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…

JCT Interviews…Peter Barnes

/ 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. Director, Blue Sky ADR Ltd Member of the JCT Council Member of the JCT Drafting Sub-Committee Member of the…

Professional Futures

/ Chairman's Blog

Blog Author: Richard Saxon CBE, JCT Chairman Every part of the construction industry is challenged by rapidly evolving threats: stagnant productivity, falling human resources, failing business models, climate change, globalisation, advancing computer power, to name some of them. Most attention is paid to the plight of contractors and specialists, but the world of consultancy also faces these same issues. Professionals additionally face falling credibility and authority as respect for expertise declines. Their professional institutions seem powerless to communicate the value of the professional contribution to…

Dudley Advance II – The Fruit of Change

/ General

Blog Author: Kevin Thomas – IPInitiatives We all know it is possible to deliver great projects using traditional construction methods. Yet we also recognise that many struggle to use these methods to their best effect. Through time our industry has suffered from fragmentation, misaligned objectives, separation, and an inconsistency of satisfactory outcome for all parties; challenges that mean fresh approaches need to be explored and existing processes need rethinking to achieve progress. The desired outcome, of course, is to create an integrated team so well…

UTC Global Academy, London

/ Case Studies

The UK’s first University Technical College to use offsite construction methods Completed in 2016, the Global Academy in Hayes, West London, is a state-of-the-art school for 14-19-year-olds, aimed at students pursuing careers in the media and broadcast industries. It is one of the UK’s most efficient modular buildings, and the first education establishment of its kind to use offsite construction. Mixing traditional construction methods with a state-of-the-art modular approach enabled the entire 8,700m² , £16m project to be completed within a year. A JCT Design…

JCT Training

/ General

JCT Training is a new initiative from JCT, offering a range of training courses on JCT contracts, directly from the construction professionals involved in creating the JCT 2016 Edition. The new courses cover a range of topics, from an introduction to the JCT suite and choosing the appropriate JCT 2016 contract, to courses covering specific contract families and documents, to courses covering contractual and legal issues. We have gathered a range of JCT experts to provide an unprecedented level of knowledge and expertise for JCT…