Population and Initial Validation of a Formal Model for Construction Safety Risk Management

The transient, unique, and complex nature of construction projects makes safety management exceptionally difficult. Most construction safety efforts are applied in an informal fashion under the premise that simply allocating more resources to safety management will improve site safety. Currently, there is no mechanism by which construction-site safety professionals may formally evaluate safety risk and select safety program elements for implementation. This paper introduces and validates a risk-based safety and health analytical model that can be used to evaluate expected risk given specific worker activities, strategically select highly effective safety program elements for implementation when resources are limited, and quantify resulting risk once the identified safety elements have been implemented. Specifically, the paper has three primary objectives: (1) introduce a risk-based construction safety and health analytical model; (2) validate relevant data used to populate the model; and (3) illustrate the applications of the model in practice. The findings of this research indicate that the values used to populate the model are reliable and that the model has the potential to significantly improve construction safety management.     

Risk Allocation by Law—Cumulative Impact of Change Orders

Change, defined as any event that results in a modification of the original scope, execution time, or cost of work, is inevitable on most construction projects due to the uniqueness of each project and the limited resources of time and money available for planning. There are many factors that may cause a change such as design errors, design changes, additions to the scope, or unknown conditions in the field. For each change, contractors are entitled to an equitable adjustment to the base contract price and schedule for all productivity impacts associated with the change. The focus of this paper is to outline the types of changes that can occur on a construction project and also to spell out the financial recovery possibilities that exist for the contractor for each type of change. There are many historical and current court decisions that shape the outcomes of such claims and determine who holds the risks associated with various project changes. Also, an effective cumulative impact claim contains certain vital elements upon which the final outcome will be determined by the legal system. Last, there are certain actions that a contractor and owner can do to either enhance or mitigate the effectiveness of a potential cumulative impact claim.     

Safety Risk Identification and Assessment for Beijing Olympic Venues Construction

New technologies, new materials, and innovative designs have been extensively adopted in Beijing Olympic venues construction. The extreme requirements for time deadline and competition function expose the venues construction to high risks. These risks would potentially bring negative impacts on the site safety performance. Meanwhile, there is a lack of systematic management for safety risks in China’s construction industry, especially for large projects such as the Beijing Olympic venues construction. This paper identifies and assesses safety risk factors inherent in Beijing Olympic venues construction with the involvement of 27 experienced and highly respected experts from government agencies, the construction industry, and academe through brainstorming, workshop discussions, and questionnaire surveys. The finding reveals that more than half of the critical safety risk factors are from contractors and subcontractors such as: lack of emergency response plan and measures; workers’ unsafe operation, and contractors ignoring safety under schedule pressure. Based on these critical safety risks, a risk register is composed and a model is developed in application of the analytic hierarchy process to assess the status of risks on site safety. The model has been attempted in two Olympic venue projects under construction and the validity has been approved. The risk checklist, register, and assessment model developed in the paper were integrated into the risk management system that has been used for Beijing Olympic venues construction.     

Development and Initial Validation of Sustainable Construction Safety and Health Rating System

This paper presents a study to develop and validate a sustainable construction safety and health (SCSH) rating system. The rating system provides an opportunity to rate projects based on the importance given to construction worker safety and health and the degree of implementation of safety and health elements. A Delphi survey using an expert panel of 12 experienced safety and health professionals representing different sectors of the construction industry was employed to develop the SCSH rating system. The study resulted in a rating system consisting of a total of 50 safety and health elements organized into 13 categories. Each category contains safety and health elements which carry credits based on their effectiveness in preventing construction worker injuries and illnesses. The rating system was initially validated based on data from 25 construction projects and found to accurately represent the safety performance of large projects. The SCSH rating system can be used as an effective tool to develop and plan construction safety and health programs and evaluate the potential safety performance of construction projects.     

Political, Economic, and Legal Risks Faced in International Projects: Case Study of Vietnam

The aim of this research is to investigate the political, economic, and legal (PEL) risks faced by foreign firms when undertaking construction projects in Vietnam. The specific objectives are to investigate the types of PEL risks faced and the risk response techniques adopted. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire with open ended questions. The data collection method was in-depth face to face interviews with 18 experts from France, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States who have managed construction projects in Vietnam. The major risks faced include corruption, termination of public projects, bureaucratic administrative system to obtain permits and approvals, changing and inconsistent regulations, inadequate legal framework, fluctuation of exchange, and interest and inflation rates. Ways to respond to these risks are recommended by the experts. Foreign firms undertaking construction projects in Vietnam may make use of these findings to identify their PEL risks and determine the appropriate risk response measures to give their projects a higher chance of success.     

