Getting It Right Initiative pilot: error-cost lessons for UK project teams
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
The Get It Right Initiative’s two-year pilot with Kier, BAM Nuttall, VolkerStevin and Taylor Woodrow trained 4,575 staff across 25 projects to reduce design and construction errors, including clash detection failures. Backed by £361,306 of CITB funding, the ‘train the trainer’ model created in-house GIRI-approved providers, delivering group sessions of 12 at an average cost of £79 per person. Trainees identified £92.6m in potential error costs, giving a calculated return of £256.48 saved for every £1 spent on training.
Technical Brief
- Error definition explicitly covers design-stage clash detection failures and on-site construction mistakes across disciplines.
- Pre- and post-training questionnaires measured changes in error-mitigation actions and awareness of root causes.
- Four contractors – Kier, BAM Nuttall, VolkerStevin and Taylor Woodrow – became employer GIRI-approved providers.
- CITB contributed “a little over £360,000” to underwrite development of the pilot training capacity.
- Training was structured around 12-person group sessions, supporting interactive discussion of design and build error scenarios.
- Delegates operated across 25 live projects over 26 months, so error data reflects real-time site conditions.
Our Take
The 12-person group design and low £79-per-head cost mean this training model is scalable across large workforces, which is strategically important for tier-one contractors such as VolkerStevin and Taylor Woodrow that run many concurrent UK projects.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
