Minimisation of risk exposure at the pre-production stage through the use of contractor-led design management

Many large scale construction projects (LSPs) are designed in a collaboration between famous international architects and local design firms. Design management usually evolves as a tool at the design stage for designers and design solution. One of the special characteristics of the Korean construction environment places a duty and responsibility on the contractor to coordinate and check design information. Hence the contractor must manage and integrate diverse design information into the production process. This research considers how the design management diagram (DMD) can help as a part of the system at the pre-production stage of LSPs in Korea. The pre-production stage receives insufficient attention from the research community from the perspective of design management; it is a complex process involving interdependence, risk, and uncertainty. Through the application of a DMD from the pre-production stage, the contractor can predict and manage the design-related uncertainty during production stages. The design management factors (DMFs) were analysed by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and then used complexity system theory to understand the interrelationship between the causal factors. DMFs are presented as a causal loop diagram which can help the contractor to cope with design-related uncertainties at the early production phase.