Empirical Study of the Risks and Difficulties in Implementing Guaranteed Maximum Price and Target Cost Contracts in Construction

Over the past few decades, both the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and target cost contracting (TCC) arrangements have been regarded as alternative integrated procurement strategies for clients to mitigate risks, minimize claims, integrate the diverse interests of a complex construction project, and offer incentives to provide value-added services. However, the adoption of GMP/TCC contracts may also generate significant risks and difficulties that merit considerable attention. This paper aims to provide a concise review of the potential pitfalls of the GMP/TCC scheme in general and identifies the key risk factors and potential difficulties associated with GMP/TCC in comparison with other procurement strategies in construction in particular via an empirical survey of clients, contractors, and consultants in Hong Kong. The survey data gleaned from 45 valid replies were analyzed using the mean score ranking technique, Kendall’s concordance test, and Spearman’s rank correlation test. The survey results indicated that “involvement of inexperienced or claim-conscious contractors in a project procured by a GMP/TCC contract” was considered to be the most significant risk factor; while “design development must keep pace with main contractor’s program for tendering the domestic subcontractors’ works packages” as the major difficulty in implementing GMP/TCC projects. The research findings derived from this study are particularly essential in assisting the contracting parties to mitigate the detriments brought about by potential risks or difficulties when embarking on GMP/TCC contracts. It has also generated valuable insights into developing effective recommendations for alleviating the barriers to GMP/TCC success for future construction projects.     

全面风险管理信息系统的设计与实现

全面风险管理信息系统是企业实施全面风险管理工作的信息系统管理平台,具有风险数据信息的采集、存储、加工、统计、评估、图谱分析、监控、预警、应对等功能,并能够最终形成风险分析报告。该系统的应用为企业及时发现、控制、规避、化解风险,提供了强有力的支撑。     

Small to Medium Contractor Contingency and Assumption of Risk

This paper is the result of an investigation into the use of contingency in smaller construction firms. It summarizes recent literature classifying construction contract risks and mitigation measures. Eight major classifications are used to organize the types of risk found in the literature. The risks are described in detail with associated risk mitigation strategies. Risk modeling techniques are briefly reviewed for their contribution to the risk categorization and contingency estimating. After reviewing the researcher's concepts of risk management in the literature, interviews were conducted with estimators and∕or construction managers involved in the bidding process at 12 small to medium construction firms. The purpose of the interviews was to investigate the current risk management practices of small and medium size construction firms. The times when smaller companies used contingency had specific interest for the research. The literature findings were compared with important risk factors identified from the interviews. The main conclusion drawn from the comparison was that small to medium size contractors predominately use contingency in those situations where they are construction managers in a reimbursable contract. Generally, they do not use line item contingency in competitive bidding situations. Thus, these firms are assuming proportionally greater business risk than suggested by the literature on contingency.     

Review of Clinical management of substance abuse programs.

Reviews the book, Clinical management of substance abuse programs by Robert J. Craig (see record 1987-97819-000). Clinical management of substance abuse programs is a significant contribution to substance abuse program management. The author provides the program director with specific information about increasing program effectiveness. His thesis is that broad program activities have greater impact on total patient care than does any individual activity with a particular patient. The book is divided into three parts. Part I is devoted to the following sections: (a) an introduction and review of the book's contents, (b) diagnostic interviewing, and (c) psychological testing. The three chapters in Part II review general models of treatment, including multimodal, combined alcohol and drug, and treatment matching. Part III, which contains four chapters, details clinical program management activities. In this section the author offers the nuts and bolts for designing a substance abuse program based on effective evaluation and quality control. The author is successful in providing a basic text to assist clinician/managers in designing more effective treatment programs for substance abusers. I recommend this book to any professional responsible for program development in substance abuse treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construction Risks: Single versus Portfolio Insurance

Risks and uncertainties are naturally inherent in the construction industry and negatively affect contracting parties and executed projects. This paper explores the possibility of insuring against construction risks, which are beyond the control of contractors and not covered by surety policies, through single and portfolio insurance strategies. Accordingly, the writers programmed Iman and Conover’s bootstrapping method for inducing correlations using Microsoft Excel and consequently, developed a technique for pricing insurance premiums as an exotic option using Monte Carlo simulation. The aforementioned methodology was applied on a data set of five defined risks that were collected from small, medium, and large scale projects in California. Pursuant to this study, the calculated premiums for insuring against the defined risks are in line with the premiums available in market for other insurance policies. Moreover, the estimated premium for the proposed portfolio insurance product is more advantageous to contractors in both risk coverage and cost because it is well below the estimated premiums for single insurance products covering individual risks. It is foreseen that this research could open horizons for new construction related insurance products, which would significantly contribute to the efficiency of the risk management process in the construction industry.     

