Summary

• The construction industry has made giant strides technically over the last few decades, in equipment, materials and techniques, but it has not made similar advances in effective risk management and projects continue to run off the rails every year in all parts of the world.
• Why do these project disasters continue to occur on a regular basis in this age of much more advanced management training? What is wrong with existing risk management systems and what can be done about them?
• The book explores why human behaviour interferes so often with risk management processes to the detriment of a project and how this happens at all levels of the industry, with both clients and contractors. It includes recent examples of major project disasters and the publicly perceived reasons for their failures.
• Many people in the industry all over the world have been concerned for a long time about how to more effectively manage the human dynamics, but it is also apparent that there has been little research or written analysis on the subject. It is surprising in such a major industry that so little has been done on an industry-wide basis to tackle the ‘people problem’ from a practical viewpoint.
• The book describes significant changes to the structure of the construction industry since the 1980’s with contractors now taking on a lot of risk that was previously taken by the client; at how PPPs in particular have significantly changed the nature of infrastructure development. It looks into how these changes may have exacerbated the complexities of the human dynamics in some instances.
• The book examines in detail:
  • Both the positive and negative aspects of human dynamics in construction risk management;

  • How successful projects are the result of effective human inputs, particularly with relationship management and communications. The managers of successful major projects describe how these successes were achieved;

  • How human factors can interfere with risk management processes and cause project failure; with an analysis of the most common causes, highlighting how these human causes can be prevented;

  • A range of risk management solutions and best practice guidelines to safeguard projects by combining technical processes with excellence of the human inputs at all levels.

• The ‘story board’ covers the following topics:
  • The central theme – how human dynamics affect the success or failure of projects

  • Key Ingredients and examples of successful projects

  • Common causes of project failure

  • Changes to the industry and the way it operates today

  • Structuring projects, including contract documentation and the administration

  • Effective operational risk management

  • Methods for resolving issues and avoiding formal disputes

  • The value of independent oversight

  • Practical human resources considerations

• Practical recommendations are included in all sections of the book.
• Construction companies, corporate clients and government authorities do not seem to have learnt from the mistakes over the years and continue to mess projects up badly, often with a remarkable lack of realistic and accurate planning, design and costing before commencing a major project.
• With all projects, whether successful or otherwise, whether publicly or privately controlled, it remains a fact that the outcome is a direct reflection of the human inputs at the different levels of management. It is also a fact of life that that whenever there is a problem it can invariably be traced back to a breakdown in communication or reporting somewhere that overrides the risk management controls. This is a human problem and the best systems and processes in the world will not overcome it. The challenges of communication are demonstrated throughout the book.
• The prime objective in the book is to identify and analyse the human involvement in the key areas of the industry for both clients and contractors and show how these personal behaviours affect the success or failure of construction projects. Then, from this make recommendations on how corporate processes can be developed to counter and control the issues that arise from these different behaviours.
• Following on from this, a further key objective is to make the ‘lessons learnt’ available in an easy-to-read, concise and practical form, so that young managers in the industry can take them on board and avoid making the same mistakes as their predecessors.
• History has proven that it is difficult to put in risk management safeguards against erroneous human behaviour, however the authors hope that the contents of this book will provide a meaningful and practical contribution to helping the construction industry become more efficient and less risky for clients and contractors through a greater in-depth understanding of the human dynamics.
• The book includes valuable chapters on related topics from 12 contributing authors, who are recognised experts and industry leaders in a range of disciplines.
• In summary, there is clearly a need for a new approach to risk management that places much greater importance on the role of human behaviour in the bidding, design and construction processes for major projects and provides effective methods to limit the potential impact of erroneous human behaviour.