Articles by Date : September 22 2003 - September 28 2003

Three partners fined for failing to control falls from height risk
Three senior partners with an accountant in Kent have been fined a total of £5000 after an inspection of a construction site, which was within a few.... more
(26 September 2003 17:04)

British firms win £4.2n of overseas work
British construction firms won £4.2bn of new work overseas last year, according to the latest data from the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI). more
(26 September 2003 12:55)

HSE advises on falls from 'cherry pickers'
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is offering advice on how to prevent falls from boom-type Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPS) - also known.... more
(26 September 2003 11:57)

Government departments get help to become a better client
Government departments are to receive revised and upgraded guides by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to help them improve procurement and be.... more
(26 September 2003 11:16)

Communication and flexibility key to improved workforce consultation
The Construction Confederation (CC) has called for greater communication and flexibility as key steps towards achieving effective workforce.... more
(26 September 2003 10:33)

Severfield-Rowen hit by difficult trading
Difficult trading conditions and the £640,000 restructure of Rowen Structures hit Severfield-Rowen's profit in the first half of this year. more
(26 September 2003 09:27)

Final certificates
Final certificates have been a feature of most building and engineering contracts for at least a century and a substantial case law has developed.... more
(25 September 2003 16:32)

ECI route is 'enormously better'
The early contractor involvement (ECI) format for future road projects let by the Highways Agency is "enormously better" than earlier procurement.... more
(25 September 2003 16:32)

Council slams Amey Highways budget cuts move
Amey Highways' handling of its Scottish roads maintenance contract has come under the spotlight again this week after it was revealed that a second.... more
(25 September 2003 16:31)

Terex and Bomag agree tests
Two of the three single-drum roller manufacturers, Terex Benford and Bomag, have agreed a programme and signed a contract with the Transport Research.... more
(25 September 2003 16:30)

Rotos versus cranes
Scarborough-based Greenwood Hire is actively promoting Merlo's Roto slewing telehandlers as an alternative to cranes in certain lighter operations..... more
(25 September 2003 16:30)

Business as usual at WSP
Consultancy group WSP is back to "business as usual" as a £150m turnover in the first half of 2003 produced a healthy pre-tax profit of £3.5m. more
(25 September 2003 16:29)

Tata hits UK dealers
Rover's parent company Phoenix is importing the Tata range of pick-ups into the UK and distributing the Indian-built vehicles nationwide through a.... more
(25 September 2003 16:28)

AL12 platform
SEV's 12m truck-mounted access platforms have started rolling off the production line in Gateshead. The AL12 has a 12.3m working height with a 4.8m.... more
(25 September 2003 16:27)

Ennstone chief: 'freeze the levy'
The Aggregates Levy should be left unchanged for a couple of years, said Ennstone chairman and chief executive Vaughan McLeod. more
(25 September 2003 16:26)

Bear heads for £2m loss on Scots roads
Further losses of £2m are expected this year on the two Scottish maintenance contracts run by the Babtie, Ennstone and Ringway (Bear) consortium. more
(25 September 2003 16:26)

Sims puts Cat M322Cs to work
The UK's first two Cat M322C material handling wheeled excavators, featuring the new Cat 3056E electronically controlled engine, have been delivered.... more
(25 September 2003 16:24)

Super Vogele
Vogele's 17t Super 1603-1 paver has made its UK debut following orders by Leiths (Scotland), Lagan Asphalt, White Mountain (Surfacing), FM Conway,.... more
(25 September 2003 16:23)

Carillion succeeds in winning more work at higher margins
Miller plans to expand its housebuilding divisions from seven to nine, a move that will take the group's annual output beyond 5,000 units. more
(25 September 2003 16:22)

Miller output to rise with new regions
Miller plans to expand its housebuilding divisions from seven to nine, a move that will take the group's annual output beyond 5,000 units. more
(25 September 2003 16:18)

Quality wins road for Mowlem
Mowlem has emerged triumphant from a five-way battle for a £28m junction improvements scheme near the Welsh border. more
(25 September 2003 16:18)

Galliford back on track after £3.8m spend
The restructuring needed to get Galliford Try's construction division back on the rails has cost the group £3.8m. more
(25 September 2003 16:17)

Portuguese dominate Home Office contract
Some 70% of the 200 operatives working on Bouygues' contract for the flagship Home Office development at Marsham Street in London are migrant.... more
(25 September 2003 16:16)

Results up at North Midland
North Midland Construction has posted interim results (six months to 30 June) that show turnover higher at £40m (£34m) and pre-tax profit ahead at.... more
(25 September 2003 16:16)

BNP targets construction
Construction sites could soon become hotbeds of racist abuse and violence due to an increased number of British National Party (BNP) members joining.... more
(25 September 2003 16:15)