Understanding and Improving Your Risk Management Capability: Assessment Model for Construction Organizations

Implementing risk management in construction projects and organizations may bring a number of benefits and therefore it is necessary to have risk management as an integral part of a construction organization’s management practice. The aim of this paper is to develop a risk management maturity assessment model for construction organizations. The paper describes the development process of a Web-based RM3 (risk management maturity model), including its contents, its validation and testing, as well as its applications. The RM3 developed has five attributes namely, management, risk culture, ability to identify risk, ability to analyze risk, and application of standardized risk management process/system. These attributes are measured against four levels: initial, repeated, managed, and optimized. It is found that the proposed RM3 was suitable and useful. Using the RM3, it is found that the Australian construction industry’s overall risk management maturity level was relatively low (where 32% rated at Level 2 and 52% rated at Level 3). Furthermore, it is found that the weakest attribute was “analyzing risks” followed by “application of standardized risk management process.” It is therefore necessary to provide more training on qualitative and quantitative risk analysis to construction personnel and to develop and apply standardized enterprise risk management. It is concluded that the proposed RM3 is suitable for construction organizations to assess their risk management maturity levels and find ways for improvement.     

Health and Safety Management within Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Developing Countries: Study of Contextual Influences

Considerable attention has been focused on addressing construction health and safety risks in developed economies. Sadly, the same cannot be said of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where accident figures are extremely high. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of the contextual environment within which Ghanaian construction small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) manage occupational health and safety (OH&S). A questionnaire survey was administered to construction SMEs to better understand the health and safety management practices and associated problems followed up by field interviews to explore key issues identified by the survey. The results of the study highlight the institutional structure for implementing OH&S standards, prevailing economic climate, and extended family culture as challenges to the management of OH&S. The study identifies low literacy levels, low socioeconomic status of workers, owner/managers’ ignorance of their OH&S responsibilities, commitment to extended family obligations, and ineffective OH&S administration as key factors limiting the capacity of construction SMEs to manage OH&S effectively. The study concludes that effective institutional structure and an enabling socioeconomic environment are needed to enhance the OH&S performance of SMEs and advocates for more proactive OH&S management that take into consideration the work cultures of SMEs.     

Risk Management in the Chinese Construction Industry

There has been an increase in research on risk management practice in the construction industry. However, little research has been conducted to systematically investigate the overall aspects of risk management on the perspectives of various project participants. This paper reports the findings of an empirical Chinese industry survey on the importance of project risks, application of risk management techniques, status of the risk management system, and the barriers to risk management, which were perceived by the main project participants. The risk management strategies adopted in the Three Gorges Project were also studied. The study reveals that: Most project risks are commonly of concern to project participants; the industry has shifted from risk transfer to risk reduction; current risk management systems are inadequate to manage project risks; and lack of joint risk management mechanisms is the key barrier to adequate risk management. Future studies should be conducted to systematically improve the risk management in construction by different approaches that facilitate equitable sharing of rewards through effective risk management among participants. Such studies should also consider the establishment of an open communication risk management process to permit the corporate experience of all participants, as well as their personal knowledge and judgment, to be effectively utilized.     

Ontology for Relating Risk and Vulnerability to Cost Overrun in International Projects

Risk management is about identifying risks, assessing their impacts, and developing mitigation strategies to ensure project success. The difference between the expected and actual project outcomes is usually attributed to risk events and how they are managed throughout the project. Although there are several reference frameworks that explain how risks can be managed in construction projects, a major bottleneck is the lack of a common vocabulary for risk-related concepts. Poor definition of risk and patterns of risk propagation in a project decrease the reliability of risk models that are constructed to simulate project outcomes under different risk occurrence scenarios. This study aims to extend previous studies in risk management by presenting an ontology for relating risk-related concepts to cost overrun. The major idea is that cost overrun depends on causal relations between various risk sources (namely, risk paths) and sources of vulnerability that interfere with these paths. Ontology is used to develop a database system that represents risk event histories of international construction projects and to construct a model for estimation of cost overrun. It will form the basis of a multiagent system that can be used to simulate the negotiation process among project participants about sharing of costs considering the risk allocation clauses in the contract, sources of vulnerability, and causal relations between risk events and their impacts. The ontology is constructed by interaction with Turkish contractors working in international markets and extensive literature review on risk-related concepts. The validation test results provide evidence that the ontology is fairly effective to help Turkish contractors to assess cost overrun by considering sources of vulnerability and risk in international construction projects.     

