You have already been taught about Risk Management in projects but to a large extent this has been about the management of individual risks. Identifying, evaluating, responding to and monitoring multiple and interdependent risks presents a bigger challenge. Sometimes the problem starts out as an area of uncertainty and individual risks may only emerge during the project as more relevant information becomes available.
To illustrate the significance of the construction sector, in the UK last year there was a serious fire in a West London residential block called Grenfell Tower in which around 80 people were killed. In January this year the large UK building contractor and services provider Carillion became insolvent (i.e. failed financially). Both of these events arose from multiple causes.
Term Paper Brief
A) Noting briefly these two UK examples, IDENTIFY and SUMMARISE AT LEAST TWO OTHER EXAMPLES of construction project problems that have arisen from the combination of multiple risks, risk interdependency and uncertainty. You are not limited to the UK in selecting these other examples.
Having presented summary case illustrations of such problems you are then required to:-
B) CONSIDER and OUTLINE how project-based organisations manage the problems and challenges illustrated through the case examples you have selected. Your consideration must involve the citation of respected sources, such as peer reviewed academic comment, official reports, or similar authoritative sources.
You are then to reflect and, in the final part of your essay, you are to:-
C) CONSIDER (drawing on your chosen case examples) where, in order to avoid future problems, strategic intervention is required including, if necessary, the allocation of significant funds. Your reflection should consider whether you have determined that the problems should be solved principally through initially addressing:
• Legal and regulatory improvement,
• Technological improvement,
• Process and/or system improvement,
• People and their skills and attributes
