Posted January 31, 2000
Another player enters the online construction
market 
Suddenly, any organisation wanting to procure construction products and
services or manage projects on an internet platform, is spoiled for choice.
PFI delivers the goods
A joint study by Arthur Andersen and the London School of Economics has
found that Private Finance Initiative projects are living up to their
promise.
After Y2K, EMU
The good news is that bringing monetary systems together across Europe
is forcing many companies to cut the prices of their products and services.
CCF Charterhouse redevelops City HQ
CCF Charterhouse, the London Investment Bank, has announced that it has
submitted a planning application to the Corporation of London for the
redevelopment of its headquarters in Paternoster Row, near St Paul's Cathedral.
Posted January 28, 2000
Shell acts on climate change
The Royal Dutch/Shell oil group has launched its own internal system for
trading emissions, mirroring the kind of global system being discussed
for controlling atmosphere-damaging greenhouse gases.
No let up in business centre battle
The battle for world domination in the serviced office sector is hotting
up.
One-stop shop is the future
Within two years, today's business-to-business internet marketplaces will
be old hat, set to be replaced by broader inter-connected offerings that
add up to one-stop shops for buyers.
Posted January 27, 2000
US retreats on safety standards for homeworkers
Controversy rages on in the States over the nature of employers' responsibility
for health and safety when employees work outside the office.
New foundation created to extend RICS influence
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has launched a new research
foundation intended to play a key role in raising the contribution that
property professionals make to government, business and the community.
Rocky road to the future
The office of the future may not be at all what we imagine. After a decade
of hype about paperless, high-tech, creative hot-houses, very few of us
actually work in such places.
Building & Property and Unicorn selected for
£200m housing contract
Liverpool Maintenance Partnership, comprising Building & Property Group
and Unicorn Consultancy Services, has been selected as preferred bidder
for a £200 million contract to maintain housing owned by Liverpool City
Council.
Posted January 26, 2000
Another supply chain to go online
The massive food and drinks group Diageo is set to start trading with
its suppliers over the internet, with the aim of making significant savings
in transaction costs.
Second e-commerce award scheme launched
Minister for e-commerce Patricia Hewitt has kicked off the second annual
ISI/InterForum award scheme, designed to recognise small businesses that
achieve big things on the internet.
Stress levels are up but managers are coping
A new study from Roffey Park Management Institute finds that UK managers
are a resilient lot.
Slow Progress for Security White Paper
The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has confirmed that the
security white paper has slipped down the government's priority list.
Posted January 25, 2000
BSI puts standards online
Announcing a joint venture with an American information distribution specialist,
the British Standards Institution says it is ready to provide access to
its extensive collection of materials via the internet.
E-commerce site launched for UK construction
Last week, i-FM reported on the creation of an American-based company
providing internet services targeted at the construction industry...
Outsourcing is not always a happy solution,
at least for IT
Some of the biggest names in IT outsourcing are leaving their clients
wondering where the added value is, says a new study.
Drugs companies merger will create facilities
opportunities
If the merger of pharmaceutical giants Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham
is completed it will have implications for the UK facilities of the combined
company.
Posted January 24, 2000
Government wakes up to the concept of accommodation
strategy
Cabinet Office Minister Ian McCartney this week launched a study into
the likely impact of "modern working practices" on the Government's future
property requirements.
Call centres will grow, but not so fast
Market researcher Datamonitor has taken a close look at the call centre
industry, following dire predictions in some quarters that the internet
could spell the end for this job-spinning sector.
Business technology: good news and bad news
Evidence that the internet is achieving one of the promised changes -
opening up traditional marketplaces to new ways of doing business - is
beginning to mount.
Property Rates to Rise by 24%
The draft non-domestic property rates, published by the Inland Revenue,
reveal potentially massive rises in the rateable values of individual
properties.
Posted January 21, 2000
Business group launches new campaign to cut
red tape
The British Chambers of Commerce has claimed that compliance costs for
UK firms will top £10bn over the Government's first term of office.
London named most expensive city in the EU
London has achieved the dubious distinction of topping the list of European
Union cities in the latest cost of living survey by the Economist Intelligence
Unit (EIU).
Big boost for the UK as an e-business centre
Intel has selected Winnersh, in Berkshire's own Silicon Valley, as the
site of its first European "server farm", designed to provide e-commerce
capacity for corporate clients.
Posted January 20, 2000
Planning ahead - but starting when?
Most companies have business continuity plans in place designed to deal
with disaster after it occurs. But how much effort goes into the "pre-disaster"
phase of identifying and evaluating risks?
Big over there and headed this way
Two American software developers have joined forces to form a new company,
now targeting the construction industry on a global basis.
New Year gone, but resolutions shouldn't be
forgotten
Yesterday, i-FM reported on new research highlighting the fact that many
employers miss the chance to use staff appraisals as an opportunity to
motivate...
Galliford appoints general manager for FM
division
Galliford UK has appointed Tony Murphy general manager of its Facilities
Management section.
Posted January 19, 2000
Workplace change - with no added stress
What do new ways of working mean for the levels of stress experienced
by employees? Not a lot, reports the Health & Safety Executive.
Staff appraisals work for staff
Based on a survey of 500 employees, recruitment consultant Office Angels
says that too many companies are under-estimating the importance of the
staff appraisal process as a tool for motivating people.
Turnover up as business expands at MITIE
MITIE Group has posted a strong set of interim figures for the period
ending 30 September. Turnover was up over 28%, to £162.3M, with pre-tax
profits up over 33%.
ISS Denmark expands
ISS Denmark has acquired 50% of the shares of InterFurn of Denmark A/S,
effective from 1st January 2000.
£100 million boost for Caxton
Caxton FM has been awarded the largest PFI contract in Wales so far.
