Progressive Grounds

Engineering & construction · scorecard

Is technology under board control?

For MDs of UK engineering and construction firms. 21–24 short questions, under 5 minutes. You get your level, your data-chain view, your top three priorities and the questions to take to your board.

Not in engineering or construction? Take the scorecard for other sectors

For UK engineering and construction firms. Sector hub

Step 1 · About your business (not scored)

P1
What is your annual turnover?
P2
Do you work on higher-risk buildings (HRBs) under the Building Safety Act?
P3
Roughly what share of your turnover is delivered through subcontractors?
P4
Is any of these coming up in the next 18 months? (tick all that apply)

Step 2 · Ownership and the money chain

S1 · Ownership
Who owns technology and AI risk at board level?
S2 · Ownership
How often does the board see a report on technology and cyber risk?
S3 · Bid→budget
When you win a job, how does the tender build-up become the working budget?
S4 · Commercial/CVR
Mid-project, how current is each job's cost-to-date and margin?
S5 · Commercial/CVR
How do site records (diaries, labour, plant, variations) reach the commercial team?

Step 3 · Payments and supply chain

S6 · Payments/CIS
How are supplier invoices matched to orders and deliveries?
S7 · Payments/CIS
How confident are you in CIS verification and deductions each month?
S8 · Supply chain
How quickly would you know a key subcontractor was in financial trouble?
S9 · Supply chain
Do your IT providers, software and AI tool suppliers and key subcontractors have to meet stated cyber requirements?

Step 4 · Resilience and compliance

S10 · Cyber
If your main ERP or finance system were down for a week, or ransomware hit, how ready are you?
S11 · Cyber
Are site devices, shared logins and joiners and leavers (including agency staff) controlled?
S12 · Compliance
Could you produce Cyber Essentials Plus or ISO 27001 evidence and compliance documents for a tender within 48 hours?

Step 5 · Data, people and AI

S13 · Data
How many systems does a cost pass through from contract start to the board pack?
S14 · Data
When the commercial (CVR) and finance numbers disagree, what happens?
S15 · Adoption
Of the main systems you pay for, how many are used as intended?
S16 · AI
What is the firm's position on AI tools?
S17 · AI
Where is AI doing real work today?

Answer the visible questions to see your result.

Sources

  1. Only about one in four construction firms have anyone on the board who owns cyber (DSIT Cyber Security Breaches Survey, Apr 2026). In our screen, 104 of 106 UK construction and engineering firms below about £1bn turnover had no dedicated technology director on the board; the other 2 are unconfirmed (Companies House, Oct 2026). How these two figures differ: the DSIT figure counts anyone on the board with cyber in their remit, across firms of all sizes (mostly small). Our screen counts a dedicated technology director, at mid-sized firms. Both point the same way: cyber is rarely anyone's main job at board level.
  2. Across the UK economy, most employees now use AI at work, and many do so without their employer's approval: 71% of UK employees have used unapproved AI tools (Microsoft survey, 2025; vendor), and in a 47-country study almost half admitted using AI against company policy (University of Melbourne/KPMG, 2025). Do you know what your people are putting into AI tools?
  3. Construction had more company insolvencies than any other sector in England and Wales: 3,866 in the 12 months to August 2026, 17% of cases where industry was recorded. This is a count, not a rate: it partly reflects how many construction firms there are.
  4. 37% of construction businesses cite late payment as a growing challenge, the highest of any sector; 25% cite access to capital (also the highest). (ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor, Q2 2026)
  5. 32% of construction businesses are concerned about the availability of non-management skills, more than any other UK sector. (ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor, Q2 2026)
  6. Large UK construction businesses paid 14% of invoices late in 2025 (13% by value), with a median 33 days to pay. For a £100m firm, each day of debtor days ties up about £274k.
  7. Around 70% of Gateway 2 applications are rejected or withdrawn; for new builds, 73% lacked sufficient detail.
  8. Avoidable error costs UK construction around 21% of total spend; only about 5% is the recorded direct cost. (2016 expert (Delphi) estimate)
  9. 13% of UK construction businesses (10+ employees) reported using at least one AI technology in June 2026, against 58% in information and communication.