A Desk Study on Development of Risk Assessments
A Desk Study on Development of Risk Assessments in UK Construction Industry
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge with gratitude, my debt of thanks to all the people for their advice and encouragement. I would specially want to convey my thankfulness to my professor, who has guided and assisted me whenever I needed any help during the study. Finally, I would like to thank my peers and family members who have given me immense support during the conduction of the entire research study.
Abstract
The construction industry of the UK nation is considered as the most important business sector. However, the UK based construction industry is dealing with different challenges. The involvement of the proper strategies can help the constructional sector to overcome the issues. The involvement of the digitalized technology will also help the concerning industrial sector. In Thefirst chapter it has identified the aims and objectives for the research. On the basis of these the literature review has been formed. It also has used different theories and models that plays a crucial role to understand the risk development and assessment in the construction industry. In methodology, it has identified the appropriate method that is secondary qualitative method in for collecting data and analyzing them. In the data analysis section, it analyzed the collected data by using the secondary method. In the last chapter, the dissertation has tried to provide some useful recommendation which it can be implemented for risk assessment it will be beneficial for the UK construction industry.
Table of Contents
Chapter 2: Literature Review.. 14
2.4 Conceptual Framework and Concept of IV and DV.. 21
Chapter 3: Research Methodology. 40
3.8 Data Collection Method. 48
3.9 Inclusion and Exclusion. 49
3.12 Reliability and Validity. 52
Chapter 4: Data Findings and Analysis. 54
5.3 Linking with objectives. 72
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Risks in Construction industry. 11
Figure 2.1: Conceptual Framework. 22
Figure 3.1: Research Onion. 41
Figure 3.2: Research Philosophy. 42
Figure 3.3: Research Paradigm.. 43
Figure 3.4: Inductive Research Approach. 44
Figure 3.5: Research Design. 46
Figure 4.1: Issues with construction project 55
Figure 4.2: Rate of employment in construction industry of UK.. 58
Figure 4.3: Wages rate in construction sector 58
Figure 4.6: Growth of UK Construction industry. 66
Figure 4.7: Vision of the UK Government for preventing Risks. 67
List of Tables
Table 2.1: Analytical Framework Table. 38
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Introduction
Industries require a safe, sustainable and reliable operation to become successful in their business. With the intense progress and demand for construction projects the necessity of assessing the risks related to this industry has also become important. The risk in the construction industry is a measurable part of the uncertainty that can emerge anytime as well as influence the entire project’s progress. Therefore, risk assessment has become important for selecting the project and coordinating the construction work. The risk analysis, therefore, can be regarded as the analysis of various adverse events that can take place in the planning programming stage of the construction project. This dissertation, therefore, is going to focus on the way risks are influencing the construction industry with a special focus in the UK. In this context, this chapter of the research report is going to identify the aims and objectives of this research on the basis of which further research progress will be conducted.
1.1 Research Background
Organizations from every industry are now focusing on risk identification and management to control the risks and their implications which can be identified on a prior note. The construction industry and its clients are highly associated or exposed with a higher degree of risks. The risks associated with the construction industry are highly related to the nature of the construction business possess, activities, organization, and environment. Like other countries, the UK construction industry is also not different from this situation (Stanitsas, Kirytopoulos, &Leopoulos, 2021). The risks of the construction industry have been an object of attention due to the dependency of cost and time overruns associated with the construction projects. The researchers have regarded the risks as exposure to economic loss only. Furthermore, it also can lead to the loss of human resources as well depending on the type of risks. Though construction risks are mostly unknown, undesirable, unexpected, and unpredictable, still, there are some risks that can be identified depending on probability. Hence, it has become important to assess the risks and mitigate them to ensure project success.
1.2 Research Rationale
Risk identification can be referred to as the methodological process that understands the probability of the roses in almost every industry that can influence the business objectives. Risk assessment, therefore, can be referred to as the process that is used to determine the likelihood of risk occurrence and its impact on the particular project. The construction industry is always high with various types of risk occurrences that include physical risks, financial risks, political or social risks, and technical risks. Each risk can also be divided into sub risks which are common in almost every country’s construction project (Khan et al.,2020). However, the UK construction industry is growing rapidly and with the increased demand for construction projects, the chances of risk implication are also increasing significantly. It is important to identify the risk prior to initiating the construction projects and evaluate the importance of the risks in a detailed manner. It is not only important to reduce the risk influence on the construction project, eventually, it also ensures the project success within estimated time and budget. Despite these facilities, many construction projects are facing several risks that are emerging and some other risks that can influence the consumers in a long run (Yu et al.,2018). Thus, this research is trying to evaluate the way this process can be implemented with proper measurements to get the maximum benefit of the construction project.
Figure 1.1: Risks in Construction industry
(Source: Yu et al.,2018)
1.3 Research Aim
The principal aim of this research is to evaluate the importance of risk identification and its mitigation in the UK construction industry. In this way it will evaluate and analyse the risk assessment developments in the UK construction industry.
1.4 Research Objectives
The main objectives of this research are as follows: –
1.5 Research Questions
Research questions help to stay concentrated on the research topic. The research questions for this research report are as follows:-
- What are the general risks of the construction industry?
