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
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The report notes the volatility of demand in construction. Many firms swing between periods of overcapacity and drought, making long‑term planning difficult.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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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.
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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:
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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.
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Safety Consultancy: From site audits and design reviews to management systems and risk assessment, we assist firms in embedding safety firmly into busy projects.
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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.