The UK construction industry loses a massive £25bn a year to avoidable error. Rework generates waste, causes injuries and reputational damage. Cliff Smith of the Get It Right Initiative (GIRI) makes it clear in a powerful new article that the sector is overdue a culture shift. One that must begin with training.
However, training alone isn’t enough. We are training in an already broken system: poor planning, late changes, outdated documents and fragmented communication.
That’s where SmartStruct comes in.
“The problem is a culture that normalises error”
GIRI’s research shows us that over 76% of avoidable errors are linked to inadequate planning. 39% of construction injuries happen during rework, undoing any progress made in health and safety.
Smith argues that we need to equip the workforce with the right skills and behaviours to spot errors early. He is right, but these behaviours need real-time tools to make ‘pressing pause’ easy, almost second nature.
“What he teaches has to have the right support in the tools we use as an industry.”
So, what are we proposing? Build error prevention into daily work. SmartStruct doesn’t just manage projects. It systematically removes the root causes of error that GIRI has identified.
From ‘Train The Trainer’ to ‘Built In Error Prevention.’
GIRI’s train-the-trainer pilot (with Kier, BAM Nuttal, Volker Stevin and Taylor Woodrow) improved willingness to talk about our mistakes by 7.5%. That’s a vital culture win.
Imagine scaling that culture with a platform that supports it.
Fewer Errors Mean More Profit and Less Waste.
The UK uses 400m tonne of construction material each year, producing 100m tonnes of waste. Much of this is from rework. SmartStruct users reported much less waste, drastically reducing the need to rework because:
- Everyone works from the same, up‑to‑date documents.
- Task completion is logged on mobile on site.
- Leaders get a snapshot of project health, so they intervene early – not after the error happens.
This means more than a productivity gain, but a sustainability and safety gain as well.
Smith ends with a challenge: “If firms are serious about enhancing productivity, safety and sustainability, they need to see error prevention as a key part of building a capable industry.”
People and platforms can work together to meet this challenge. Train your teams. Give them SmartStruct. The best training in the world fails without a system that makes getting it right easier than getting it wrong.