Construction Contract Risk Management: A Study of Practices in the United Kingdom

摘要

Although formal analytical processes are applied to the management of economic risks in construction projects, very little is reported on the application of similar processes to the management of construction contract risks. Evidence from other industries however, point to the benefits that such rigorous approaches will offer the construction industry. This article presents the findings of a study conducted to assess the extent to which available techniques for identifying and analyzing risks are applied to construction contract risks by construction professionals in the United Kingdom. The study also sought to evaluate the appropriateness of the predominant techniques used by determining whether the techniques adequately address the nature of contract risks and the significant impact that personal perceptions and biases have on their analysis. The study employed a structured questionnaire survey to collect primary data collection for analysis in order to provide an empirical basis for the major conclusions of the research study. The study found that the predominant approaches to construction contract risks identification and analysis are inappropriate as they rely heavily on single expert assessments and as such do not address the effect of individual perception and biases on the subjective estimates used in their analysis.