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With UK Construction Week returning to Birmingham at the end of September under the banner The Construction Reset, perhaps this is a good month for all of us to ask a simple question: are the systems and processes we currently use really helping us to work smarter and safer?

During recent months we have continued our development work on CDM ToolKit CS Cloud, including work around incorporating Building Safety Act requirements into the application.

We are also progressing the move of our Asbestos ToolKit functionality towards the Cloud. Our aim remains to provide practical management systems that allow organisations to maintain accessible, up-to-date health and safety information without creating unnecessary information silos.

As always, if you would like to know more about CDM ToolKit CS Cloud, our Asbestos management solutions, or would simply like to discuss how you currently manage your compliance information, please get in touch with the Ai Solutions team by email at [email protected], or by phone on 01525 850 343 to arrange a convenient demonstration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Domestic building work — planning matters before construction starts

A recent HSE prosecution provides a useful reminder that CDM responsibilities apply to domestic construction work too.

The case concerned an extension to a family home where building work was carried out over existing gas pipework and without properly relocating a boiler flue. The gas installation was subsequently classed as immediately dangerous and the property's gas supply had to be disconnected.

During its investigation, HSE also found shortcomings in the arrangements for producing written Construction Phase Plans. An Improvement Notice was issued requiring an appropriate system to be put in place. The case is a stark example of why health and safety arrangements need to be considered before work begins, even where the project is a relatively ordinary domestic extension. A suitable and sufficient Construction Phase Plan is not simply paperwork; it should identify how health and safety will actually be managed during the work.

Find out more: Read the full case on the HSE website: Building company and director fined after botched extension put family's lives at risk.

Managing domestic CDM responsibilities? Ai Solutions can help organisations manage CDM information and the documentation associated with construction projects. Please contact us if you would like to discuss how our solutions may help.

Principal Contractors — planning, managing and monitoring the work

Another recent HSE case resulted in a £30,000 fine after a bricklayer suffered serious injuries when the floor on which he was working collapsed.

HSE found that the Principal Contractor had failed to properly plan, manage and monitor the construction work. The floor had been overloaded with concrete blocks and had not been constructed in accordance with the manufacturer's design. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

While the circumstances of every project differ, the underlying lesson is familiar: Principal Contractor duties require active management. Planning the work is only part of the process; arrangements also need to be monitored as the project progresses so that changes in conditions, loading, sequencing or working methods do not introduce uncontrolled risks.

Find out more: Full details are available from HSE: Bricklayer hospitalised for a month after fall through collapsing roof

Managing projects under CDM 2015? CDM ToolKit CS Cloud is designed to help organisations manage project information, documents and the CDM process through a web browser. Contact Ai Solutions if you would like to see how it works.

Falls from height remain a major risk

A construction company was recently fined £60,000 after a worker suffered life-changing injuries when he fell through an unprotected rooflight during refurbishment work at a domestic property. HSE found that suitable measures had not been put in place to prevent the fall. Possible controls included edge protection, scaffolding or measures beneath the working area.

HSE reports that falls from height accounted for around a quarter of worker deaths in Great Britain during 2025/26. Statistics such as these reinforce why working at height should never become routine simply because a particular activity has been carried out many times before. The risks need to be assessed and suitable controls established for the work actually being undertaken.

Find out more: HSE provides both details of the prosecution and guidance on working safely at height: Construction company fined £60,000 after worker seriously injured

Building Safety Regulator — signs of improving Gateway 2 performance

The latest Building Safety Regulator data provides some encouraging signs for higher-risk building applications. For the 12-week period to 1 August 2026, the overall approval rate across Gateway 2 application categories was reported at 82%. For new higher-risk buildings and conversions, the approval rate reached 91%, excluding invalid and withdrawn applications. The median approval time for these applications was 22 weeks.

That represents a significant change compared with the position a year earlier. BSR reports that the equivalent median approval time was 43 weeks in August 2025, when the approval rate stood at 39%. External remediation applications have also improved, with a national approval rate of 85% during the latest period.

There is clearly still work to be done, particularly for complex applications, but the latest figures suggest that changes introduced by BSR are beginning to have an effect. For those involved with higher-risk buildings, good quality, complete and accessible project information remains an increasingly important part of demonstrating compliance.

Find out more: The full Gateway 2 transparency data is available from the Building Safety Regulator on GOV.UK: Building control approval application data, May to July 2026

Construction Phase Plans — more than a document

One particularly useful point from HSE's August construction update is its renewed emphasis on Construction Phase Plans. Recent enforcement activity has included both failures by Principal Contractors and a case where HSE specifically required a contractor to establish a system for producing written Construction Phase Plans.

The plan should set out the health and safety arrangements and site rules for the construction phase and be appropriate to the size and complexity of the project.

The important word here is perhaps appropriate. Producing a generic document merely to demonstrate that one exists is unlikely to help anybody. The information needs to relate to the project and remain useful as the work develops.

This is also where structured management systems can help: ensuring that key project documents are available, current and connected with the project information they support.

Need help managing Construction Phase Plans and other CDM documentation? CDM ToolKit CS Cloud includes project and document-management functionality specifically designed around the CDM process.

UK Construction Week Birmingham — The Construction Reset

UK Construction Week returns to the NEC Birmingham from 29 September to 1 October 2026, with this year's programme centred around The Construction Reset. The event organisers describe an industry facing pressure from housing and infrastructure demand, skills shortages, rising costs, sustainability requirements and the need to modernise.

Its programme is built around three themes:

• Building Better - improving delivery, productivity and performance.

• Building Smarter - making greater use of technology, innovation and new approaches to construction.

• Building Responsibly - addressing sustainability and future-ready ways of working.

Topics on the programme include AI and digitalisation, construction productivity, skills, collaboration and regulatory change.

Whether or not you are attending the event, the theme is an interesting one. Construction has accumulated an enormous amount of information, regulation and process over the years. The challenge now is making sure that information genuinely helps people to make better decisions rather than simply creating more administration.

UK Construction Week Birmingham: 29 September – 1 October 2026, NEC Birmingham. See ukconstructionweek.com to register.

Many of this month's stories come back to a similar theme.

Whether we are talking about a domestic extension, a Principal Contractor managing a building site, working at height or an application passing through the Building Safety Regulator, good outcomes depend on planning, information and people understanding what they need to do.

Technology cannot make those decisions for us. What it can do is make reliable information easier to manage, easier to find and easier to share. Perhaps that is one small part of construction's own "reset".

Have a safe and productive September.
The Ai Solutions Team