All articles by Katie Puckett – Page 7
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NewsSchool procurement comes under fire as delays mount
Building programme falling well behind, according to figures from construction products body
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FeaturesTop 250 Consultants 2006: And they’re off!
Fasten your earmuffs … speed demons, classic saloons, green racers, nimble runarounds and hardy 4×4s are all on the starting grid for this year’s Top 250 consultants survey. Martin Hewes compiles the results and Katie Puckett does the commentary
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FeaturesSo which one gets the job?
The old-timer on the left has a lifetime of experience to offer, but the whippersnapper on the right is an IT graduate and an ace with a mouse. From 1 October regulations outlawing age discrimination come into force and you’ll have to treat them both equally if you don’t want ...
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FeaturesFrankenstein’s mentor
There is nothing to fear, the monster on the right is an amalgam of the qualities you should look for in a mentor. Katie Puckett explains how he was put together.
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FeaturesThis way to the money, ladies and gentlemen
Clients in the hotel sector have more than £2bn to spend in the next three years, and they’re desperate to find firms to give it to. Katie Puckett explains how you can help them
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FeaturesThree men and their boats
With just a month until the Little Britain Challenge Cup gets under way, Katie Puckett meets three industry amphibians who’ve found true love off the coast of England
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FeaturesThe Treasury’s little brother … demands to be heard
Since 2001 the Office of Government Commerce has been quietly plodding away without anyone taking much notice. But now, as Katie Puckett reports, two seemingly very different procurement reforms are set to grab the attention of the government and the industry.
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FeaturesJolly green clients
A strong urge to get back to nature – or at least become more sustainable – has gripped clients this year. Katie Puckett and Caroline Stocks discover how 50 of the biggest spenders are focusing their £12.1bn combined construction budget on all things green
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FeaturesEvery penny is counted
Tesco became Britain’s biggest retailer by cutting costs to the bone, and that applies as much to store refits as pineapples. Katie Puckett met the development director who makes sure none of its £1.8bn construction budget gets wasted
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Features‘Be careful what you say. If you claim to have done something, I'll check it'
Land Securities, aka the builder's developer, is spending £700m a year. But you won't win any of it if you're what development director Steve McGuckin delicately terms a bullshitter. Katie Puckett found out about his plans to take even tighter control.
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FeaturesAn ideal client for firms with a taste for perversity
Frightening, stimulating, argumentative, bewildered by its own bureaucracy but still willing to take chances (don't believe everything the media tells you), the BBC is the best client in Britain for firms who don't just want an easy life.
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NewsAsda plans £20m green superstore
Supermarket chain Asda is to try out wind turbines, solar panels and ground source heat pumps at a £20m store in Merseyside
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FeaturesLet's see how they got on
Back in February, Building challenged three industry figures to repent their sins and adopt low carbon lifestyles. One hundred days later, Katie Puckett gathered them together to find out how they coped - and finds that things aren't going quite to plan.
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FeaturesNo time for clowns
It's goodbye prefabrication, golden arches and sticky plastic chairs, hello Jack Vettriano prints and mood lighting. As McDonald's prepares to get serious with a £140m refurbishment and rebranding programme, Katie Puckett met the man overseeing it all
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FeaturesPaul's problems with women
In April 2001, Simons Group boss Paul Hodgkinson used the pages of Building to make a bold pledge: that 50% of his staff would be female by 2011. It's five years on, but is he halfway there? Photographs by Julian Anderson
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FeaturesPlace your bets
The consensus in the industry is that the office market is finally back. But which particular project should you be trying to win work on?
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FeaturesA self-made man
Craig Phillips is not your typical Big Brother survivor, scraping a living from their diminishing fame. Rather, he has invested his vast energy in a vast range of projects, including a skills centre in his native Liverpool.
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News
Top 20 contractors face £1bn pensions deficit
The UK's top 20 construction companies are facing a collective pensions deficit of more than £1bn.
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NewsKeller to close final salary pension to all staff
All members will be transferred to less generous scheme as engineer tackles fund's £11.3m deficit