The design and construction of civil infrastructure projects can be extremely complex and they are often fraught with uncertainty. However, engineers, project managers, and cost estimators often overlook or fail to recognize project uncertainty early in the project development process. The resulting realization of risks can be a major contributor to cost escalation. The failure to deliver individual projects within established budgets has a detrimental effect on later programs and causes a loss of faith in the public sector’s ability to wisely use the public’s money. As a result they do not communicate uncertainty and its effect to the stakeholders. A comprehensive risk management approach can help project teams identify, assess, mitigate, and control project risks. Among the benefits of a comprehensive risk management approach is the ability to generate range estimates early in the project development process and to establish justifiable contingencies that can be resolved throughout the design and construction process. This presentation will discuss research in risk management for large infrastructure projects and provide examples of its application on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Panama Canal Expansion, and the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Cost Estimating and Validation Process
Keith Molenaar is the Department Chairman and K. Stanton Lewis Professor of Construction Engineering and Management Program in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is responsible for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. His research focuses on cost, risk and alternative delivery strategies for constructed facilities and infrastructure. He is an active member of DBIA, ASCE, and CMAA. He is a Charter DBIA Designated Design-Build Professional and received the DBIA Academic Leadership Award. He has been recognized by Public Works Magazine as a top 50 “Trendsetter” for his work in alternative contracting in the public sector.
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