Knowledge-based approach to construction project risk management

The construction industry consistently suffers from poor project performanc e due to a lack of formalized risk management procedures. A proliferation o f techniques are available to support project risk management, but these ha ve failed to meet the needs of project managers. Communication of risks ten ds to be poor, incomplete, and inconsistent. Part of the problem is a lack of common terms and descriptions in which risks and remedial measures may b e identified, assessed, analyzed, and effectively communicated throughout t he supply chain. Another part is the reliance on quantitative techniques, w hich are not always appropriate for use in project risk management. This pa per presents a consistent methodology for construction project risk managem ent, including a generic process model and underlying information model, co mmon language for describing risks and remedial actions, fuzzy knowledge re presentation model to support quantitative risk analysis, and prototype sof tware implementation. It is hoped that the methodology will help to facilit ate more effective risk management while allowing all project participants to develop and share a greater understanding of project risks for improved performance.