Information modelling for a construction project risk management system

The construction industry is greatly plagued by risk; too often, this risk is not dealt with adequately, resulting in poor project performance. Communication of construction project risks in practice is poor, incomplete and inconsistent, both throughout the supply chain and through the project lifecycle. Part of the problem is the lack of a formalized approach to the project risk management process. Recently, attempts have been made to overcome this and this paper uses these attempts as a foundation for building a better approach to construction risk management. Underlying this approach is the development of a common language for describing risks and remedial actions. This is grounded in a taxonomy of risk based on a hierarchical risk breakdown structure. In addition, to facilitate the production of a working risk management system, a number of models have been developed using unified modelling language (UML) and IDEFO. Finally, the use of the system has been tested via a working software prototype. This prototype is being used as a basis for discussion with practitioners with regard to the practical requirements of the approach for further development.