Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
mitigated or transferred. Further, it is critical that the risks are monitored
during all stages of the project including for example cost estimates, labour
issues, site and weather. Ultimately, it is important to react to any risks
that may occur.
6.2.2 Risk identification
The process of risk identification may rely upon: (a) a review of world-
wide operational experience of similar projects with written submissions
from partner companies, (b) the study of generic guidance on hazards
associated with the type of work being undertaken, and (c) discussions with
qualified and experienced staff from the project team and other organiza-
tions around the world. It is important to identify the potential hazards in
a structured process (Eskesen
et al.
2004).
The identification and classification of the risks is best carried out through
brainstorming sessions with risk screening teams consisting of multi-
disciplinary, technically and practically experienced experts guided by
experienced risk analysts. The aim should be to identify all conceivable
hazardous events threatening the project including those risks of low
frequency but high possible consequence.
In section 6.2.1 it was mentioned that uncertainty in a project is one
significant contributor to risk (although not the only one), with the uncer-
tainty related to the ground characteristics being one of the key contributing
factors. However, examples of other common areas of uncertainty affected
by any civil engineering project include political and economic environment;
planning, regulatory and approvals procedures; environmental and sustain-
ability requirements; construction and buildability issues; safety; project
delivery and implementation requirements.
Once the risk has been identified, it is important to register this risk
properly. This is particularly important during the construction process.
The
Risk Register
provides current details on identified risks and oppor-
tunities. Without a formalized mechanism for registering risks, it would
not be possible to keep a track record of any risks that have occurred and
mitigate the risks. For the mitigation of the risk it is important to nominate
a person(s) responsible for the specific risk treatments and associated
timeframes for implementation.
6.2.3 Analyzing risks
Risks can be analysed by
qualitative
and
quantitative
methods. Qualitative
based analysis is generally a word-based process and involves setting
priorities and is used as a decision-making tool. Qualitative analysis is an
essential pre-requisite to quantitative analysis.
Quantitative analysis is number based and often involves probabilistic
analysis techniques such as those developed in the 1990s (for example for
the Adler tunnel, Einstein
et al.
1994). It can provide an aggregate view of
