Industry News HubAlmost £1bn has disappeared from the published value of Sacyr’s contract to build one of the 11 facilities in the New Hospital Programme. The original contract award notice, published on 21 October, put the value of the Frimley Park Hospital deal at £2bn. But a…
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30% of respondents identified progress capture, reporting and data quality as their primary challenge, making it the most frequently cited issue across the survey.
40-50% of main contractor responses focused on programme visibility, progress reporting and obtaining reliable site updates.
Around 50% of consultant and project controls responses focused on data accuracy, reporting quality and planned-versus-actual performance.
Four in ten respondents highlighted either progress reporting or information flow challenges, pointing to a widespread need for better visibility of site activity.
Both planners and senior leaders ranked confidence in project reporting among their top concerns, indicating that programme visibility is a business-wide issue rather than a planning-only problem.
The evidence does not support a simple “planners focus on data and process, whilst leadership focuses on the people and governance” split. However, senior leaders mention change, delay and sequencing proportionally more often; planners mention workload, supply-chain constraints and programme adoption somewhat more often.
The differences become clearer when we look at the findings by sector, from main contractors, specialist contractors and MEP firms, to consultants and asset managers and owners.
Across all respondents, 30% identified progress capture, reporting and data quality as their primary concern, making it the most frequently cited issue regardless of role or organisation type.
Among main contractors, approximately 40-50% of responses focused on programme visibility, reporting accuracy and obtaining reliable updates from site teams, while specialist contractors and MEP firms were more likely to highlight coordination challenges, with around one-third citing subcontractor, trade or supply-chain dependencies as the biggest obstacle to programme alignment.
Consultants and project controls specialists demonstrated the strongest focus on governance and reporting integrity, with around half of consultant responses referencing data accuracy, progress validation or confidence in planned-versus-actual performance.
Naturally, clients, developers and owners showed greater interest in understanding programme impacts and supporting strategic decisions than in site-level reporting processes.
“These findings are really aligned with the conversations we have with our Asta Vision customers around managing risk and programme visibility,” commented Gerry Kelliher, managing director of Eleco UK. “We find that whilst everyone’s motivation is different, at the end of the day, it’s progress visibility that helps to deliver programmes on time or even ahead of a schedule.”
“Most of the people we spoke to don’t have a planning problem, they have an information problem. The programme is only as good as the last update from site, and that update is usually late, vague, or both. We built SymTerra so the people doing the work can record progress as they go, and the planner sees it the same day,” added John Ryan, director of SymTerra.
For more details, you can watch the panel discussion with Brendan Johnston, planning director at McLaren Construction Group, Dave Shaw, operations director at Montel Civil Engineering and Ben Fitzerald, former associate director at Aecom, chaired by Peter Jaworski, head of sales at Eleco UK and John Ryan, director at SymTerra.
We will also show how your project data can help you make better business decisions in our upcoming webinar on 24 November, find out more here.
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Wedge Group Galvanizing Limited has been fined £566,666 and ordered to pay £15,521 in costs after a worker suffered 40 per cent burns to his body when struck by a wave of molten zinc. The incident occurred on 12 October 2021 at the company’s site in Crediton, Mid Devon, leading to a prosecution at Bristol Magistrates Court on 14 October 2026.
The 33-year-old employee was working at the Marsh End, Lords Meadow Industrial Estate site when a critical failure in lifting equipment led to the severe injury. A three-tonne steel roller joist, being carried by a lifting chain, unexpectedly fell into a galvanising bath. This caused a powerful wave of molten zinc to surge outwards, engulfing the worker and subsequently hitting a wall before returning towards him. CCTV footage captured the moment the worker caught fire, immediately running towards an emergency shower for urgent dousing and removal of his burning clothes.
Following the incident, paramedics provided initial treatment at the scene before the worker was airlifted to Southmead Hospital in Bristol. He spent 11 days in intensive care, undergoing 13 separate operations to graft healthy skin onto his burnt body. The extensive injuries led to severe complications, including infection and sepsis, leaving him with multiple long-term health conditions that continue to impact his life significantly.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uncovered serious failings in the company’s safety protocols. It was determined that the set of chains used to lift the heavy steel beam exhibited clear signs of damage and deterioration, yet they had not been withdrawn from service. Crucially, these chains had not undergone their mandatory regular inspection, a fundamental requirement for ensuring the safety of lifting operations.
