Barriers to effective risk management on small construction projects in South Africa
Date
2016
Authors
Fischer, Riaan
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Abstract
This study aims to determine the barriers to effective risk management on small
construction projects that exist within the South African construction industry. This
was based on the realisation that few studies exist on risk management for small
construction projects. This study sets out to fill this gap in the existing literatures
with specific reference to the South African construction industry particularly for
small projects.
The research methodology was based on cross-sectional survey of registered
industry practitioners with the South African Council for Project and Construction
Management Professions (SACPCMP) using a semi-structured questionnaire
administered online. From 325 practitioners that viewed the online questionnaire,
57 responded, this translates to a response rate of 17.5%. The respondents rated the
identified barriers to effective risk management, the perception that risk
management implementation will impact on project performance and provided
qualitative feedback on contractual and attitudinal issues pertaining to risk
management implementation.
The barriers identified as inhibiting effective risk management the most were lack
of knowledge, complexity of analytical tools and lack of time. The research
revealed that perception of key decision makers pertaining to risk management,
impact on risk management implementation. The consensus from the participants
was that implementing risk management would positively impact on project
performance, especially quality performance. The results revealed that in the South
African construction industry Sixty-nine percent of the practitioners indicated
SMMEs lack the required skill to implement risk management effectively. Sixtynine
percent of the practitioners indicated that risk is not allocated to the party best
equipped to manage the risks. Lastly fifty-six percent of respondents noted that
construction partnering and shared risk management may assist in overcoming the
barriers to effective risk management implementation as presented in the current
research.
Description
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built
Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Building, 2016.
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Citation
Fischer, Riaan (2016) Barriers to effective risk management on small construction projects in South Africa, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, < http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/22183 >