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The Structural Engineer, Volume 72, Issue 7, 1994
Mr M. K. Hurst (M) I was very interested to read of the application of post-tensioned slabs to a major building in the UK, never having really understood why the method has lacked popularity there. It is a routine form of construction in Australia, the USA, the Far East, and South Africa, where its economy has been recognised for many years. I have just completed the design of a building in Botswana, using slab post-tensioning technology from South Africa. In that building the slab was 200 mm thick with a column spacing of 6.3 m in each direction. This was a cheaper solution than the alternative in reinforced concrete.
Members will, no doubt, be aware of the proposed introduction of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations (CDM), to have become effective originally on 1 January 1994 but which have now been postponed so that they will come into force on 1 October 1994, following a 3 month ‘lead in’ period. S.G. Evans and J.M. Roberts
Disputes in the construction industry abound, and there are a number of procedures to resolve them as an alternative to arbitration and litigation. The best known form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is mediation which is attracting interest as a real alternative to more traditional methods. It has been widely used since the early 1980s in the USA where it originated. It involves using a third party as mediator, acceptable to the disputants between whom mutual understanding to resolve the dispute is not possible. A. Jawad