Identifying Key Risks in Construction Projects: Life Cycle and Stakeholder Perspectives

Managing risks in construction projects has been recognised as a very important management process in order to achieve the project objectives in terms of time, cost, quality, safety and environmental sustainability. However, until now most research has focused on some aspects of construction risk management rather than using a systematic and holistic approach to identify risks and analyse the likelihood of occurrence and impacts of these risks. This paper aims to identify and analyse the risks associated with the development of construction projects from project stakeholder and life cycle perspectives. Postal questionnaire surveys were used to collect data. Based on a comprehensive assessment of the likelihood of occurrence and their impacts on the project objectives, this paper identifies twenty major risk factors. This research found that these risks are mainly related to (in ranking) contractors, clients and designers, with few related to government bodies, subcontractors/suppliers and external issues. Among them, “tight project schedule” is recognised to influence all project objectives maximally, whereas “design variations”, “excessive approval procedures in administrative government departments”, “high performance/quality expectation”, “unsuitable construction program planning”, as well as “variations of construction program” are deemed to impact at least four aspects of project objectives. This research also found that these risks spread through the whole project life cycle and many risks occur at more than one phase, with the construction stage as the most risky phase, followed by the feasibility stage. It is concluded that clients, designers and government bodies must work cooperatively from the feasibility phase onwards to address potential risks in time, and contractors and subcontractors with robust construction and management knowledge must be employed early to make sound preparation for carrying out safe, efficient and quality construction activities.