Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions

Conference Track:  Construction

Selection1:       Paper

Language:         English

Keywords:         Risk Management, Construction, Florida

Contact Title::    Dr.

Contact First Name: Syed Mahmood

Contact Last Name:  Ahmed

University:       Florida International University

Web:              http://www.fiu.edu

Position:         Assistant Professor

Country:          USA

Email:            ahmeds@fiu.edu

Fax:              +1 (305) - 348 - 6255

Selection:        Definitely YES

Submit:           Submit

Date:             Sunday, March 28, 2004

Time:             04:32:07 PM 

Abstract Title: 

Risk Management in the Florida Construction Industry 

Abstract: 

Construction is a highly risk oriented industry with a bad reputation of coping with risks. The construction industry, its client and the public have long endured the agonizing outcomes of failure to manage the risks for a very long time. Late completion of projects, beyond their estimated budgets and in some worse instances without even achieving the desired quality and operational requirements, has given a bad name to the industry. Thus, effective analysis and management of the construction risks remains a big challenge to the industry practitioners.

This paper, on the basis of questionnaire survey and interviews, evaluates the current practices of risk analysis and management in the Florida construction industry. Comparison is made with other US states that have highly profitable and well-managed construction industries. The results reveal that in the Florida construction industry, risk analysis and management techniques are rarely used due to lack of knowledge and doubts on the suitability of these techniques for the construction industry activities. In most instances, the contractors prefer to transfer the risk to third parties instead of handling it themselves. The paper recommends that formal and informal trainings of contractors and construction managers are essential to implement such techniques in Florida, which will lead to improved profitability, reduced conflicts and on time and within budget project completions. 

Mailing Address: 

Department of Construction Management

College of Engineering

10555 W. Flagler St., EC 2952

Miami, FL 33193 

Phone: 

+1 (305)-348-2730 

Other Authors:

Salman Azhar / salman.azhar@fiu.edu / FIU /(P)