- How risk assessment has been developed historically and which legislation has brought it?
- What are the challenges, changes, and governmental support for contractors for risk assessment?
- What is risk assessment?
- How the risk assessment process is been conducted currently?
1.6 Research Significance
This research is focusing on the importance of risk assessment in the UK construction industry. The UK construction industry is growing by 3.9% every year on average with revenue of $294.3 billion. It is making it the 2nd fastest growing industry in the UK from the past five years. At the same time, the number of businesses in this sector is also growing by 4.7% every year on average to 340,644 businesses, which is making it 3rd in the business growth in the UK. It also ranked 6th for employment among other business sectors in the UK (Kabirifar, &Mojtahedi, 2019). Hence, this research will help to make the industry stronger by assessing the importance of risks prior to construction process initiation. It is important to identify the risks and mitigate them according to their severity. In this respect, this research is going to find out the best possible way to mitigate the risks in the UK construction industry.
1.7 Summary
This chapter has identified the aims and objectives of this research based on the topic. In the following sections, the research is going to gather adequate information regarding the topic to develop a bird undertaken regarding the issues. In further ways, it helps to gather proper data based on the research topic.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
The UK based construction sector is considered as one of the largest sectors. However, the construction industry may face different issues that are associated with developing the construction business in the UK nation. The construction industry may face different issues like the problems that are associated with the controlling changing nature of the orders. The improper involvement of the contracts might create several issues that are associated with the construction industry in the UK. The labor shortage and increasing rate of construction materials is also arising problems.
2.2 Empirical study
As per Ghansah et al., (2020), it can be said that the construction sector of the UK is considered as the third ranked business sector. The increasing growth of the UK based construction sector is showing prospective future aspects. According to the survey it has come to know that the involvement of 2.6% growth in the construction sector of the UK will help to make more development in the financial aspects of the country. The construction sector of the UK has grown at a huge rate during 2015 to 2020.
On the contrary, according to the opinion of Mitsopoulos, Manthou and Michaelides (2019), it has come to be known that the construction industry in the UK is dealing with several issues. The construction sector of the UK is dealing with several problems that are associated with environmental practices. Not only that, according to the opinion of the author the social and economic practices of the nation are also generating several problems that are associated with the construction business developing aspects of the UK.
Risk assessment of UK construction industry
As per the opinion of Li et al., (2019) it has come to be known that the problems that are associated with supply chain management or the block chain management can arise different issues that are associated with the construction business in the UK. The problems are arising due to lack of adequate collaboration among the construction management group. The lack of proper information is also generating several problems that are associated with the development of the construction business in the UK nation. However, according to concerned analysis it can be said that the implementation of the socio technical framework can help the construction sector in the UK to develop.
On the other hand, as per the journal written by Aerts (2018) it can be said that the problems that are associated with environmental issues can create several problems that are associated with the construction business. However, for example the environmental problems like flood, soil issue is also creating several problems that are associated with developing a construction business in the UK. The involvement of the effective risk management group can help the construction industry to make development.
Major risk of UK construction
As per the journal written by Koteraet al.,(2020), it has come to know that the problems that are associated with the UK based construction sector can be arised due to the lack of work life balance among the employees. As per the journal the workforce of the UK based construction industry deals with several problems that are associated with the mental health issues among the workers. Therefore, it can be said that the mental health issues among the workers of the construction industry in the UK are arising significant problems. On the contrary Oyegokeet al.,(2021), said that the cost effectiveness of the construction project is generating several issues that are associated with the construction industrial sector. The costs that are associated with the raw materials and other supply chain management aspects leaves a major impact on the cost effectiveness of the construction business. However, on the contrary it can be said that the construction industry of the UK nation is considered as the biggest financial contributor of the nation. As per several reports, it has come to be known that the UK based construction industry is contributing 7% to the GDP of the UK. Therefore, according to the analysis it can be said that the high cost effectiveness of the UK based construction sector also makes a huge contribution in the financial aspects of the country. Therefore, involving a huge amount of finance to the construction project will help the nation to make more financial development.
As per the journal written by Farrokhshad (2021), it has come to know that the performance of the workers of a construction industry might create several problems that are associated with the quality of the construction project. The involvement of the risk management group will also help the construction industry to make more development in growth of the construction management group. The implementation of the perfect perforation developing technology will also help the organization.
As per the journal written by Agyekum-Mensah & Knight (2017), it can be said that the problems that are associated with the construction industry in the UK can be arised due to the issues with project delay. According to the journal the project delay is considered as one of the greatest issues with the construction project in the UK nation. As per the analysis made by the author, most of the problems that are associated with the construction industry are caused due to the issues with project delay. On the contrary, it can be said that the lack of proper infrastructure can generate several problems that are associated with the construction industries (Hadidiet al.,2017). The involvement of the inappropriate technological aspects will arise different problems that are associated with the construction business in the UK nation.
