some time now it has been de rigeur in the construction industry to complain about 'initiative fatigue', with a morass of schemes aimed at.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Willmott signs first PPC2000
Willmott Dixon Housing is expected to sign its first PPC2000 contract as early as next week. The job to build 10 houses and 10 flats for Ealing.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Mystery register causes concern
Stockport-based firm seeks cash for unknown anti-cowboy builder scheme more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Pub delays Liverpool city centre revamp job
by Brian Warner A 200-year-old pub is standing between contractor/developer David McLean and £25m-worth of high-profile.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

Call for training levy exclusion
Liberal Democrats say plant hire firms should be free from CITB training fee more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

RDAs fuel local growth if cut loose from control
by Glenda Thisdell Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) could fulfil their potential as engines of local growth if they were cut loose.... more
(15 August 2001 00:00)

EU directive gathers pace
TUC says EU information directive is "a big step forward for workers in the UK" more
(15 August 2001 00:00)