Electronic Checklist of Risk Items on Construction Projects

Risk management in construction encompasses four main phases; risk identification, quantification, mitigation and control. Risk identification has been recognized as the most crucial phase of a successful risk management program. This paper briefly describes a model, designed to automate the risk identification process. The model facilitates the development of an electronic checklist of items that are likely to give rise to risk on construction projects. A risk classification scheme is proposed, where risks are classified as either generic or domain-specific. Generic risks are those which might be encountered on any project, irrespective of its type (e.g. currency fluctuations). Domain-specific risks, on the other hand, are those which are associated with the nature of the project at hand (e.g. risks encountered on transportation projects might not be encountered in hydro projects). At the core of the model is its relational database, designed to store various risk items. The impact of project domain, size, location and delivery type (Engineering – Procurement – Construction vs. Build – Operate – Transfer) are considered in developing an automated list of project-specific risk items. The proposed model is implemented in a prototype software, which operates in Microsoft Windows® environment. It employs Microsoft Access® as the database management system and incorporates a user-friendly graphical user interface, utilizing dialog boxes, menus and toolbars. The developed system has several practical features, including the definition of one or more references to each stored risk item to enable tracking and reviewing of their sources. It provides three levels of access for security purposes. It is flexible, allowing updates and editing of defined project-specific risks.