Blog

Government Initiatives Create Opportunities for Businesses and Homeowners

/ JCT 2016 Edition

Blog Author: Peter Hibberd The construction industry, in keeping with most other industries, is going through one of the most challenging periods known to those currently employed. In April this year, construction activity, according to the ONS, fell by 40% month on month for new works and around 38% for repair works. Not surprising given lockdown, but a degree of miscommunication meant that many contractors stopped working when they could have continued, albeit with restrictions. As we emerge from lockdown, and business takes on a…

Wroughton Academy, Norfolk

/ Case Studies

The site of Wroughton Academy in Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, was for many years shared by separate junior and infant schools. Having come under the same management recently, a project was commissioned to create a cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure to link the two buildings. A JCT Intermediate Building Contract with contractor’s design was the form of choice. The new CLT building symbolises the merging of the two schools under the Wroughton Academy umbrella by providing a new front and central focus point to the school, securely…

Chair’s Letter: Service or Product?

/ Chairman's Blog

Blog Author: Richard Saxon, CBE The Office for National Statistics lists the construction industry as part of the service sector. This makes some sense in that we provide bespoke facilities to customers rather like a restaurant provides meals. However, our output is not a transient meal but delivers a very concrete asset which needs looking after for its whole life, a service we do not provide except reactively. We treat our output like a product, leaving the buyer to look after it. Owners are not…

Construction Contract Execution During Covid-19 and Beyond

/ Contractual Issues, JCT 2016 Edition

Blog Authors: Marcus Harling and Alistair Russell – Burges Salmon LLP Electronic signatures, data rooms, Mercury execution? Evolving working arrangements mean we should all double check exactly how to execute construction documents. Whilst smart contracts and digital signatures are still very much the immediate future, for most people they did not arrive in time to help with the complexities of contract execution created by the COVID-19 lockdown. Suddenly the traditional way of contract execution became almost impossible and old questions on remote Mercury compliant execution…

JCT Interviews…Richard Young

/ 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. Richard Young BSc Hons MICE Senior director, CBRE Project Management Member, JCT Council Richard Young originally trained as a…

JCT chair to speak on Blockchain and Covid-19 in online events

/ Latest News, Press Releases

JCT chair, Richard Saxon CBE, will be giving presentations at two online events, as part of the Construction Blockchain Consortium Annual Conference on Tuesday, 15 October 2020 and a CRS / BISNOW webinar on Tuesday, 03 November 2020. Richard’s presentation at the Construction Blockchain Consortium Annual Conference, forms part of the ‘Smart Legal Contracts for Construction’ session, taking place on Tuesday, 15 October, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Richard’s paper, “Built Environment as a Service: a Blockchain use case”, will discuss the potential for…

Dr Damien Buie to give JCT Povey Lecture 2020

/ JCT Povey Lecture, Latest News, Press Releases

“Safety in Numbers: Resilience and Certainty Through Data” will be the topic of the 2020 JCT Povey Lecture, presented by Dr Damien Buie, group technical director at Laing O’Rourke. For the first time the JCT Povey Lecture will be streamed as a live-broadcast interactive webinar, with the opportunity for attendees to take part in a Q&A via the streaming interface. Dr Buie’s presentation will show how harnessing the power of data has helped Laing O’Rourke achieve closer alignment to the needs of clients, create a…

JCT launches new online ‘JCT Training’ programme

/ Education, Skills and Students, Latest News, Press Releases

JCT has developed a new package of online training to sit alongside its traditional, face-to-face courses. The programme aims to provide more flexibility for contract users as restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic remain in place. The new digital JCT Training delivers courses as live broadcast webinars, with the same expert trainers as the physical courses – all either past or current members of the JCT Council or JCT Drafting Sub-Committee. As well as being broadcast live, the courses also provide interactivity for attendees who…

Suite of updated Covid-19 articles available from JCT website

/ Contractual Issues, Latest News, Press Releases

JCT has made available a suite of new articles providing information about the impact of Covid-19 on construction projects and the contractual issues that arise. The new articles, authored by JCT past-chair, Peter Hibberd, follow on from the orginal article, “Coronavirus (Covid-19) and JCT Contracts”, released in April. The latest articles update the original information from the April piece, set out the guidance from Government and the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and the important contract areas affected, and address the issues that need to be considered for future projects. The suite highlights specific issues that apply to the…

Chair’s Letter: Must Recession mean Regression?

/ Chairman's Blog

Blog Author: Richard Saxon, CBE The 2008 recession destroyed a decade of progress in modernising construction practice as everyone reverted to pre-Latham/Egan behaviours. Progressive practice has climbed back in the last decade, but will it all be lost again? Two recessions ago, in 1992, the government asked Sir Michael Latham to report on how to improve the suffering construction industry. Construction always fares very badly in downturns as public and private clients typically slow or stop investing. Constructors and consultants shed staff and bid low…