All Comment articles 鈥� Page 441
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Comment
Blowing their cover
At last, the details of the infringements that sparked the OFT inquiry into bid rigging are exposed for all to see. Those of a nervous disposition should look away now
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CommentShould we blame the big boys?
On 13 November you published an article by Richard Steer complaining about uneconomic bidding by QSs
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CommentTimber frames: Warning bells are ringing
The blaze that swept through a Peckham street two weeks ago has left the timber-frame industry in little doubt that, next time, lives may soon be lost. But can the sector do more to ensure there is no next time?
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Arbitrary distinctions
I read John Redmond鈥檚 piece about arbitration with a wry smile (27 November, page 51)
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Or blame all QSs?
I read with interest the article in which Richard Steer was having a whinge about how the prevalence of low bidding was having a dramatic impact upon levels of professional QS fees
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Where does it all end?
Stephen Blake, director of the Office of Fair Trading (23 October, page 30) has drawn attention to the illegality of one bidder obtaining a price from another
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CommentAfter copenhagen
We still have little idea of how low-energy designs perform, which means we鈥檙e like scientists conducting endless experiments without ever seeing how they come out
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Pre-Budget Report points to more money for construction...but a much bigger fall
Few would argue against the view that this set of Pre-Budget Report announcements has more to do with pre-electioneering that pre-budgeting.That鈥檚 fair enough. The Labour Party may not be in power to pursue its plans and, if it is after the next election, we don鈥檛 know how keen it will ...
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Chancellor starts race to General Election
In today鈥檚 Pre Budget Report, Alistair Darling has set out a continued commitment to existing investment in education, health and other major public sector programmes for the foreseeable future. As expected, he is protecting major high-profile programmes, but this will inevitably need to be paid for by deeper cuts elsewhere.There ...
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The cruelty of breeding force-fed first-time buyers
Here's a question that goes right to the heart of current housing policy: Should we be using incentives as readily as we are to encourage first-time buyers onto the property ladder?However iconoclastic or contrary this question may seem, it needs to be asked. There is so much at stake.Promoting first-time ...
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What Tesco sales data can tell us about the construction jobs market
Practically all construction statistics are poor by comparison to the data in most other industries. It is not a fault of the statisticians or researchers. They have an unenviable job as the construction industry is, relatively speaking, very tricky to measure.So the best way to make sense of what is ...
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Number snacks: 1
The number of architects, planners and surveyors signing off the claimant count in the six months to October 2009 to head abroad was 985.This compares with 80 in same period two years earlier.Source: National Statistics (Nomis: www.nomisweb.co.uk). Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller Office ...
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Are we witnessing an upswing in construction output? In a word: No
So its official 鈥� the construction recession isn鈥檛 as bad as we thought. And the even better news is that the sharp fall in output at the start of this year wasn鈥檛 anywhere near as sharp as last quarter鈥檚 figures had suggested.That at least is how the national statisticians might ...
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CommentWhere there鈥檚 smoke
We won鈥檛 know for some time the details of the devastating fire in Peckham last week
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CommentSmall wonder
Since your article on my and two other graduates鈥� search for a job was published, (11 September, page 34) I have spent most of my time looking for my perfect surveying job, which I had begun to believe did not exist
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CommentVive la restoration: Sir Michael Latham on the importance of heritage stock
What better time than now, when the construction of new buildings is at a low ebb, to focus on the restoration and maintenance of heritage structures
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CommentHansom: Gift of the gab
The silver tongues of the industry have been a-wagging of late, and would have you believe that the Titanic is unsunk, Paul is John and the RICS never changes its mind
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In Latham鈥檚 footsteps
Paul Morrell may not be a 鈥渇an of partnering鈥� but I trust he will do all he can, as chief construction adviser, to resist the swing back to pre-Latham forms of procurement
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Fire safety first
BBC London鈥檚 recent expos茅 on fire safety risks at social housing blocks doesn鈥檛 come as much of a surprise. Across the UK鈥檚 social housing sector, awareness and understanding of the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2006 (RRFSO) is worryingly low