All Features articles – Page 653
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Features
How adapting the design saved time
Over the past three years, HBG’s North-east office has used continuous improvement processes to hand over nine cinema shells in an increasingly short time. This benchmark compares three of these schemes.In 1997, the contractor completed the shell-and-core construction of a nine-screen Virgin multiplex cinema at Boldon, near Sunderland, in 38 ...
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Features
There is no alternative
A bill to encourage electronic communication may mean clients insist on its use. And as it gives equal weight to electronic and written messages, being e-smart is a must.
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Features
Appointments
ContractorsBallast Wiltshier has promoted Alex Gaskill to managing director of its South-east business.Mervyn Butler has been promoted to director of Ashe Construction’s Southampton office.HousebuilderCharles Church has appointed David Hooper financial controller for the South Midlands and north London.ConsultantsSurveyors Greg Millsopp and Paul Brewer have joined the Leeds office of building ...
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Features
The benchmark
[Virgin multiplex cinema, Hull] A contractor uses a series of similar jobs to form a crack team of cinematic heroes out of a bunch of raw recruits. Contains scenes of partnering, lateral thinking and cost reduction. Unmissable.
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Features
Get connected
It's high time construction companies overcame technophobia and woke up to the fact that if you're not on-line, you're out of the picture. Get the message: new business starts with e-mail.
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Features
How research saved the contractor time and money
The acoustic performance of the walls and roof are critical if noise break-out or break-in to the auditoria is to be prevented. For the first scheme, at Boldon in 1997, HBG did not carry out any acoustic testing but simply opted for a heavy roof construction with sufficient mass to ...
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Features
A matter of life and death
Building's occasional series on the pros and cons of rival procurement methods explains the slow death of management contracting – and how it could be resurrected, purged of its sins.
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Features
Shock horror: I like the dome
Leave a bunch of journalists queuing on new year’s eve with no alcohol and it’s no wonder the Millennium Dome gets mud slung at it.
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Features
Find the leader
The Institute of Personnel and Development's Angela Baron on how to spot and nurture stars of the future.
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Features
The next generation
Graham Stirk may not have the celebrity status of Lord Rogers, but with three major projects under his belt, he is one of Richard Rogers Partnership's rising stars.
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Features
Spotlight on lift installation
Lead timesLead times for bespoke lift installations remain unchanged at up to 38 weeks, but this figure is only for major installations. Smaller projects can take about 28 weeks, with lead times for standard lifts as low as 20-24 weeks. Although the overall lead time remains static, design periods have ...
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Features
Modernism makes its mark on Walsall
West Midlands is home to £25m new gallery designed by Caruso St John.
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Features
Value judgments
Adjudicators frequently find that they are being asked to make a judgment as to whether the value of an interim payment is reasonable. And it seems that, if the contract is silent, they're on their own on this one.
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Features
Take the wind out of your sales
Like it or not, every construction service a client buys must be sold. This means that construction professionals need effective selling skills – so, here's how to do it. Plus, a guide to marketing speak.
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Features
The right stuff
At last, the Human Rights Act has made its way into UK law. It may not be something many of us have to think about on an everyday basis, but by Jove, it's going to affect us all.
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Features
Credit where it’s due
Dome architects and wheel designers aside, the new year’s honours list celebrated the achievements of those in less glamorous construction roles. Building went to meet them.
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Features
You’re the boss
In the first of two articles, Angela Baron of the Institute of Personnel and Development explains how to stay at the top.
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Features
Access all areas
Important provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 take effect in 2004. Not to worry then? Hardly. The courts are likely to take a dim view of any failure to improve access before the clauses comes into force.
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Features
Appointments
ContractorsStephen Foster has joined maintenance and small works contractor Martin Smith & Foster as manager of its business in Dormansland, Surrey.Martin White has joined Try Accord as marketing director.Electrical contractor Hills Electrical has appointed Allan Carson business development manager for Scotland.HousebuildersNicola Taylor has joined the Northern division of Redrow Homes ...
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Features
Catching the train
When budgets are tight and the going gets tough, training is often the first thing to go. But undertrained staff are a liability for any company, and an investment in targeted training can bring huge productivity improvements.