Articles by Date : May 19 2003 - May 25 2003

A winning image of construction
Contract Journal has teamed up with the CITB to launch the Construction Site Photography Competition. more
(23 May 2003 19:38)

CC to press education minister on school funding issue
The Construction Confederation (CC) is to hold a meeting with education secretary Charles Clarke at the beginning of June. more
(23 May 2003 13:44)

Birds halt school project in Wales
Work on a £90,000 repair programme at Wales' Burry Port Junior School has been halted after the discovery of bird nests. more
(23 May 2003 07:50)

Crossrail essential to Olympic bid, claims report
London's public transport network could not cope with passenger numbers during the 2012 Olympics unless the multi-billion pound Crossrail project is.... more
(23 May 2003 07:48)

BPB profits jump leap 25%
British plasterboard maker, BPB, has seen pre-tax profits in 2002 leap by 25% thanks mainly to strong markets in the United States. more
(22 May 2003 15:59)

Housing markets must change, warns RICS
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has called for a dramatic change in the way housing markets operate to enable the 21 million new.... more
(22 May 2003 15:48)

Mowlem's order book at record level
Mowlem has revealed at its Annual General Meeting today (Thursday) that prospects for the year ahead are good - and it also remains on course to meet.... more
(22 May 2003 12:26)

Kitchen fitters to get own qualification
Kitchen installation firm Jomaro has set up a new company, Jomaro Training, to develop an industry first - a recognised qualification for kitchen.... more
(22 May 2003 12:17)

Skanska strikes gold with £22m Canadian contract
Cementation Skanska has won a £22m contract to construct a 2200m deep shaft for Goldcorp at the Red Lake Mine in Canada. more
(22 May 2003 10:52)

Solid progress for Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine is in good shape, has a strong management team, a proven track record and a strong balance sheet which provides the flexibility and.... more
(22 May 2003 09:59)

Hanson tries to avert strike at brick works
Hanson Brick will launch a last-ditch attempt to avert strike action at a meeting tomorrow (Thursday) between union officials and senior management.... more
(21 May 2003 15:53)

Compliance push ahead of electrical safety regs
The National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) is attempting to get 50,000 contractors to comply with proposed.... more
(21 May 2003 15:53)

Buoyant NMC battles skills shortage
North Midland Construction has plans to expand turnover to £100m a year by 2005, said managing director Robert Moyle this week. Rapid growth saw.... more
(21 May 2003 15:52)

Weeks signs £7.5m deal with French
The days of independent trading for Weeks, the consulting group, could well be over following the announcement of an agreed bid last week worth £7.5m.... more
(21 May 2003 15:52)

Fairground attraction
When your client tells you that it will lose £1.5m worth of business if the contract you have been working on for more than a year is not completed.... more
(21 May 2003 15:51)

Special Projects lands role in highways consortium
NMC Special Projects Division has been named in the supply chain for the AMScott consortium, which has won the Highways Agency's (HA) Area 7 MAC.... more
(21 May 2003 15:50)

Off-site pier plant saves BAA £1.5m
BAA has taken off-site assembly a stage further by setting up its own manufacturing facility to push forward its £750m pier segregation initiative.... more
(21 May 2003 15:49)

Friend to replace Forrester as top man at John Laing
Andy Friend is to become the chief executive of John Laing, the former construction and housebuilding conglomerate that has transformed itself into.... more
(21 May 2003 15:49)

Bigger firms facing squeeze on profits
One in 10 contractors in the engineering construction sector is operating at a loss, according to an industry survey. And the largest firms are said.... more
(21 May 2003 15:49)

German block on CE marking
Germany has refused to accept CE-marked products for thermal insulation, despite the fact CE marking is now mandatory for all EU member states after.... more
(21 May 2003 15:48)

Civils fear orderbook slowdown
A slowdown in civils work is expected over the coming months, despite a rise in workload in the first quarter of 2003, according to the latest trends.... more
(21 May 2003 15:48)

Building costs levelling out
Anecdotal evidence of costs being stable is confirmed by the latest materials price index from the Department of Trade & Industry. more
(21 May 2003 15:47)

ICE issues partnering addendum
A special ICE Conditions of Contract Partnering Addendum has been published for use with standard forms of civil engineering contract. more
(21 May 2003 15:47)

Jarvis signs up Grimsby Town
There is nothing fishy about Jarvis' £250,000 sponsorship of Grimsby Town Football Club, which hit the headlines last week. more
(21 May 2003 15:46)

Home Office lobbies for EU-wide safety fines
Home Office minister Lord Filkin is leading a UK move to close an EU legal loophole where fines for site safety offences in one country are not.... more
(21 May 2003 15:45)

