Quantities

The percentage growth in construction output over the last year, according to figures from the Department of Trade & Industry. The rise, measured from the first quarter of 2001 to the first quarter of this year, is the biggest annual increase since the boom year of 1988. Fears that the government wasn't delivering on its spending promises are put to rest with output in the health sector growing by a massive 60%, and 30% in education. However, public housing is still a problem area with output for repair and maintenance falling by 3%, despite a 26% increase in local authority funding for housing.

10

The anticipated percentage growth in the Welsh construction industry this year. Since 1998 the Welsh market has been in decline, but it is forecast to reverse that downturn this year with a projected turnover of £1.58bn. Further growth is forecast for 2003 and 2004. This is good news for the economy of the principality because construction is one of its biggest industries, accounting for more than 5% of total employment.

90

The percentage of construction companies that believe word of mouth is the best way of attracting new customers. A survey by software provider Sage revealed that construction is still a business that relies on networking and informal referrals. It also found that 56% used advertising and 21% public relations to drum up new business. Despite the majority of those surveyed agreeing that building customer relationships and customer loyalty could give competitive advantage, 13% didn't measure customer satisfaction. 56% relied on verbal feedback and only 4% had carried out any customer research.

111

The number of occupations covered by the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. Construction contracting, building site management, architectural technology, highways maintenance, technical design, civil and structural engineering design and transport technical support all joined the scheme in June. John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, presented the 250,000th card in May. However, it's not all good news for the CSCS. The Major Contractors Group is so worried by the slow take-up of the scheme that it has held emergency meetings to ensure the deadline of 80% of the workforce on its sites to be CSCS-qualified by the end of the year will be met.

206

The number of prohibition notices served by the Health & Safety Executive in its week-long blitz across Scotland and the North of England in May. Pam Waldron, the inspector who led the blitz, said there was a pattern of relaxed attitudes to health, safety and welfare. "We found standards on many of the sites to be well below what we expect," she said. "I personally witnessed many examples of poor site management and lack of control of subcontractors." Working at height is still the danger area in safety, with 120 prohibition notices served, more than seven times as many as for any other area.

417

The number of housebuilding companies in the financial danger zone, according to analyst Plimsoll Publishing's latest index. The index is a faithful guide to the state of the industry: of the 117 housebuilders that have gone bust recently, Plimsoll had 74% of them in its caution or danger zone up to two years before they folded. The good news is that 251 firms scored top marks, averaging profit margins of 11.7%.