Articles by Date : January 27 2003 - February 02 2003

Northern Ireland's construction market shows some decline
Northern Ireland is witnessing a decline in construction but a rise in repair and maintenance work, according to today's (Friday) latest survey on.... more
(31 January 2003 07:40)

Better designs can give better value for developers, claims CABE report
Developers can add value to their operations by adopting good urban design practices that create a strong sense of neighbourhood, according to a new.... more
(31 January 2003 06:54)

UCATT pushes drive for new-build social housing
UCATT is to launch a campaign aimed at pushing forward the programme of new build council homes to address increasing accommodation shortages more
(30 January 2003 14:50)

Fiat Kobelco names Molson as first UK distributor
Fiat Kobelco will appoint existing Kobelco dealer Molson Holdings as its first distributor in the UK. more
(30 January 2003 14:49)

Peterhouse buys infrastructure surveyor
Peterhouse Group is continuing its mission to become a major infrastructure support services player with the acquisition of Newcastle-based civils.... more
(30 January 2003 09:21)

Amey/Mouchel seals Area 13 MAC
Amey/Mouchel has been awarded the Highways Agency's Area 13 MAC for Cumbria and North Lancashire. more
(30 January 2003 09:12)

Arup/Aukett team wins Council of Europe job
A team of Arup and Aukett have won a major deal to design two buildings for the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. more
(30 January 2003 08:48)

National Construction Week 2003 confirmed
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has confirmed the dates for this year's National Construction Week: 8-15 October. more
(30 January 2003 08:26)

CSCS set to take CTA card under its wing
The Certificate of Training Achievement (CTA) is set to give up its own identity and amalgamate with the Construction Skills Certification Scheme.... more
(29 January 2003 17:48)

In brief
UpRight appoints AFI as distributor AFI Aerial Platforms has been appointed end-user distributor for UpRight products in England north of the M62.... more
(29 January 2003 17:47)

Nine Genies out
Genie has launched a range of telehandlers featuring quick hitch coupling systems. Terex sister-company Terexlift will manufacture the machines in.... more
(29 January 2003 17:46)

Stehr seeks UK distributors
German attachment manufacturer Stehr is looking for up to six dealers to distribute its range of products, including soil stabilisation and.... more
(29 January 2003 17:46)

Anti-terrorist push for BAA's suppliers
British Airports Authority is pushing its supply teams to the limit this year to meet anti-terrorist design change targets set up by the government.... more
(29 January 2003 17:43)

BL-Pegson's high-head pump set
BL-Pegson has launched the VS150HPS, a new high-head pumpset for the quarrying, open cast mining and hire markets. more
(29 January 2003 17:42)

Working regs raise costs
The quarrying and aggregates industry will endure an additional cost of £300m a year when the road transport sector's exemption from the Working Time.... more
(29 January 2003 17:41)

Carillion judged the fairest of them all
Maxwell Stewart singles out Carillion as being a good contractor to work for. more
(29 January 2003 17:41)

SEC probes council use of best practice
Specialist engineering contractors are launching a wide-ranging probe into current local authority procurement practice. more
(29 January 2003 17:40)

Marshall deems KPIworkshop a success
Scottish firm Marshall Construction has answered a call from its clients to improve its performance measurability. It will stage the first ever.... more
(29 January 2003 17:40)

£100k reshape at Maxwell Stewart
M&E specialist subcontractor Maxwell Stewart has spent £100,000 on a radical transformation of its entire business culture. more
(29 January 2003 17:39)

14-year ruck settled at last
Alfred McAlpine has taken a £2.3m hit after reaching a settlement relating to an old disputed contract dating back to 1989. more
(29 January 2003 17:38)

HA considers new workload quotas
The Highways Agency (HA) is planning to package between 60% to 80% of its future major road projects into regional bundles to be handled by teams of.... more
(29 January 2003 17:38)

Bricks and tiles hold their prices as aggregates rise
The prices of aggregates, cement and concrete have continued to rise, according to the Department of Trade & Industry's latest figures. more
(29 January 2003 17:37)

UCATT restructures
UCATT has reorganised its regional structure. more
(29 January 2003 17:36)

Product guide
Precast retaining walls Milton has introduced a range of precast concrete retaining walls for the storage of loose materials. The L-shaped walls.... more
(29 January 2003 17:36)

Easy does it
Site secretary Sue Stacey has made her first foray into the electronic management of site documentation. more
(29 January 2003 17:35)

Alchemy fails to turn Sunley Turriff to gold
Sunley Turriff is reported to have run up a loss of £8m last year on a reduced turnover of £100m. The struggling construction group's plunge further.... more
(29 January 2003 17:34)

