Mitigating risks in construction projects through design and control planning

Construction Project Control

To develop mitigating measures, preventive measures would need the design plan to be specific with specified sections that make up the whole plan, including technical specifications within the sections. The predictive measures should contain good controls that spot potential problems as they arise. Corrective measures should include continuous evaluation measures, such as risk appraisals and quality management. Organizational measures should align with the company's objectives and mission statement (Olawale, 2010).

How the design is planned is the most important part in preventing or controlling changes, inadequacies, risks/uncertainties, complexities, and non-performance of subcontractors and suppliers. The project design can be broken up into sections, such as the recreational fields, recreational centers, play areas, etc., to more effectively control the specifics of each area and define the technical specifications. The design should include governmental standards in technical specifications, health, and safety regulations. To mitigate for the risk of not attracting visitors, strategies can be included to plan for visitor attraction. To reduce inadequacies in time and cost, consultation should take place with the engineer, construction managers, and subcontractors to be more specific in project needs in the planning stages. The design can also include milestones, such as key dates of project component completion with time to reflect, evaluate, and improve performance at the end of each milestone.

Task allocation should align with qualified skills of each team member as well as role specification (Tuuli, 2010). The documentation and resource allocation systems should include allocation of time and cost based on risks of changes (both price and design changes), corrections of errors, weather, and inadequate evaluations. They should also include approved limits and standards. There should also be an appropriate communication system to ensure communication is done in accurate and timely manners.

Preventive controls should include adequate skill requirements in choosing team members and sub-contractors. Verification methods, such as management check off, independent checkers, substandard work audits, etc., should be designed into the continuous evaluation plans. Self-control mechanisms should include alternative construction plans for safety, cost effectiveness, and time saving measures. Insurance strategies can mitigate for loss in errors and other inadequacies. A good quality assurance strategy can also enable more guarantee in the design and construction processes. Other guarantee measures could include damage liquidations and retention funding.