人力资源管理对矿山安全生产影响探析

安全生产是矿山企业永恒的主题,是实现企业可持续、健康稳定发展的前提条件,也是政治稳定、构建和谐矿山的必要保证。加强人力资源管理,保护劳动安全,降低劳动安全隐患是矿山企业生产经营的重点。介绍了安全管理方法和人力资源管理过程中常见事故及对策,提出了具体的人力资源管理措施,保障矿山安全生产,对矿山企业的安全管理具有一定的参考价值。     

Sensitivity of Construction Activities under Design Uncertainty

In the quest to shorten project delivery time, construction professionals have the option of overlapping design and construction activities. Although time savings can be achieved by overlapping, conducting design and construction operations in a nonnatural sequence can carry significant risks. To mitigate these risks and make more appropriate overlapping decisions, concurrent engineering concepts can be used to classify upstream design activities in terms of design evolution and downstream construction activities in terms of sensitivity to upstream design changes. The focus of this work is to determine the factors that contribute to the sensitivity of construction activities. A series of semistructured interviews with experienced construction professionals show that the level of transformation, lead time, modularity, and the interaction of built components are some of the factors that determine the amount of sensitivity in construction activities to upstream design changes. These determinants provide for a quick assessment of an activity’s sensitivity, which can help practitioners limit risk when planning the overlapping of design and construction activities.     

A description of general health risks in adult liver transplant recipients

The focus of posttransplant care and clinical research has been on the management of rejection and short-term side effects associated with immunosuppressive therapy. Long-term side effects have only recently been recognized as potential health problems in liver transplant recipients. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of using the Healthier People Version 4.0 Health Risk Appraisal as a tool for identifying existing and potential risk factors for premature disease and death among asymptomatic liver transplant recipients and to describe health risks in adult liver transplant recipients. The sample consisted of 50 adult first-time liver transplant recipients. It was found that this tool highlights health risks affecting life expectancy and pinpoints risks that an individual can control. It also provides practitioners with information necessary to design appropriate prevention and health promotion strategies to assure better health and quality of life for patients following liver transplantation.     

西南某金属矿山安全风险分级管控工作探索与实践

伴随着社会经济的快速发展,矿山开采规模逐渐扩大,其中安全管理工作成为了矿山开采的重点和难点,导致矿山安全生产事故频发和高发的情况无法得到有效改善。为了全面整治传统安全管理工作的缺陷问题,国务院安委会办公室印发了《关于实施遏制重特大事故工作指南构建双重预防机制的意见》,各个地区出台了安全风险分级管控工作指导意见。西南某金属矿山积极响应号召,推出来安全风险分级管控措施,将风险管控挺在隐患前面,将隐患排查治理挺在事故前面,风险分级管控工作获得了初步的效果。     

Safety Management in Construction: Best Practices in Hong Kong

Safety issues have gained vital importance throughout the construction industry. Many construction companies around the world are implementing safety, health, and environmental management systems to reduce injuries, eliminate illness, and to provide a safe work environment in their construction sites. This paper describes an exploratory study of site safety management in construction sites’ environments. It explains a successful, modern safety, health and environmental management system for a leading construction company based in Hong Kong. A typical site-specific safety plan was utilized to provide safety guidance throughout the construction project. A safety management survey was conducted to determine the status of safety in the construction sites. All employees of the company and its subcontractors participated in the survey from 20 construction projects. In total, 1,022 valid records were obtained from the construction sites. The analysis provided useful information on eight aspects of construction safety, including safety policy and standards, safety organization, safety training, inspecting hazardous conditions, personal protection program, plant and equipment, safety promotion, and management behavior. The findings of the survey provide practical knowledge to construction project managers and construction safety practitioners in order to make their sites safer. Insights and discussions are given in this paper.