A McAlpine pulls out of £23m hospital PFI
Alfred McAlpine has pulled out of a £23m private finance hospital deal in south London, writes Brian Warner. more
(29 January 2003 17:34)

In brief
Lafarge appoints MD Dyfrig James will step up to the post of managing director of Lafarge Aggregates in April. James joined Lafarge eight years ago.... more
(29 January 2003 17:33)

Swearing is no f***ing problem
Swearing on site is considered acceptable by a narrow majority of Contract Journal readers. And industry leaders believe a formal ban on swearing is.... more
(29 January 2003 17:32)

Morrison wins water project
Morrison has tapped into a £40m contract for British Waterways to refurbish and repair the canal network throughout the Midlands, Wales and South.... more
(29 January 2003 17:32)

Boland Construction conviction reversed
Boland Construction (Scotland), which was convicted and fined after two children were killed in an accident four years ago near one of its sites, has.... more
(29 January 2003 17:31)

Carillion rejoins £245m PFI job
Carillion is back in the running for the £254m North Staffordshire PFI hospital project. Its re-entry follows Summit Healthcare's decision to pull.... more
(29 January 2003 17:30)

Rogers to head merged CBPP and RC bodies
The proposed merger between Rethinking Construction and the Construction Best Practice Programme (CBPP) moved a step closer last week following the.... more
(29 January 2003 17:30)

back bites
Plugging a gap Everyone knows construction is desperate for skilled tradesmen, but a recent story about a 13-year-old boy claiming to have become.... more
(29 January 2003 17:29)

New plant operator test
A new health and safety test specifically for operators of plant and machinery has been developed by the Off-Highway Plant and Equipment Research.... more
(29 January 2003 17:28)

In brief
Morrison Utility bags £30m power deal Morrison Utility Services has secured a three-year, £30m contract with 24seven for its Eastern Power Network..... more
(29 January 2003 17:28)

NFB's TV bid to help public
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) is in talks with several television production companies to produce documentaries on how to find reputable.... more
(29 January 2003 17:27)

Construction menswear
Remember the BBC's gritty school drama Grange Hill? It dealt with all the big issues. Yet none of the characters ever used bad language. more
(29 January 2003 17:26)

Scottish roads and transport get £450m
Scotland has been given a £450m cash boost by the Scottish Executive to help improve motorway corridors. more
(29 January 2003 17:26)

Over capacity hitting hospital PFIs
Capacity problems continue to dog the PFI hospitals sector with just two bidders coming forward to vie for the £90m Churchill Hospital PFI project.... more
(29 January 2003 17:25)

MoD work continues regardless of war fears
Defence Estates has confirmed its construction programme will remain intact and projects will not be put on hold should a war against Iraq go ahead. more
(29 January 2003 17:24)

Working Time opt-out 'will go'
UCATT general secretary George Brumwell has sounded a wake-up call to contractors on the industry's long working hours culture. He said contractors.... more
(29 January 2003 17:23)

SMEs 'missing out' on ProCure 21 opportunity
Local hospital contractors are in danger of losing their traditional workload under the national ProCure 21 programme unless they make immediate.... more
(29 January 2003 17:16)

Disability regs fail to boost fit-out
A predicted increase in retail fit-out work in response to new disability access regulations has failed to materialise so far, with many high street.... more
(29 January 2003 17:09)

Homeowners 'would use' Quality Mark
Eight-out-of-ten homeowners would prefer to use a tradesman approved by the government's anti-cowboy builder Quality Mark scheme. more
(29 January 2003 17:08)

Amey's troubles 'will not affect' £1bn MoD bid
Bovis Lend Lease has confirmed its jv with Amey for an Ministry of Defense job is not affected by Amey's difficult financial situation. more
(29 January 2003 17:06)

In brief
Norfolk advertises framework contracts Norfolk County Council has three framework contracts on offer worth up to £50m a year in total covering its.... more
(29 January 2003 17:04)

Government may re-introduce lane rental schemes to speed up roads programme
The government is considering resurrecting lane-rental systems to speed up its road building programme over the next seven years. more
(29 January 2003 17:03)

Supercars
It's not just the workforce that needs to get off road. The chairman may well want to see what's going on at the sharp end, and he's not going to get.... more
(29 January 2003 17:00)

50 pitching for £420m Toon partnering
Newcastle City Council is gearing up to shortlist contractors and consultants to pitch for a construction programme that could be worth up to £420m. more
(29 January 2003 16:59)