10

Number of pints of beer drunk by Denbigh man Ken Davies before he tried to change a light bulb, fell down the stairs and injured his spine. The bulb was positioned over the top stair, rather than the landing.

Judge Derek Halbert ruled at Chester Crown Court that although Davies had to take 50% responsibility, Denbighshire County Council which owned the house, and electrical contractor EG Morris which installed the fitting in 1988 each had to take 25% responsibility. The accident happened in 1996. Main contractor E Williams Building will not have to pay.

"Our insurers will pay out but everyone will suffer indirectly through increased premiums," said EG Morris' Glyn Morris.

The amount of compensation to be awarded to Davies, 55, who now walks with the aid of a stick and has limited feeling in his hands, is yet to be decided.

73.2

The percentage of building graduates in work within six months following graduation, 85.1 % of those going into professional construction positions. 16.6% went on to do further study.

Building comes fifth in a ranking of degree subjects which secure employment, What do Graduates Do (www.prospects.

ac.uk/links/wdgd). Civil engineering graduates do best, with 78.6% in employment within six months of graduation.

Building graduates were also among the lowest suffering unemployment, at 4.5%, similar to civil engineering at 4.4%. Only law graduates did better with just 3.8% unemployed. Worst was IT with 14.6% unemployment rates.

The survey also showed that 20.1% of building graduates who found work had returned to a previous employer (sandwich years, summer holidays, etc), compared to an average of 16% for all graduates.

300

The number of millimetres the £467m Dublin Port tunnel, already under construction, has to be raised to accommodate some of the heavy goods vehicles which will need to travel through it. The tunnel was designed to take super trucks off the roads.

Contractor Nishimatsu Construction/ Mowlem/ Irishenco has built the tunnel with a maximum height of 4.65m. Atkins, employed by the Irish Government to come up with a solution, estimates that raising the tunnel will cost £21m, but won't delay the project.

The port's Transport Users Group wanted a clearance of 5.3m, but Atkins calculated that this would cost £70m. Port authorities say that only 2% of vehicles will be affected, but hauliers claim the figure is much higher. The 6km tunnel is due to open in early 2005. Designs for the planned Limerick tunnel, which also allows for 4.65m clearance, are to be altered.

50,000

The salary for electricians at Terminal 5, now that the scheme has become the first to adopt pay guidelines set out in the Major Projects Agreement.

Union Amicus drew up the agreement earlier this year with M&E trade bodies. It aims to give higher pay rates to electricians on large projects, in return for increased productivity and stability in industrial relations.

Amicus has been negotiating with BAA for months after Laing O'Rourke agreed a deal that could pay skilled tradesmen £55,000 a year.

Amicus' Frank Westerman told CM last year that the electricians would be fighting for their cash: "We have become the top dogs in the country and that's where we will stay."

The deal at T5 has opened the door for the Major Projects Agreement to be adopted on other large sites. A forum of unions, employers and clients will decide on whether that will happen across the country.

£600m

The estimated construction cost for the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, for which Parkview International has just appointed Bovis Lend Lease construction manager.

The 515,000 sq m development on the 38-acre site will include two five star hotels, a multi-function auditorium/theatre and 710 residential apartments. The Power Station building, to be restored in phase one, will become an entertainment venue.

It is 20 years since the power station was decommissioned and since then, all attempts to redevelop it have faltered. Parkview has owned the site since 1990, when the then-owner John Broome went down, owing Sir Robert McAlpine which had started work on site, £20m.

Enabling works will begin in February, with the opening planned for 2008.