Mace Construct makes commitment to become most productive major UK contractor

• Mace Construct aspires to be the ‘most productive UK contractor’ by 2030, setting robust industry-first targets for GVA and calling on other contractors to do the same. 
• New report sets out how long-term worker retention issues on major construction projects are costing the UK economy more than £1.3bn a year in lost output.  
• Executive Chairman calls for more permanent workforce capacity to take advantage of the ‘large and long’ infrastructure pipeline off the back of latest report. 

Workforce turnover in the UK construction industry is costing the country £1.3bn every year through lost productivity, our landmark report shows. 

Large schemes in the UK’s infrastructure pipeline, from housing and schools to energy projects, are being delayed and made more expensive by rapid workforce churn in construction. 

Mace Construct’s report Build Smart, Build Better, based on data from more than 200 projects, shows that when workers leave large sites, projects lose significant value through lost knowledge, coordination and output. 

On projects with around 500 workers, high churn is linked to about £2,266 in lost output per hour across the site, rising to nearly £20,000 per hour on projects with around 2,000 workers. 

Over a typical 18-month, 500-worker scheme, that equates to roughly £5m in lost output. Across NISTA’s infrastructure pipeline, Mace Construct estimates the gap between high-churn and low-churn projects is worth around £1.3bn a year. 

The report calls for public clients to back firms that invest in stable employment, apprenticeships and workforce stability, and argues that better productivity depends on earlier decisions on design, procurement and delivery models. 

Productivity is determined before construction begins

Mace Construct’s analysis concludes that the biggest drivers of productivity are fixed before construction begins, not by site-level speed or individual worker effort. The report argues that productivity is effectively won or lost ‘before boots hit site’, with the strongest outcomes linked to early design decisions, supply chain integration, stable workforces and digitally enabled delivery models. 

A major opportunity for the sector

The report comes as the Government commits hundreds of billions of pounds towards housing, transport, energy and social infrastructure over the next decade, including through the UK’s long-term infrastructure pipeline. 

Mark Reynolds - CBE, Executive Chairman at Mace Construct, said:

“Britain has a big infrastructure pipeline ahead of it, but we will not deliver it efficiently if we continue to treat construction labour as endlessly replaceable. This report shows that workforce churn is not just a people issue, it is a productivity issue, a delivery issue, and a cost issue for the whole country. 

“When workers leave major sites and need to be replaced, projects lose knowledge, coordination and momentum. On the largest schemes, those losses become enormous, with high churn costing millions over the life of a project and more than £1.3 billion a year across the national pipeline. 

“All of us – clients, contractors, and Government – need to create the right conditions for firms to invest in permanent workforce capacity, direct employment, and apprenticeships. If procurement rewards companies that build and retain skilled teams, the sector will respond.” 

Recommendations for industry and Government

The report argues that if the UK is serious about delivering its long-term infrastructure ambitions, the industry will need to move beyond repeated productivity reviews and instead focus on structural reforms.  

It also sets out a new commitment from Mace Construct to target and measure its own productivity year-on-year, all with the aim of becoming the ‘most productive’ UK contractor by 2030. It’s calling on the industry to do the same to create a sector-wide benchmark. 

Among its recommendations, the report calls for: 

• A step change in productivity measurement, including Mace Construct’s commitment to publish independently audited productivity figures annually and target a year-on-year improvement path to 2030. 

• Earlier design-stage decisions on procurement, modern methods of construction and digital coordination, with productivity treated as a commitment point before work starts on site. 

• Procurement reform that makes collaborative delivery, early contractor involvement and productivity governance the standard for major schemes. 

• Better use of the Government incentives to support standardisation, off-site manufacturing and wider industrialisation across repeatable programmes. 

• A stronger focus on workforce stability, direct employment, apprenticeships and retention in the roles that matter most to productivity.