Construction Risk Management Decision Making Understanding Current Practices

Explores the relevance of systems thinking and behavioral science in construction risk management

Effective risk management is a vital component of all successful construction projects. Although quantitative tools for evaluating data and minimizing risk are readily available, construction managers commonly adopt a more innate, experience-based approach. In Construction Risk Management Decision Making, project manager and senior consultant Alex C. Arthur provides step-by-step advice on assessing and prioritizing risk using qualitative decision-making systems in the construction industry.

Incorporating key theories and concepts from systems thinking and behavioral science, this highly practical guide focuses on the behavior patterns of real people in the industry, rather than complex quantitative techniques and data. Concise, easy-to-understand chapters highlight the current practices of construction risk management while helping readers view risk and decision making from a broader perspective. Throughout the book, the author presents invaluable insights into the ways construction professionals think and behave in the real world.

• Addresses the actual risk management practices of construction professionals
• Applies human behavioral theories to the study of construction risk management decision making
• Illustrates the highly intuitive approaches prevalent in various construction projects
• Features real-life case studies and practical examples throughout

Construction Risk Management Decision Making is an excellent textbook for advanced students in project management, engineering, construction, and surveying courses, and a must-have guide for practitioners of construction management, surveying, and architecture.

Dr Alex C. Arthur BSc MSc PhD FRICS MAPM is a chartered project management surveyor with more than 14 years' experience working in multi-disciplinary practices. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and an examiner of their Assessment of Professional Competency (APC) programme. He is also a member of the Association of Project Managers. Dr Arthur is a certified professional teacher and post-doctoral researcher who possesses extensive research and industrial expertise within the UK and other international construction industries. He has published a number of articles, journals and contributions to books on systems thinking and analysis, intuitive decision making, intuitive construction risk management systems, construction risk management decision making systems, partnering procurement, development control and planning systems.

Title Page

Preface

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Table of Content

Chapter 1: Introduction – A risk management approach to construction project delivery

1.1       Risk perception categorisation 

1.1.1       Differences in personality traits

1.1.2       Prospect theory

1.1.3       Differences between external stakeholders and project team members

1.1.4   Cultural theory

1.2         Construction risk data presentation formats

Part 1: Concepts

Chapter 2: Systems Analysis of the construction industry and project delivery

2.1 Introduction

2.2 The construction industry

2.3 The construction industry system

2.3.1 Open and closed systems

2.3.2 Construction system objective

2.3.3 Construction system’s components and decomposition

2.4 Construction delivery system

2.5 Construction project management system; differentiation and risk

2.5.1 Systems differentiation

2.5.1.1 Evolution of specialist construction disciplines

2.5.1.2 Isolated training programmes for the different specialist disciplines

2.5.1.3 Project team members from different organisations and internal subgroups

2.5.1.4 Differences in personal objectives of project team members

2.5.1.5 Environmental changes

2.5.2 The link between differentiation and risk

2.5.2.1 Consolidated differentiated specialist groupings

2.5.2.2 Failure to integrate objectives of additional differentiated specialist roles

2.5.2.3 Sudden and prolonged environmental changes

2.6 Construction system’s environment and risk

2.6.1 Political functional subsystem

2.6.2 Economic functional subsystem

2.6.3 Social- cultural functional subsystem

2.6.4 Technological functional subsystem

2.6.5 Ecological functional subsystem

2.6.6 Legal functional subsystem

2.7 Summary of Chapter 2

Chapter 3: The concept of risk

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Risk conceptualisation

3.3 Risk etymology

3.4 Risk conceptual interpretations

3.4.1 Realist interpretation

3.4.2 Psychometric viewpoint

3.4.3 Sociological interpretation

3.4.4 Real and socially constructed viewpoint

3.4.5 Edgework viewpoint

3.5 Psychometric and sociological risk perspectives application in this book

3.6 Summary of chapter 3

Chapter 4: Construction risk management

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Changing perspectives on organisational risk management strategies

4.3 The construction risk management process

4.3.1 Risk identification subsystem

4.3.2: Risk analysis subsystem

4.3.3: Risk response subsystem

4.3.4: Risk review subsystem

4.4: Construction risk management approaches

4.5: Summary of chapter 4

Chapter 5: Construction risk management decision making

5.1 Introduction

5.2 The two systems of thinking and decision making

5.2.1: Quick decision making

5.2.2: Gradual decision making

5.3: The psychology of perception

5.3.1: Risk perception

5.3.2: Formation of risk perceptions

5.3.3: Impact of affective heuristics on cognitive reasoning

5.3.4: Construction risk data presentation formats and affective heuristics

5.4: Risk management decision making under intuition

5.5: Differentiated risk perceptions and intuitive construction risk management practices

5.6: Summary of chapter 5

Summary of the part 1

Overview of the part 2

Chapter 6: Research proposal, methodology and design

6.1         Introduction

6.2         Research proposal

6.3         Research philosophical traditions, axioms, and methodology

6.4         Summary of chapter 6

Chapter 7: Data Presentation

7.1         Introduction

7.2         Case Study Project 1

7.2.1      Case study 1 participants

7.2.2      Case study 1 findings

7.2.2.1  Case 1 - Research proposition 1: findings

7.2.2.2  Case 1 - Research proposition 2: findings

7.2.2.3  Case 1 - Research proposition 3: findings

7.2.2.4 Summary of case 1 findings

7.3         Case Study Project 2

7.3.1      Case study 2 participants

7.3.2      Case study 2 findings

7.4         Case Study Project 3

7.4.1      Case study 3 participants

7.4.2      Case study 3 findings

7.5         Case Study Project 4

7.5.1      Case study 4 participants

7.5.2      Case study 4 findings

7.6         Summary of Chapter 7

Chapter 8: Application

8.1         Introduction

8.2         Research proposition 1: discussions

8.2.1 Risk perception categorisation on the typical construction project risk events at the different project delivery phases

8.2.2 Risk perception categorisation on the typical construction project risk events under different project settings

8.3         Research proposition 2: discussions

8.3.1 Intuitive risk management decision processing from grounded heuristics

8.3.2 Susceptibility of intuitive decision processing to manipulation

8.3.3 Psychological difficulties in intuitive risk identification of events outside the scope of a specialist role

8.4         Research proposition 3: findings

8.4.1 Two strands of intuitive construction risk management systems

8.4.2 Theoretically incompatible risk management practices

8.4.3 Intuitive processing of statistical and probability data

8.4.4 Comparative analysis of intuitive processing of quantitative risk assessment versus qualitative risk assessment

8.4.5 Intuitive processing of probability predictions of emotive events

8.5         Summary of chapter 8

Chapter 9: Conclusions

9.1         Summary 

9.1.1      Research proposition 1

9.1.2      Research proposition 2

9.1.3      Research proposition 3

9.2         Rethinking construction risk management practices

References

Appendices

Appendix 1 - Research Design- Theory, Methodology and Field Questions

Appendix 2 - Case 2 Data Presentation

Appendix 3 - Case 3 Data Presentation

Appendix 4 - Case 4 Data Presentation

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