Chairman’s Letter: “The Question of Quality”

/ Chairman's Blog

Blog Author: Richard Saxon CBE When a construction client signs a contract to deliver a project, they usually have three targets in mind: to deliver the required facility on budget, on time and to required quality. Cost and Time have proved relatively manageable, with objective evidence and increasingly clever tools with which to manage. Quality has never been so simple. There is a perceived degree of subjectivity about it and it is quite hard to monitor the progress of work to ensure that all standards…

Insurance and JCT Contracts

/ Insurance Provisions

Blog Author: Dave Cahill – Senior Partner, Divisional Business Development Leader, JLT Speciality Limited Introduction The construction industry has returned to the headlines recently with the fires at the Glasgow School of Art and the London Mandarin Oriental Hotel. These incidents occurred either during or immediately after refurbishment works. Thankfully the losses were restricted to property damage and disruption with no loss of life. Nonetheless these events do serve as a powerful reminder of the different risks presented when working in existing structures. The JCT suite…

JCT Training – Book Your Place on Our 2019 Courses

/ Education, Skills and Students, JCT Product Updates

Our range of JCT Training courses are available to book for 2019. We have added new dates for the full range of our courses, including: JCT Contracts 2016 – The Legal Perspective JCT Intermediate Building Contract 2016 JCT Standard Building Contract 2016 JCT Minor Works Building Contract 2016 JCT Design and Build Contract 2016 Deciding on the appropriate JCT contract 2016 For 2019 we also have a brand new course…JCT Sub-Contracts 2016. JCT Training is the most in-depth, detailed and authoritative training package on JCT…

JCT Interviews…Suzanne Reeves

/ Interviews

In this series we shed some light on some of the key people who are involved with or give their time to support JCT, to ensure that all areas of the construction industry are represented and can contribute to the development of our contracts. We will look at how our interviewees contribute to JCT specifically, and gain their views on JCT’s wider role within the industry. Partner, Head of Construction, Wedlake Bell Member of the JCT Drafting Sub-Committee Suzanne heads up the Construction team at…

70 St Mary Axe “The Can of Ham”

/ Case Studies

70 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as “The Can of Ham” due to its recognisable curved design, is the latest high-rise to join an increasingly visually competitive City skyline. Prizing open the lid reveals some unique features and a design that demanded absolute precision in its construction to ensure its success. A JCT Design and Build Contract provided the contract solution. The Can of Ham, designed by Foggo Associates, is a collaboration between contractor Mace and client/developer TH Real Estate. The 21-storey, 28,000m² tower, provides…

Everyone Wins When Open Book Is Truly Open

/ General

Blog Author: James Green, Pellings When all parties play fairly, open book procurement can be a positive experience for the whole project team, as consultant Pellings, architect PRP and contractor Bouygues found on a recent housing scheme in Kent. Open book procurement has its supporters and detractors, with the latter often claiming that contractors are up to no good, or manipulating the process. But if all parties play the game fairly, the experience should only be positive. That has been the experience of Pellings, working…

81–87 Weston Street, London

/ Case Studies

Solidspace’s Tetris-style mansion apartment building at 81–87 Weston Street in Bermondsey, London, is the result of a 10-year collaboration between the developer and architect firm, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM). Defined as ‘slow architecture’, the time taken to develop the design and the approach, using finely crafted and bespoke materials, brings an elegance that redefines brutalism for the 21st century. A JCT Major Project Construction Contract provided the contract solution. 81–87 Weston Street epitomises Solidspace’s development speciality—finding gap sites and pocket sites, which are challenging…

Nigerian Construction Industry Modernises by Adopting Updated JCT Contracts

/ General

Pictured (L-R): Dr Segun Faniran, Obafemi Onashile (President, NIQS), Peter Barnes and Matthew Davies The Nigerian construction industry is adopting up-to date editions of JCT contracts as part of an initiative to modernise and adopt best practice. JCT contracts (albeit much earlier editions) have been adapted for use in Nigeria for some time, however this new initiative, spearheaded by the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), aims to put a more formal process in place for the adoption of current JCT contracts and provide the…

What’s Wrong with Retention?

/ Contractual Issues, JCT 2016 Edition

Blog Author: Peter Hibberd Retentions meet a real need and aren’t a problem in themselves – it’s how they are administered that needs fixing The clarion call for no retention has persisted for many years and has once more initiated action. This time BEIS undertook a consultation “on the practice of cash retention under construction contracts”, with its outcome imminent. Meanwhile a private members’ bill from Peter Aldous received its first reading but its second is delayed until October. The cynical might consider this a…

The Role of the Clerk of Works

/ General

Blog Author: Rachel Morris – CEO, Institute of Clerks of Works & Construction Inspectorate The Institute of Clerks of Works and Construction Inspectorate (ICWCI) defines the role of the Clerk of Works as: “A person whose duty is to superintend the construction and maintenance of buildings, or other works for the purpose of ensuring proper use of labour and materials.” Clients (including employers, local authorities, housing associations etc) have the challenge of ensuring that their construction projects achieve value for money and are completed to…