Audiologist.co.uk, the Yorkshire based hearing aid specialist that works nationwide has issued the opinion that warning signs should be placed by noisy construction sites to protect those that are passing by. Operatives that work on noisy site are issued with ear defenders in order to protect their hearing while they carry out the work, however this is impractical for passers by because of the cost and loss of hundreds of ear defenders by handing them out to the public wouldn’t work long term. Signage and warnings in areas where work is being carried out at levels above what is thought to be safe. Any sound above 85 dB is thought to cause damage to hearing without precautions, with those most at risk from noise damage being the young, the elderly and those that already have  compromised hearing. A pneumatic drill operates at around 90 dB, with the extra 5 dB accounting for a 150% increase in the level of noise. This increase is so large because the decibel measuring system is logarithmic, not linear, and every 10dB reflects a doubling in the loudness of a sound. Those building sites and construction zones operating loud machinery should be putting up warnings for the general public in order to help protect their hearing, according to the nationwide hearing aid specialist. It has been suggested that the noise created on construction sites would be ok if it were confined to behind the fencing, however those in the city with more sensitive hearing could be quite badly affected by the noise generated. The warning signs will inform the public and then allow them to consider their own hearing and find an alternate route or not if they choose. Warnings could also allow passers by the opportunity to take precautions such as covering their ears as they pass by in order to offer some level of protection while construction work is taking place.

In June the Technology & Construction Court (TCC) delivered a simple message to contractors, says solicitor Sarah Evans. If you want the benefit of draconian payment provisions, spell out your payment applications clearly. Above: Sarah Evans is a solicitor with Thomas Eggar LLP Henia Investments Inc v Beck Interiors Ltd hammered this message home again, this time with guidance on liquidated damages. The case concerned a £4m contract for fitting out and construction works (The Works), between Henia (Employer) and Beck (Contractor) under an amended JCT Standard Building Contract without Quantities 2011. The Works were more than 11 months late and still not complete. While the contract administrator had issued a non-completion certificate, it had not determined whether Beck was entitled to any extension of time. Beck’s interim application for payment 18 for April 2015 was issued late. Beck later relied on its lateness as meaning it was a valid application for May (for which no further application was issued). Interim certificates 18 and 19 issued by the CA for April and May were also late (the latter by three minutes in the middle of the night). Certificate 19 showed a net sum payable of £18,893.53. On 17th June, Henia issued a pay less notice stating ‘£0’ was due based on the previous valuation, certificate 19 and its entitlement to liquidated damages for 40 weeks delay. The dispute focused on three issues: Was Beck’s Application 18 an effective or valid interim payment notice in respect of the 29th May 2015 payment due date? Was Henia’s ‘£0’ notice an effective or valid pay less notice? Would a failure by the contract administrator to make a decision over a compliant extension of time (EOT) application render its non-completion certificate invalid or otherwise prevent Henia from deducting and/or claiming liquidated damages? Henia’s position was ‘no’, ‘yes’, ‘no’; Beck’s was the opposite. The court agreed with Henia.      On the first question, the court scrutinised the contract ‘time line’ for ‘payment due dates’, interim applications, interim payment notices, interim certificates, pay less notices and final payment dates. It found a lack of precision in the following of the contract. On application 18, the court stressed the need for it to be unambiguous. Given its potentially serious consequences, both Contractor and Employer needed to know what to do and when. As it was a hybrid at best, it was not an application for the 29th May date. On the second question, the validity of Henia’s pay less notice centred on the HGCRA1 being consistent with and reflected in the contract provisions. The notice could therefore raise contractual deductions and legitimate set-offs and deploy Henia’s own valuation of the Works. On the third question, despite the court’s view on the lack of an EOT decision and the right of Henia to deduct liquidated damages, this did not prevent Beck taking action to challenge it, either short-term in adjudication or in later final dispute resolution processes. Lessons to learn? Stick rigidly to contractual time lines for payment. Spell out the content of applications and notices without ambiguity. For Employers, there is nothing under the JCT Standard Building Contract to stop you deducting liquidated damages in pay less notices when valuing works, even if there is no EOT.     1. Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 This article was published on 3 Sep 2015 (last updated on 7 Sep 2015). Source link

23 April 2016 – by Alexander Peace When people first visit Canada Water, says Roger Madelin, the man heading British Land’s 46-acre dockside regeneration scheme, they say two things. Firstly: “Blimey, it was easy to get here.” Secondly: “Bloody hell, this is a bit of a desolate wasteland.” Three months into his new job, the ex-Argent chief executive will be hoping to use the former to take care of the latter. That, and a little bit of experience from King’s Cross, N1. Madelin, at Argent since 1987 and joint chief executive from 1997 to 2012, led the redevelopment of the 67 acres of mixed-use space following the firm’s selection by London and Continental Railways in 2001. All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. British Land hired him to do the same thing in Canada Water, SE16. “I don’t want to brag about King’s Cross,” he says, “but the public realm is more than half decent, and the buildings are more than half decent. There is still a long way to go… but it’s a successful part of central London.” “If the transport was put on hold in 2004, goodness knows what it would look like. We probably would have done some residential on the northern land but it would still be underdeveloped to a large extent, and a wasteland,” he adds. And if King’s Cross – a national and international rail interchange with six tube lines in Zone One – needed infrastructure, it is possible that developing Canada Water, in what could be described as the geographic armpit of London, could be problematic. Click here to read the full story Source link

A survey of quantity surveyors reveals a decline in optimism among the profession about their business prospects. Above: RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn The latest UK construction market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed a drop in the number of construction professionals saying that they expected to see workload rise over the next 12 month. While the balance between those expecting workload to rise and those expecting it to fall was a healthy 55%, this was a considerable decrease on expectations from this time last year when 79% more respondents expected to see workloads rise. Meanwhile, following 4% employment growth in 2015, respondents foresee headcounts continuing to rise over the coming 12 months with a net balance of 41% expecting growth, and a rise of 2% forecast, on average. The survey also confirmed reports that growth in the private housing sector slowed down considerably during the first quarter of 2016. In fact, private housing workloads rose at their slowest pace since the second quarter of 2013. Only 36% more of those working in the sector reported a rise in growth rather than a fall over the first quarter of 2016. A year ago that figure was close to 50%. Across all sectors, the RICS construction market survey shows that 33% more respondents saw workloads rise rather than fall during the last quarter of 2015, down from 38% three months ago. RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: “On the surface, it might seem surprising that we are witnessing a slowdown in the construction sector just a few months after hearing the Chancellor’s ‘We Are The Builders’ speech, given the Government’s significant commitment to this sector. One might well ask why growth in private housing workloads is softening at a time when policy is firmly focussed on the creation of new starter homes. We have long held the view that starter homes cannot be the only solution. There is an issue around the availability of land on which new houses can be built, and we would like to see more being done to free up private brownfield sites. “Our survey tells us that planning delays are one of the biggest barriers to growth in the construction sector. We have recommended that councils work together to create a team of emergency planners who can parachute into boroughs that are experiencing significant delays, therefore reducing a major growth barrier. “That said, we cannot discount the climate of uncertainty caused by the forthcoming EU referendum. We know that a range of sectors have been affected by these issues as investors look to delay any decisions until a final outcome has been determined, and construction is no exception.”       This article was published on 20 Apr 2016 (last updated on 20 Apr 2016). Source link