Colchester PFI planning approval is on the cards
The delayed £1bn privately financed Colchester Barracks project could receive full planning permission within the next month, according to RMPA.... more
(21 May 2003 15:45)

Showing off
At its first exhibition as an independent company, Hitachi showed the breadth of equipment it has not previously imported to Europe. On the stand was.... more
(21 May 2003 15:44)

SMEs 'too risky' for public sector
Small- and medium-sized contractors (SMEs) are being frozen out of £2bn in government contracts, according to a report by the Better Regulation.... more
(21 May 2003 15:44)

M&S deals for McLean and Wates
The retail division of David McLean Contractors and Wates Interiors have won the fit-out deals for Marks & Spencer's Simply Food convenience store.... more
(21 May 2003 15:43)

Welsh Water turns on the tap
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water is inviting contractors to pitch for framework deals to manage, upgrade and construct new assets worth £2bn. The contracts will.... more
(21 May 2003 15:43)

Schools capital spend diverted
Work could be held up and projects frozen as the government announced last week that schools will be permitted to siphon off funds allocated for.... more
(21 May 2003 15:42)

PFI schools worth £100m up for grabs
Two major private finance schools projects are up for grabs in London and Barnsley. more
(21 May 2003 15:42)

Construction minister fails to make his mark
Brian Wilson's tenure as construction minister has not impressed Contract Journal readers. more
(21 May 2003 15:42)

CCS in talks with Jarvis
Jarvis has met with the Confederation of Construction Specialists (CCS) following a stinging attack by the latter on some of its subcontract.... more
(21 May 2003 15:41)

...and abuses they still suffer
Specialist contractors are still suffering considerable contractual abuse at the hands of main contractors despite the introduction of the Housing,.... more
(21 May 2003 15:40)

Killer firms will face legal action
Companies found guilty of killing employees will face swift legal action if the government's new corporate killing legislation becomes law. more
(21 May 2003 15:39)

15 bid for £6bn NHS ProCure 21 schemes
NHS Estates has shortlisted 15 contenders to battle it out to make it onto the list of eight to 12 ProCure 21 principal supply chain partners.... more
(21 May 2003 15:36)

Specialists reveal their favourites...
Totty Construction produced the highest score for compliance with the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act, according to the latest.... more
(21 May 2003 15:35)

Saving Private SMEs
Many in the industry have naturally welcomed the government's continuing drive to improve the efficiency of the construction procurement process at.... more
(21 May 2003 15:29)

LEAs wary of school LIFT PPPs
Local education authorities (LEAs) are to challenge government plans to use NHS LIFT-style PPPs to deliver an ambitious £5.1bn programme to upgrade.... more
(21 May 2003 15:29)

Jarvis reshuffle sees Moayedi named chairman
Changes were made at the top at Jarvis on Monday that see Paris Moayedi move into the position of chairman, while Kevin Hyde is promoted from chief.... more
(21 May 2003 15:28)

Formwork response
Carl Heathcote, Peri managing director, responds: "Slab forming systems combine both falsework, the temporary support structure, and formwork, the.... more
(21 May 2003 15:28)

CJ50 - New orders won in March 2002
A series of Highways Agency Awards meant it was another good month for infrastructure. Private commercial was the strongest performing sector, but.... more
(21 May 2003 14:29)

Colchester PFI planning approval is on the cards
The delayed £1bn privately financed Colchester Barracks project could receive full planning permission within the next month, according to RMPA.... more
(21 May 2003 12:51)

…and abuses they still suffer
Specialist contractors are still suffering considerable contractual abuse at the hands of main contractors despite the introduction of the Housing,.... more
(21 May 2003 10:04)

Specialists reveal their favourites…
Totty Construction produced the highest score for compliance with the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act, according to the latest.... more
(21 May 2003 10:03)

15 bid for £6bn NHS ProCure 21 schemes
NHS Estates has shortlisted 15 contenders to battle it out to make it onto the list of eight to 12 ProCure 21 principal supply chain partners.... more
(21 May 2003 10:02)

Cross border initiative to tackle deaths in construction
A new cross-border working group drawn from the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in.... more
(20 May 2003 17:06)

CIC moves to make CSCS card easier to obtain
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) is collaborating with CSCS to improve and extend ways in which cards for construction professionals can be.... more
(20 May 2003 17:05)

Corporate manslaughter law moves step closer
The introduction of a new offence of corporate manslaughter, the unfulfilled Labour Party manifesto item, has become a possibility after events in.... more
(20 May 2003 16:05)