Thin-joint walling reduces deadlines
Housebuilder Bellway East Mid-lands said it is beating construction deadlines by up to a third by using Tarmac Topblock's thin-joint walling product,.... more
(25 September 2003 16:15)

Darling tackles mis-spending...
Transport secretary Alistair Darling has pledged to tackle mis-spending by local authorities, writes Ross Pearman. more
(25 September 2003 16:14)

Contractors reconsider £7m radioactive MoD job
Contractors are having second thoughts about pitching for a specialist nuclear project at Faslane, Scotland. more
(25 September 2003 16:13)

OSEM to stop inferior scaffolding
Five of the UK's leading manufacturers and suppliers of scaffolding equipment have joined forces to address what they perceive to be one of the most.... more
(25 September 2003 16:12)

More 'judicial schizophrenia' over holiday pay
Conflicting rulings in England and Scotland over whether rolled-up holiday pay is lawful have produced "judicial schizophrenia", according to Andrew.... more
(25 September 2003 16:11)

Islington relets £320m housing project as framework scheme
Islington Council in London is running the rule over 39 contractors hoping to get a slice of £320m-worth of housing upgrade work. more
(25 September 2003 16:11)

Posters prompt awareness
The construction industry's battle to reduce the number of deaths caused by falls from height has received a welcome boost after Willmott Dixon.... more
(25 September 2003 16:10)

BAL tackles tiling skills shortage
Tile adhesive and grout manufacturer BAL has launched a national training programme to tackle the skills deficit in the tiling industry. more
(25 September 2003 16:09)

Kajima's sixth PFI
Japanese contractor Kajima has bagged its sixth PFI deal since entering the fray 18 months ago. more
(25 September 2003 16:09)

London sites get HSE thumbs up for safety, but warnings issued
A Health & Safety Executive (HSE) blitz of sites in Victoria, London, last Thursday (11 September) saw construction firms walk away fine-free. more
(25 September 2003 16:08)

Two Hants firms fined £8k for not controlling risks
Two Hampshire companies were fined a total of £8,000 last week after a construction site inspection found the risks of injury from falls from height.... more
(25 September 2003 16:08)

Vinci wins £18m Medway Police HQ
Vinci Investments has been chosen as preferred bidder for Kent Police's £18m Medway Area headquarters PFI project. more
(25 September 2003 16:07)

Be collaborative contract on trial with three projects
The new collaborative contract launched last week by pan-industry construction think-tank Be (CJ 28 August) is being trialled on three major.... more
(25 September 2003 16:06)

....the CPA supports 5% VAT
A study carried out for the Construction Products Association (CPA) supports the case for reducing VAT to 5% on all domestic RMI work. more
(25 September 2003 16:06)

Ballast restructure starts to take shape
Further reorganisation within Ballast will result in another 275 job losses. However, the first phase of the radical shake-up of the loss-making UK.... more
(25 September 2003 16:03)

Enterprise: steady as she goes
Enterprise, the utility contractor, posted an interim pre-tax profit of £6m in the first half of 2003, a near-identical performance to that achieved.... more
(25 September 2003 16:02)

More shares, more hols for Gleeson staff
Gleeson has improved the benefits package for the vast majority of its staff as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations, offering more shares and.... more
(25 September 2003 16:02)

Calling all golfing fanatics: book early for the CJ event
It's time to brush up on your French for "hole in one" and make space in your boot for several boxes of wine and hundreds of those mini bottles of.... more
(25 September 2003 16:01)

Mansell margin to rise as profit increases 13%
Mansell has lifted its interim pre-tax profit to £4.4m, 13% higher than in the first six months of last year. more
(25 September 2003 16:00)

Minister asks for industry wish list
Contract Journal has learnt that the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) is carrying out a consultation exercise on the problems facing the.... more
(25 September 2003 15:59)

Nuclear bunker delays Cambridge housing plans
Plans for a £120m housing development in Cambridge may have to be redrawn after a nuclear bunker at the site was given Grade II-listed status. more
(25 September 2003 15:58)

Emcor 'resolves' Crestahead dispute
Emcor Drake & Scull emerged from a pay dispute with Crestahead as CJ went to press. more
(25 September 2003 15:58)

B&K and Yorkon win DTC work
Bowmer & Kirkland and Yorkon - members of the Anglo-Canadian Clinics Consortium - and Atkins have been named as preferred bidders for part of the.... more
(25 September 2003 15:57)

Skanska misses cut for ProCure 21 work
NHS Estates has chosen the 12 principal supply chain partners (PSCPs) to work on the £6bn national roll-out of ProCure 21 - and Skanska is one of.... more
(25 September 2003 15:57)

Marshalls chairman faces prosecution
Marshalls executive chairman Chris Burnett is being prosecuted for failing to comply with health and safety practices. more
(25 September 2003 15:56)