Posted January 18, 2000
Construction market rises: will prices follow?
UK construction activity soared in the fourth quarter of last year to
its strongest position in two years, says the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors...
New transport supremo named
Cabinet Office civil servant Willy Rickett has been appointed to head
a new taskforce charged with pulling together a 10-year modernisation
strategy for transport.
Mobile population
The major mobile network operators report continued growth in users, with
take-up in 1999 measured well into the millions of new customers.
Posted January 17, 2000
BT goes green
British Telecom has achieved ISO 14001 certification for its UK operations.
The company says it is one of the largest organisations in the world to
receive this stamp of approval for an environmental management system
(EMS).
Trends converge in new Government "cross-border"
policies
Senior ministers, especially from the Cabinet Office and the Treasury,
are set to join forces in efforts to achieve greater coordination and
cooperation between Government departments.
Tough times ahead for the travel business
Market research specialist Gartner Group predicts "explosive" growth in
online travel services over the next two years - leaving any unprepared
leisure or business travel agents wondering where their customers went.
Posted January 14, 2000
Henry Boot re-brands FM business
The Henry Boot group has re-launched its facilities management activity
under the name Banner Facilities Management.
New fire regs extend employers' obligations
New legislation in effect since December means that the majority of employers
now have a statutory obligation to undertake fire safety risk assessments,
warns surveyor King Sturge.
Industry update: international expansion
Sulzer Infra, the parent company of SI CBX, has acquired JCS Ingenieurburo
AG, a Swiss consultancy specialising in process engineering for the pharmaceutical
and chemical industries.
Posted January 13, 2000
Family friendly policies not working, says
The Industrial Society
Family friendly work policies came in for more criticism today, this time
aimed at employers.
Testing e-business strategy
The same team that revealed that 50% of company directors have never been
briefed on technology (see i-FM 30 September) is now backing an interactive
database where companies can check their own preparedness.
If you are reading this, odds are good that
you are a woman or a child
New research from BT says that women and children are much more at home
with new technology than men.
Posted January 12, 2000
BRE set to acquire Loss Prevention Council
BRE, the UK's long-established building research and consultancy centre,
is negotiating to purchase the Loss Prevention Council from its owners,
Lloyd's and the Association of British Insurers.
E-business to reshape the financial services
industry
A new survey, carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the CBI, confirms
that the majority of financial services companies believe their future
lies in e-business.
New Year, new plan
The Construction Best Practice Programme has launched its plan for the
first part of the New Year and taken the opportunity to declare its intention
to help improve corporate efficiency for both clients and contractors.
Michaelhouse puts Broadgate Estates on the
net
Broadgate Estates, the blue-chip specialist in City of London building
and estate management, have linked up to the Internet via a new system
supplied by IT systems specialists Michaelhouse.
Business rate details on internet
The Valuation Office Agency has placed rating information on all 1.7m
business premises in England and Wales on their website.
Posted January 11, 2000
Best companies look after their employees
Fortune magazine hasassembled its latest list - the 100 best companies
to work for in America...
Regus ties up with Ericsson for "global" standard
Serviced office provider Regus has signed a £25M contract with Ericsson
for the provision of standardised telecoms technology across its business
centres.
The future according to BT
BT has put a special multi-media "millennium" edition of its Technology
Journal on the web.
Posted January 10, 2000
Business confidence means more property
UK companies are responding to favourable economic conditions by expanding
their property portfolios, says a new report.
Capita on a roll
Capita Group, perhaps best known as an outsource provider in the public
sector, continues to turn in strong figures - and continues to grow rapidly.
Dell moves into education
Michael Dell, the driving force behind one of the world's most successful
computer companies, is to become a key advisor to a start-up enterprise
specialising in student communication.
Posted January 7, 2000
Solo flyer begins to replace the team player
New research from London University's Birkbeck College suggests that growing
numbers of employees are reluctant to pass on new ideas or "tricks of
the trade"...
Cabinet Office faces up to damning "IT fiasco"
report
Slammed at the beginning of the week by a highly critical Commons Public
Accounts Committee report, the Government has promised to learn the lessons
and do better in the future.
More criticism as Government tries to do the
right thing
The Institute of Directors has joined the employers chorus of criticism
currently focused on the Government's policy of extending employee rights.
Posted January 6, 2000
Preparation suffers in rush to launch new
ideas
PricewaterhouseCoopers says an incredible 70% of UK companies launching
themselves into e-business are so beguiled by the potential of the internet
that they fail to trial their systems first.
New guidelines for CCTV systems
Late last year new national guidelines for operators of closed-circuit
TV systems were launched by the British Standard Institution.
ISS acquires UK cleaning company
ISS, the international contract services provider, has acquired Blue Ribbon,
a nationwide provider of cleaning services in the United Kingdom.
Posted January 5, 2000
New Year advice from the HSE
This is just what you've been looking for - official advice to start out
the New Year slowly, one step at a time.
Transportation is our priority, says CBI
The CBI's new director general, Digby Jones, has been making the rounds
of regional business centres and has come away convinced that what the
UK needs as much as anything is better transport.
Innovate to survive in the New Year
CBI president Sir Clive Thompson has used his New Year message to warn
British companies that they will have to be more innovative than perhaps
at any other time in their history in order to survive in a changing economic
environment.
Posted January 4, 2000
Over-worked, under-appreciated
Spare a thought for the beleaguered civil servant. Nine out of ten complain
of too much work and rising stress levels.
More sophistication needed in judging website
success
Current methods of evaluating website success tend to be shallow, say
the experts at Forrester Research, and provide no real basis for guiding
internet strategy.
Smart cards get smarter
Mondex, the MasterCard-owned developer of cashless smart card systems,
is teaming up with beenz.com, the virtual currency innovator, to create
a range of e-commerce services based on a single card.