The true cost of construction delays: Why time really is money (and how smart contractors are fighting back)

If you’re involved in UK construction right now, delays probably feel like an inevitable fact of life. You’d be forgiven for thinking “that’s just construction,” but the reality is far more sobering than most people realise. The numbers coming out of 2025 paint a picture of an industry grappling with unprecedented challenges, where delays aren’t just inconvenient – they’re potentially business-ending. 

Almost everyone is running late 

Here’s a statistic that should make every contractor sit up and take notice: 95% of UK construction projects are experiencing delays in 2025. That means nearly every single project is running behind schedule, with median delays now stretching beyond 200 days. To put that in perspective, we’re talking about projects that were supposed to take a year ending up taking nearly two years. 

The situation has deteriorated dramatically since the pandemic. What used to be manageable hiccups have become systematic problems. Major government-funded projects through the Levelling Up Fund are particularly affected, with delays becoming so common that they’re almost expected rather than exceptional. The ripple effects are being felt everywhere – from housing developments to critical infrastructure projects that communities desperately need. 

The hidden costs that are killing margins 

While everyone focuses on the obvious costs of delays – extended site operations, additional overheads – there’s a more insidious problem eating away at profitability: the relationship between absenteeism and spiralling labour costs. 

Recent analysis shows that each 1% increase in absenteeism causes a 1.5% increase in labour costs. This might not sound dramatic until you consider that the UK construction industry is facing its worst labour shortage in decades. Companies are scrambling to find temporary workers, paying premium rates for specialist trades, and dealing with the knock-on effects of an overstretched workforce. 

On a typical £25 million project running over two years, even a modest increase in delays can translate to hundreds of thousands in additional costs. When you factor in the cascading effects – equipment hire extensions, insurance premium increases, management overhead extensions – the true cost becomes staggering. Some projects are reporting cost overruns of 20-30% directly attributable to delays [source]. 

Consider this example; for a project the size of London’s Crossrail (valued at £26 billion), a one-year delay would cost £1.2 billion extra – that’s £3.3 million per day. While most projects aren’t operating at that scale, the principle holds: time really is money, and the meter is always running [source]. 

The smart money is on prevention 

The good news – and there is some – is that the most successful contractors have stopped accepting delays as inevitable. They’re investing in sophisticated scheduling techniques and predictive analytics that actually work. 

The Critical Path Method (CPM) has evolved far beyond the basic scheduling tool it once was. Modern CPM implementation, particularly when powered by capable software, allows project managers to model complex scenarios, identify bottlenecks before they become problems, and maintain visibility across multiple dependencies. 

The results speak for themselves. Contractors using advanced scheduling report 15-20% reductions in planning and reporting time, alongside substantial decreases in overall project delays. But the real magic happens when you combine traditional scheduling with predictive analytics and real-time data. 

The winners and how they’re winning 

Let’s look at some concrete examples of contractors who are bucking the trend: 

Willmott Dixon delivered the University of Warwick Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building not just on time, but with remarkable efficiency improvements. By using Asta Powerproject to model and coordinate off-site fabrication, they reduced site deliveries by 40% and on-site staff requirements by 50%, ultimately saving 18 weeks on the project timeline. 

Kier Group finished a major school construction project eight weeks ahead of schedule using resource-loaded digital scheduling to manage complex deadlines across multiple contractors. The key was having real-time visibility into every aspect of the project, allowing them to spot and address potential delays before they materialised. 

These aren’t isolated success stories. According to our own analysis, top contractors using advanced digital strategies are consistently achieving 20% reductions in delays through predictive analytics and proactive management. 

The ROI numbers that matter 

The financial case for investing in delay prevention is compelling. Industry analysis suggests that companies embracing digital scheduling and predictive analytics see productivity improvements of up to 15% and project cost reductions of 6%. 

#here’s the really interesting part – every 1% improvement in estimation accuracy can yield savings of £140,000 on a £25 million, two-year project. When you’re dealing with margins that are often wafer-thin – sometimes as low as 2% as we saw with ISG’s collapse – these improvements can literally mean the difference between profit and loss. 

The Construction Leadership Council estimates that working to minimise change and manage risk could potentially save £8.1 billion across the UK construction industry. That’s not just money sitting on the table – it’s a thriving industry versus one that continues to struggle with insolvencies and failures. 

The technology that’s making the difference 

Modern construction scheduling isn’t a traditional Gantt chart alone. Today’s tools combine real-time data collection, machine learning algorithms, and sophisticated modelling capabilities that can predict problems weeks or months before they occur. 

Balfour Beatty, for example, uses Asta Powerproject to run pre-construction and construction phases simultaneously, creating a single source of truth that prevents the miscommunication and data gaps that often lead to delays. MiCiM saved 24 hours per week by implementing comprehensive digital solutions that standardised processes and data collection [source]. 

The key is integration. Rather than having separate systems for scheduling, resource management, and communication, successful contractors are adopting platforms that bring everything together. This holistic approach means that when something changes – and something always changes – the entire project plan can adapt in real-time rather than requiring manual updates across multiple systems. 

What this means for the industry 

As construction becomes increasingly complex and margins remain tight, the contractors who survive and thrive will be those who embrace data-driven approaches to project management. The alternative – continuing to accept delays as inevitable – is becoming increasingly unsustainable. 

We’re already seeing the consequences of this divide. The industry has witnessed numerous high-profile collapses in recent years, from Carillion’s £1.2 billion failure to ISG’s collapse in 2024. While each failure had multiple causes, poor project management and inadequate control systems were common threads [source]. 

The contractors who are investing in advanced scheduling and predictive analytics aren’t just avoiding delays – they’re positioning themselves for long-term success in an increasingly competitive market. They’re the ones winning the best projects, maintaining the strongest relationships with clients, and building sustainable businesses. 

How can construction leaders move forward? 

Delays in UK construction are a crisis that demands action. Technology exists to predict and prevent many of these delays, and the contractors who embrace these tools are already seeing substantial returns on their investment. 

For an industry that has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies, the current situation represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is obvious – projects are routinely running 200+ days late, costs are spiralling, and margins are under unprecedented pressure. The opportunity lies in the proven ability of advanced scheduling and predictive analytics to turn this situation around. 

The question isn’t whether digital transformation will come to construction – it’s whether individual contractors will be among the early adopters who benefit from competitive advantages, or whether they’ll be left behind as the industry evolves around them.