IT'S only fitting ... Shepherd, the York-based engineering and construction group which pioneered the design-and-build concept 40 years ago, has become one of the first companies to achieve registration under the Design and Build Foundation's new quality scheme.

To earn it, Shepherd, whose best-known York example of the art was its £23 million contract to build McArthurGlen Designer Shopping Outlet, underwent a rigorous, independent quality assessment to ensure that the company's staff, philosophy and processes dovetail to give an efficient design-and-build service.

The audit also looked at client focus, health and safety, environmental response, culture and supply chain management.

Research from Reading University shows that the best design-and-build projects take 30 per cent less time to complete than traditional methods and save in cost and waste. They are also 50 per cent more likely to be completed on time.

David Webb, group director of Shepherd, said: "Design and build means a fixed price, one point of contact and clear ownership of the project."

He said Shepherds first design-and-build project was a cakemills plant for BOCM at Selby in the 1960s. "As a pioneer in this field it is therefore right that we should again be a leader in the Design and Build Foundation's campaign to make this a quality-assessed process for clients."