Further findings from the HSE investigation revealed that the load slinging arrangement employed at the time of the incident was incorrect. This meant that the weight of the load being lifted exceeded the safe working limit for the specific chains in use. Additionally, the risk assessment in place for “immersion & swilling” procedures lacked any reference to essential checks on lifting chains or guidance on appropriate sling configurations.
Wedge Group Galvanizing Limited was found to have breached several key regulations and industry standards. Under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 1998, lifting accessories must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least every six months. Both the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) code of practice and the chain manufacturer’s user manual explicitly state that chain slings used in acidic environments, such as zinc galvanising, should be inspected before each day’s use. The HSE provides comprehensive, freely available guidance that underscores the critical importance of rigorous inspection for all lifting equipment, including the benefits of a robust ‘examination scheme’.
Wedge Group Galvanizing Limited, based in Stafford Street, Willenhall, West Midlands, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. HSE inspector Alexander Ashen commented on the case, highlighting the entirely preventable nature of the incident and the devastating consequences for the young man involved. He expressed shock that an industry-leading firm, with substantial resources, would compromise worker safety through substandard inspection protocols. The inspector emphasised that the victim and his family remained at the forefront of their thoughts throughout the investigation.
This story was originally published by HSE Media Centre
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Construction firms have warned that government capital spending cuts could threaten project pipelines, while the potential benefits of increased defence investment remain unclear. In his first Budget on Wednesday, chancellor John Healey confirmed a 1 per cent reduction in departmental capital budgets over three years…
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As preparations for COP31 gather pace, what I am hoping to see is the built environment recognised not simply as a contributor to climate change, but as one of the sectors with the greatest potential to drive solutions.
The decisions we make about how we plan, design, construct and manage our built environment will shape both climate outcomes and human wellbeing for generations to come.
At a time when the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly visible and more pressing, COP31 must be less about debating what needs to be done and more about how we accelerate delivery at the pace and scale required.
I am also hoping to see the conversation evolve beyond built environment emissions. The built environment sits at the intersection of climate resilience, nature recovery, health, productivity and social value. This presents an enormous opportunity to demonstrate how climate action can deliver multiple co-benefits simultaneously, creating places that are not only lower carbon, but healthier, more resilient and better for people and nature.
One of the areas I am particularly keen to see explored more fully at COP31 is climate adaptation and resilience in the built environment. Around the world, communities are already experiencing more frequent and intense heatwaves, flooding, storms and droughts.
The built environment must be designed not only to reduce emissions, but to help people live safely and comfortably in a changing climate. This means moving beyond reactive approaches and embedding resilience from the outset through passive design, urban greening, climate-responsive planning and investment in resilient infrastructure. Progress is not currently fast enough in this area.
I am also looking forward to seeing greater momentum behind whole-life carbon. While reducing operational emissions remains essential, we cannot ignore the carbon emitted through the manufacture, transport, construction, maintenance and eventual reuse of materials (or the nature impacts for that matter).
The conversation around embodied carbon has advanced significantly in recent years, and COP31 provides an opportunity to demonstrate how policy, procurement and innovation can work together to drive lower-carbon outcomes across the entire lifecycle of buildings and infrastructure.
A further priority for me is the role of nature in the built environment. Nature should not be treated as an optional enhancement added at the end of the design process. It is essential infrastructure. Integrating nature-based solutions, regenerative approaches and biophilic design into our towns, cities and developments can help address multiple challenges simultaneously. These interventions can reduce urban heat, improve resilience to flooding, support biodiversity recovery, enhance physical and mental wellbeing and create more attractive and healthier places to live.
Perhaps most importantly, I hope COP31 signals a clear shift from ambition to implementation. We are no longer short of evidence, innovation, or examples of best practice. The challenge now is scaling solutions quickly enough to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. The era of debating whether action is needed must be behind us. We are firmly in the era of delivery, and this must be at pace and scale.
Achieving this will require unprecedented collaboration across disciplines and sectors. Policymakers, planners, architects, engineers, constructors, investors and asset owners all have a role to play. Equally, we must ensure that the workforce has the skills and competencies needed to deliver the transition.
Investing in green skills, professional competence and lifelong learning will be critical if we are to turn commitments into measurable outcomes. So, I am delighted that CIOB President Saul Humphrey will be speaking on a panel on Skills for a Climate Resilient Future: Developing the Workforce to Deliver, among his speaking commitments during our time at COP31.
