CIOB Report Warns of Capacity Strain: What Construction SMEs Must Do to Stay Safe and Compliant

by admin | Oct 8, 2025 | Health and Safety, Safety Update

Strengthening Industry Capacity: What the New CIOB Report Means for SMEs and Safety

A significant new development has emerged in the construction sector: the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has published a report titled Capacity Constraints in Construction: Rethinking the Business Environment.  This analysis highlights just how tight the balance is between demand, workforce availability, and project delivery — a tension that has direct implications for how firms manage safety, training, and health risks on site.

Key Findings from the CIOB Report

• The report notes the volatility of demand in construction. Many firms swing between periods of overcapacity and drought, making long‑term planning difficult. 

• Recruitment and retention remain big challenges: 33 % of firms cited carpenters as hardest to recruit, and 64 % struggle to find staff with building safety regime knowledge. 

• Delays in planning and regulatory processes are adding to the strain, especially for small and medium enterprises. 

These findings should act as a call to arms: capacity isn’t just about bricks and mortar, it’s about ensuring your workforce is trained, competent, and able to maintain safety under pressure.

Why This Matters for Health & Safety, Training, and Consultancy

In periods of high demand, there is a real risk that firms cut corners — especially on health and safety — to hit deadlines. But the CIOB report’s emphasis on capability means that firms that invest in a solid foundation of competence, safety culture, and training are more likely to be resilient through boom and bust cycles.

1. Training & Certification: With many firms unable to recruit staff with building safety knowledge, offering routes for existing employees to upskill is critical. That’s where NVQ assessments and structured progression programmes can be a differentiator.

2. Safety Consultancy: Firms under pressure may neglect safety oversight. A safety consultancy can help maintain compliance, review designs, audit systems, and anticipate risks — especially when project volumes surge.

3. Embedding Culture in High‑Demand Times: When deadlines loom, it’s easy for safety to slip. But firms that embed safety thinking into every stage — from planning through to delivery — will fare better. A safety culture isn’t extra; it’s essential.

Recent Prosecutions Underscore the Cost of Neglect

Two recent HSE‑led prosecutions highlight how failing to consider safety properly can end in disaster:

• Lanes Group Limited was fined £800,000 after a jet hose explosion caused the death of a drainage engineer. An investigation found rigging and priming procedures were unsafe. 

• A construction firm and its director were fined following an incident where a cast iron soil pipe fell onto a passing child, causing a skull fracture. The root cause: a lack of risk assessment and securing the structure. 

These cases emphasise how critical it is to anticipate risk, supervise operations, and maintain rigorous risk assessments — especially when site activity intensifies under increased workloads.

How All Star Safety Supports You Through This

At All Star Safety, we are especially attuned to the pressures your business faces when capacity is stretched. Here’s how we can help:

• Training & NVQ Services: We offer tailored training and NVQ assessment programmes to upskill your workforce with building safety competency, so you aren’t solely reliant on external recruitment.

• Safety Consultancy: From site audits and design reviews to management systems and risk assessment, we assist firms in embedding safety firmly into busy projects.

• Support in Scaling Safely: We advise clients on safely scaling operations — making sure safety culture, procedures, supervision, and competence keep pace with growth.

If you’d like to talk about how All Star Safety can support your team during peak periods, or to arrange NVQ assessments or consultancy services, call us on 0330 133 0402 or 01473 561 402.

UK Construction & Safety News: What’s New

by admin | Sep 18, 2025 | Health and Safety, Safety Update

1. Builder fined after boy’s skull fractured by falling pipe

A construction company and its director have been fined following an incident where a cast‑iron soil pipe came loose and fell onto a five‑year‑old child walking past, fracturing his skull. The pipe dated from the 1930s and was corroded, with the builder having broken the base earlier in preparation for some floor work, leaving it unsecured. 

Lesson: even old fixtures, especially those not normally thought of as part of the structure (like soil pipes), must be included in risk assessments. Corrosion, age, and likelihood of access by passers‑by elevate the risk significantly.

2. HSE issues safety notice for excavators and related plant operations

The HSE has issued a safety notice to excavator operators, slingers, and anyone working nearby. It emphasises the importance of using the safety control lever or an isolation device when the plant is at rest or idling. Unintended movement of such machinery has been identified as a serious risk, especially for those within the “working arc” of the plant’s movement. 

Implication: sites need robust control over plant operations, and training & supervision should specifically cover safety controls / lever usage; this is not just “nice to have” but a matter of meeting legal duty.

3. Risk from unqualified contractors grows ahead of new legislation

Trade bodies BESA and TICA have warned that many multi‑trade firms are using contractors who are not properly qualified. Examples include ductwork installed with serious safety flaws, which can create both health (e.g. mould) and fire risks. With Awaab’s Law coming into effect in October 2025, requiring quicker investigation and remedial action regarding damp and mould, the competence of those doing the work will be under much more scrutiny. 

✅ What This Means for Your Business & Safety Practice

These recent developments reinforce several key areas that businesses must ensure are handled well:

• Comprehensive risk assessment: not just of what is obvious (working at height, heavy plant) but also of what may be aged, hidden, or overlooked (old pipes, corroded fixtures, etc.).

• Plant safety & controls: ensure operators are trained and supervised to use safety levers / isolation devices. Clear procedures & method statements are needed.

• Workforce competence & verification: employing properly qualified contractors or trades ‒ especially ahead of new requirements like Awaab’s Law ‒ will be essential. Having credible evidence of competence will be increasingly important not just for compliance but to avoid serious risks.

💼 Opportunities for All Star Safety Ltd to Help

At All Star Safety, we are well placed to support your organisation with these challenges:

• Training & NVQ Services:

  We deliver training programmes covering risk assessment, plant safety, safe operation of excavators and slingers, etc. Our NVQ assessments ensure that your staff and contractors can demonstrate competence to a recognised standard.

• Safety Consultancy & Assessments:

  We can provide site and plant safety audits, inspections of aged infrastructure (like old pipes or fixtures), assessment of contractor competence, and advise on compliance with upcoming legal changes (e.g. Awaab’s Law).

• Policy, Procedure & Documentation Development:

  We assist with drafting clear, compliant procedures covering plant safety, safe isolation and control procedures. We also help clients set up systems to verify contractor competence, maintain training records, and ensure policies for maintenance and inspection of older equipment or structure elements.

If you would like a tailored safety audit, NVQ assessment, or help updating your safety training or contractor verification systems, contact All Star Safety Ltd on 0330 133 0402 or 01473 561 402.