Blog

Take the Red Pill....

Yosof Ewing — Fri, 27 May 2011 00:38:32 +0000

I was watching The Matrix film the other week and there is one scene that continues to jump into my mind in relation to my work in Dispute Resolution and Prevention.

Its the scene where Morpheus (cool shades) meets Neo for the first time and shows Neo what the Matrix is, by asking him to choose between taking a blue pill or a red pill.

Allow me to now recreate the scene between you and I. I will play Morpheus and you can be kick ass Neo. Ready? Action!! (Always wanted to say that..)

A bit of a sTRAMash...

Yosof Ewing — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:06:42 +0000

I read with horror that Councillors in Edinburgh have agreed to look into the costs of scrapping the city’s tram project.

This has to be one of the most knee jerk and stupid ideas I have ever heard. Explore the options for sure but dear Lord don’t scrap this. Scotland will never live this down.

Whilst I am not defending in any way the handling of this project, to scrap it now would in my humble opinion (and I am sure I am not alone in the industry), be a national embarrassment. For once lets put party politics aside and do whats in the national interest?

Retention - Its not big and its not clever...

Yosof Ewing — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:15:21 +0000

Back in 1964 Sir Harold Banwell wrote about collaborative working practices (long before Latham and Egan). He also urged that retention be gradually phased out. Forty-five years on and there seems to be no sign that this unhelpful and persistent stalwart is on its way out.

Back in 2010 I wrote about the problems surrounding the release of retention at the Westfield Development in London.

Supermarket Tax - Fair or Unfair?

Yosof Ewing — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:33:11 +0000

Normally when the economy heads for trouble, the knee-jerk reaction is to "tinker" with interest rates. But with the ”time of Austerity” upon us, the Government is proposing draconian policies some of which will affect the Construction industry indirectly.

Past ill-thought out policies have caused devastation to the construction industry felt for years after and in my view explains many of the industries recurring headline problems.

Mediation Is The New Black

Yosof Ewing — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:25:02 +0000

The UK government has announced the closure of over 150 courts to save some £15million per year in upkeep. But as more companies face the prospect of disputes, what alternative do they have to taking legal action?

The answer is mediation.

But before you compare the process to that of a marriage counsellor, think again.

Ireland recently estimated that they could save €200million of public money on legal costs by employing mediation instead of litigation.

How to Make 2011 a Very Happy New Year

Yosof Ewing — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 15:49:32 +0000

How has 2010 been for you? Like many companies in the construction industry, you have probably had one of your toughest years in business. So the one thing you must be looking at right now is how you can improve things in 2011.

Which comes first the Chicken or the Egg?

Yosof Ewing — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:14:08 +0000

This is from a LinkedIn discussion posted by Simon Banwell.

I have turned it into a Blog article as the subject matter was of great interest to me.

How to Reduce a £762,000 Tax Bill to ZERO

Yosof Ewing — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:36:20 +0000

As the government looks at every means possible to reduce the staggering debts the country now has, it has targeted construction companies as a potential opportunity to generate some much needed revenue.

And whilst we accept that there is nothing certain in life other than death and taxes, we should all be concerned that the tax man may come knocking and present you with a bill for unpaid taxes - because he questions whether the employment status of your subcontractors is one of genuine self employment or disguised employment. If this situation arises what do you do?