I am also hoping to see attention given to innovation and the importance of leveraging it to accelerate the transition. The challenge is not developing new technologies, materials and approaches, but creating the conditions that allow innovation to be adopted at scale across the built environment.
From digital tools and modern methods of construction to new approaches to circularity, climate adaptation and whole-life carbon management, innovation has a critical role to play in improving productivity, reducing environmental impact and building resilience.
COP31 provides an opportunity to bring together industry leaders, policymakers and practitioners to explore how innovation can help turn climate ambition into practical delivery and fast. So, I am looking forward to the panel on Leveraging Digital Twins to build the Circular Cities of the Future, which Saul will also be chairing.
For me, the success of COP31 will not be measured by new pledges or declarations. It will be measured by whether it helps accelerate the transformation of the built environment into a force for climate action, resilience and regeneration.
I am hopeful the conversations in Antalya will demonstrate not only what is possible, but how we can work together to deliver it faster, at greater scale, and for the benefit of both people and planet.
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The construction industry is making meaningful progress in reducing its reliance on diesel, with major infrastructure projects adopting alternative fuels and power sources, and clients paying closer attention to the environmental impact of the work they commission.
For smaller contractors, however, the question is how to make that progress achievable in practice. New equipment and alternative technologies can come with costs and site requirements that are difficult to accommodate on tighter budgets or smaller sites.
The starting point doesn’t need to be a completely diesel-free site. Understanding current emissions, identifying opportunities to reduce them, and making informed decisions about the alternatives available are solid steps in the transition.
The Construction Leadership Council’s Zero Diesel Sites Route Map sets an industry ambition to cut diesel use by 78% by 2035; it combines greater efficiency, cleaner fuels, electrification, and broader industry support.
The Lower Thames Crossing provides a recent example of that ambition being put into practice. In September 2026, National Highways reported more than 30 zero-emission machines operating across the project, with around 150 expected by peak construction in 2028. The project also uses HVO as an alternative to conventional diesel, alongside electric- and hydrogen-powered equipment.
This is encouraging, although a major infrastructure project has resources and purchasing power that not every smaller contractor will have.
What can be carried across is the principle of planning the transition rather than treating it as a single equipment purchase. Understanding what power a site needs, considering the alternatives available, and looking for ways to reduce consumption are all relevant, regardless of business size.
One of the most practical places to start is measuring what you already record. A useful first step is to establish a baseline carbon footprint. Even when a business can only gather limited information initially, the aim is to understand the current position before deciding what improvement should look like. This baseline measurement also lets you track and celebrate future emissions reductions.
For contractors considering diesel reduction, that means reviewing existing fuel and site energy information and identifying the biggest sources of consumption. It also means recognising that one site may have very different requirements from another, including power needs, space constraints, and location, each of which can affect the feasibility of different alternatives.
Getting a clearer picture helps businesses decide which opportunities are worth exploring. Without that starting point, it is much harder to assess whether a proposed change has actually reduced emissions.
It’s also worth beginning conversations with suppliers early, both about the environmental data they can provide and the lower-carbon options they may be able to support.
No single replacement for diesel will suit every construction project, so it is important to understand the options available.
HVO is a key drop-in transitional fuel for machinery that still relies on combustion engines. While it carries a cost premium over forecourt diesel, it can deliver up to 90% lifecycle greenhouse gas savings compared with conventional diesel, along with reductions in other localised air pollutants (NOx, PMs, SO2). However, those savings should not be taken for granted; the environmental impact depends on how the fuel is produced and sourced, and businesses need reliable evidence to support any emissions claims.
An electric plant presents another possible route away from diesel, with the benefit of producing zero exhaust emissions at the point of use. Its overall carbon impact depends on the electricity source (powering your battery from a diesel generator would be inefficient and remove the carbon benefit), and its suitability varies with the work being undertaken and the practicalities of powering equipment on a particular site.
Hydrogen-powered plants are also becoming a reality on construction sites, with modular refuelling solutions making the technology more practical. When green hydrogen is used, machinery can operate without producing carbon emissions at the point of use, although this does not account for emissions from producing and supplying the fuel. Given the power demand of heavy plant machinery and vans carrying a load, some contractors hope hydrogen technology will provide opportunities where electrification has struggled.
Contractors should be cautious about assuming that a technology used successfully on a large, long-running project will automatically work across smaller or shorter jobs. Rather than deciding one technology is the answer, smaller businesses should consider each site’s requirements and trial new technologies or methods before making a significant investment that locks them into one alternative.
