Description
A Master of Science thesis in Construction Management by Fayiz Juem entitled, “Risk Identification and Assessment Through Construction Project Lifecycle in UAE”, submitted in April 2022. Thesis advisor is Dr. Sameh El-Sayegh and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Abroon Qazi. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).
Abstract
Risk management in construction projects has been recognized as a critical management process for achieving project goals and completing the project successfully. Most previous research has concentrated on specific aspects of construction risk management rather than taking a holistic and integrated approach to identify risks and assess their probability of occurrence and impact through the project life cycle. There is a lack of studies that focus on the changing behavior of risks over the project’s life cycle in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The aim of this research is to identify and assess risks associated with construction projects through the project life cycle in the UAE. Fifteen critical risks involving several stakeholders were identified through a literature review. The probability and impact of these risks on project cost were determined based on a questionnaire. The study considered that these risks exist during the project life cycle phases affecting different stakeholders and impacting the cost objective. The thesis provides a detailed visualization of the risk behavior throughout the project’s life cycle using coordinate systems. The majority of the identified risk involve owners and designers, with only a few involving contractors. The results show that these risks exist at various phases of the project’s life cycle. The construction phase is the riskiest phase, followed by the handover, design, and feasibility phases. The thesis proposes a modified probability-impact matrix that considers the risks occurring in several phases. Overall, the most significant risk is owners’ delayed payment with a risk significance of 13.39 followed by contractors’ poor management ability. Construction management firms, acting on behalf of the client, may use the results to allocate risks to the appropriate stakeholders. This analysis can help in contract formation and negotiations related to risk-sharing mechanisms.