Reducing diesel reliance isn’t just about replacing plant; on-site renewables and battery storage are also options construction businesses are exploring to cut dependence on fossil fuels. These may be worth considering alongside lower-carbon fuels, depending on an individual project’s needs and constraints. Specifically mention site management and consideration of the footprint of any battery systems, etc., as some sites will be too small to fit large batteries or PV.
The wider opportunity is to improve energy management as part of everyday site planning. Understanding where energy is needed, assessing what can realistically change, and reviewing the results can help businesses make progress without assuming every solution requires major investment.
This also provides a stronger basis for future decisions; if an alternative technology becomes available or more commercially viable, a contractor with a clear understanding of its energy use is better positioned to judge whether it is suitable.
Sustainability is playing a growing role in construction procurement, with clients and main contractors increasingly wanting evidence of how suppliers are managing environmental impacts, including carbon emissions.
For smaller contractors, this can mean demonstrating what they currently measure, what steps they have taken and where further improvement is planned. A credible account of progress is more useful than a broad commitment that cannot be supported with data.
Supply-chain conversations matter here too; larger contractors rely on supplier information to understand the environmental impact of projects. Smaller businesses that begin collecting relevant data and discussing expectations with customers will be better prepared when those requests arise. At the bid stage, case studies of carbon reduction successes are increasingly requested – those businesses that can point to previous trials and emissions progress are the ones that will come out on top in this area.
That doesn’t mean claiming a site is diesel-free before it is, or promising reductions that cannot be evidenced; quite the opposite, in fact, it means being aware of the state of play and being honest about it and showing what meaningful progress you have achieved, and plan to take going forward.
For smaller contractors, reducing diesel use will likely be a gradual process; some alternatives are appropriate now, while others may be more realistic as equipment, supply, and infrastructure develop.
The key is to start with a practical plan: establish a baseline of fuel consumption and emissions, understand the site’s energy needs, talk to suppliers, explore credible alternatives, and track the results.
While switching to lower-carbon fuels and technologies can involve additional upfront costs, it may also strengthen a contractor’s position when bidding for work. Demonstrating measurable emissions reductions and a credible decarbonisation approach can help businesses score valuable points in tender assessments, potentially unlocking contracts worth thousands or even millions of pounds.
Major projects show what the industry can achieve at scale and offer valuable takeaways for smaller contractors to learn from. By understanding current operations and making measurable improvements now, businesses can reduce their reliance on diesel where it is feasible and build a stronger foundation for future investment and procurement requirements.
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Balfour Beatty Vinci is constructing 13 viaducts to carry HS2 trains over two busy motorways, local roads, existing rail lines, rivers and floodplains
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A small contractor buys a reasonably priced site management platform and discovers that the most expensive part is getting its records into a usable form. Someone has to standardise job names, resolve duplicate contacts, agree the reporting process and help supervisors when a mobile form behaves differently from the old paperwork. Those hours may never appear on the software invoice.
For an SME, they are still a real cost. The person configuring the system may also price work, organise labour or prepare payment applications. A programme that depends on spare administrative capacity can fail even when the application performs exactly as demonstrated. The purchase decision needs to include the business’s ability to operate the new process.
That makes a clear problem statement more useful than an extensive feature list. A firm may need to reduce repeated timesheet entry, retrieve installation evidence faster, or improve visibility into purchase commitments. Each aim suggests a different value test and a different set of people who need to be involved.
The subscription can vary with named users, active users, projects, storage, modules or transaction volumes. The important comparison is the total under plausible operating conditions. A firm with seasonal labour, several live sites and an archive of completed projects needs to understand how each affects the bill, including access for clients and subcontractors.
Initial work may include migration, configuration, integration, training and checking the imported data. Continuing work may include account administration, form changes and resolving failed transfers between systems. Some suppliers include these activities, while others charge separately or leave them to the customer. A comparable quotation needs a comparable scope.
The business should also examine the cost of keeping completed records available. Project delivery may end while obligations to retain information continue. Read-only access, archive exports and retrieval support can have different charges. A purchase that looks inexpensive during construction may become a recurring cost across an expanding portfolio of completed jobs.
A short trial is most informative when it uses a realistic process from start to finish. For a site record, that might mean capturing information, attaching evidence, obtaining review, and later finding the accepted record. Testing only data entry misses the work people do to receive and act on the submission.
The trial should include conditions that cause friction: a weak connection, a changed work package, an absent approver or a photograph attached to the wrong item. These are practical test scenarios, not assumptions about a particular product’s defects. The point is to understand how the team recovers when everyday work departs from the ideal demonstration.
A supervisor should be able to explain what the new process removes and what it adds. If staff continue entering the same information in a client portal and an internal spreadsheet, the new platform may become a third destination. Adoption is more likely to endure when the firm agrees which old processes can stop and which records remain necessary.
Specialist subcontractors often have limited influence over the systems their clients select. One project may require a particular portal for drawings, another a different service for inspections. An internal platform can organise the business but may not remove those external obligations. The purchase needs to account for that boundary.
The practical test is whether information can move between the firm’s own records and the required project systems without repeated re-entry. A spreadsheet import may suffice for periodic transfers; a frequently changing process may justify an integration. The expected frequency, error consequences and maintenance effort determine whether automation is worth its cost.
An integration also needs ownership. If a client changes its fields or a supplier changes its interface, someone must notice failures and repair the connection. An unattended transfer can save time when it works and spread errors when it does not. The quotation should identify who monitors the connection and what support is included when either side changes.
A first deployment is easier to evaluate when it addresses a bounded process with an identifiable owner. The firm can compare the previous effort, the transition burden and the result after users have had time to learn. Expanding immediately into every department makes it harder to identify why performance improves or deteriorates.
Protected time matters. Training delivered during a quiet demonstration does not necessarily equip a supervisor to use a system under programme pressure. Short, task-specific support and an accessible route for resolving problems can be more useful than a large library of optional videos. The business needs someone with authority to simplify a form or resolve a disputed workflow.
This is also a resilience question. If only one employee knows how the system is configured, their absence can interrupt reporting or billing. Recording the essential configuration and training a second administrator creates a modest continuity measure. The aim is not a large internal IT department, but a process the business can sustain.
The National Cyber Security Centre’s guide for small organisations covers protecting accounts and devices, backups and recognising attacks. For a software buyer, those topics translate into specific operational questions: how access is granted and removed, how important records can be recovered, and what support is available when an account or device is compromised.
A cloud service does not remove the need to understand the customer’s responsibilities. The supplier may operate the infrastructure while the customer controls users, sharing and some configuration. A firm needs to know which records it can restore, from which point in time and through whose action. A copy held in the same live workflow should not simply be assumed to provide independent recovery.
Where a provider processes personal data on the firm’s behalf, the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance explains the need for appropriate controller-processor contractual terms. This is relevant to records such as employee details and identifiable site photographs. The commercial order form and the data-processing terms answer different questions; both need to describe the service being purchased.
The government’s guidance on managing technical lock-in recognises a balance between the value of integration and the cost of switching. It encourages software-as-a-service buyers to consider open standards and formats, so they retain options for their data. These are public-sector technology principles, but the same commercial trade-off is visible in a small construction business.
The firm should request a representative export before committing. Can it retrieve attachments, dates, references and useful relationships between records? Can a person read the output without the original subscription? A download button that produces a collection of unexplained files may satisfy a narrow description of export while leaving the business with substantial reconstruction work.
Exit costs include more than a supplier’s fee. They can include cleaning data, retraining staff, operating two systems temporarily and rebuilding integrations. Deep integration may still be the right choice if the ongoing benefits justify that dependence. The important point is to make the trade-off visible while alternatives remain available.
A renewal review should return to the work the system was meant to improve. Has time spent finding evidence fallen? Are records more complete? Has duplicate entry reduced? Which modules remain unused, and what new effort has emerged? People performing the process can explain the numbers and identify a smaller, more effective configuration.
For an SME, successful software procurement is a manageable operating change with a clear business purpose. The right product is one the firm can afford to run, support and eventually replace, while retaining the information its projects depend on. That judgement requires more than the monthly licence price.
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Civil engineering contractor Jones Bros has reported a 52.7 per cent jump in turnover to a record £240.5m, breaking through the £200m mark for the first time. The Ruthin-based group recorded pre-tax profit of £11.3m for the year to 31 March 2026, up 50.3 per…
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The government has announced plans to require apprentices to make up at least 3 per cent of the workforce on all large government construction and infrastructure projects. The requirement was set out in yesterday’s Budget, alongside new procurement guidance allowing contractors to be scored on…
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