Risk mitigation
The construction industries in the UK might face different problems that are associated with developing a construction project. However, the involvement of the proper strategic implementation can help the construction industry to overcome several problems that are associated with the construction project development. As per the journal written by (), the involvement of the block chain management system can help the construction industry to overcome several problems that are associated with the construction business. The involvement of the perfect communicating aspects will leave a great impact on the factors that are associated with the construction development. The perfect training season will help the organization to overcome several problems that are associated with the construction industry in the UK. The implementation of the construction equipment will also help the organization to overcome several problems that are associated with the UK based construction industries. Moreover, the management group of the construction industry must be required to maintain the proper safety equipment. This will help the construction industry to mitigate several risks.
Importance of risk management in construction industry
The involvement of the perfect risk management strategy will help the construction industry to overcome several problems that are associated with the construction industry. As per the journal of Nugrahaet al.,(2019), it has come to know that the perfect involvement of the risk management strategy will help the organization to enhance the quality of the performance. The involvement of different risk measurement technology will also help the construction industry to overcome several problems that are associated with the construction project. The involvement of different kinds of risk measurement factors supports the construction organization to overcome the problems such as the risk that are associated with supply chain technology, the integration of the supply chain risk. The risk management committee is considered as the greatest feature of corporate governance. Therefore, it is required to develop a perfect risk management strategy for developing a project which is associated with the risk management aspects of the construction project.
On the other hand the journal written by Willumsen (2019), has mentioned that the involvement of the value creation management will help the construction industry of the UK nation to overcome several problems that are associated with the risk management aspects. The involvement of the perfect risk management supports the construction industry of the UK nation to enhance the value of the project. The involvement of the value creation aspects also supports a business organization to overcome several problems that are stakeholder management. The stakeholder value can be developed through the support of the value creation aspects of the construction industry.
According to the opinion of Fan & Stevenson, (2018) it has come to be known that the involvement of the perfect risk management aspects leaves a great impact on the services that are provided by the business organization. The involvement of the perfect risk management strategy will help the construction industry to analyze the risks that are associated with the project. As a result it helps to develop a perfect strategy that can help the construction industry to overcome the concerning problem. Therefore, according to the entire analysis it can be said that the involvement of the perfect risk management strategy plays an important role for developing a construction project.
Solutions for risk mitigation
The involvement of different approaches will help the construction industry to overcome several problems that are associated with risk management. As per the journal written by Woodhead et al.,(2018), it has come to know that the involvement of different disruptive technologies will help the construction industry to overcome several problems. The implementation of the IoT or Internet of Things will help the construction industry to overcome several risks that are associated with the construction project. This will help the construction management group to measure the risks for developing the future opportunities. Therefore, according to the entire analysis it can be said that the involvement of the perfect digitized technology will help the construction management group to overcome several risks that are associated with the project.
According to the opinion of Chatterjee et al.,(2018), the involvement of the MCDM technology will also help the construction management group to overcome several problems that are associated with the construction project. The MCDM is a digitalized technology that helps to resolve different problems that are associated with a project.
2.3 Theories and models
Though various research papers have failed to analyze the risk management theories with proper data, still, there are some theories that can completely be related to the risk management process in the construction industry. It is important to identify the appropriate theories to understand the depth of the study and implement the theories accurately to get accurate research results. This theory has also identified two specific theories that are relatable to risk occurrence and management in the construction industry.
Agency Theory
Agency theory mainly focuses on the firm analysis that includes separation of control and ownership along with managerial motivation. In the field of construction risk management, the agency issues have shown their influence and managerial attitudes towards risk-taking and hedging. Through this theory, it also can be seen that the mismatch between stakeholders, debt holders, and management can raise several complications in resource distribution that can lead the firm in taking significant risks as well as not engage positive net values within the construction project (Khalid et al.,2021). According to this theory, risks within an agency can arise when the principals and their appointed agents act on their behalf. The interests of the principles and agents are not aligned every time. This incentive conflict enhances the agency problems that increase the interest conflict among two groups which led the agency to face several risks. In the case of a construction company, it is important to have an alignment with the contractor, stakeholders, and employees (Darayseh, &Chazi, 2018). If they fail to align the interest automatically the risks start to increase and influence the construction project.
Financial economic Approach
The financial economic approach of risk management can also be related to construction risk management. This approach has become one of the most prolific in terms of empirical and medal extension approaches. This approach is mainly based on the Modgilani-Miller paradigm that states the financial value as one of the main holders of corporate value. This paradig\m later on extended towards risk management. This approach, therefore, describes the financial aspect as the main component to protect the economic value within an organization that uses different financial instruments to manage the risk exposure (Abastanteet al.,2018). This can include operational risk, foreign exchange risk, credit risk, inflation risk, business risk, volatility risk, and legal risks. The construction industry is highly related to the financial aspects and it seems that the financial risk influences more than anything within the construction project. Thus, it is important to evaluate the values of different project aspects to enhance cost-effectiveness and manage financial factors in a proactive way.
Risk Theory
Risk theory explains that decisions regarding any project can bring uncertainty in the future. Typically risk is a situation that involves a significant number of probable states that can be the outcome of any project state or decision. This theory predicts decisions according to the decision distribution (Agyekum-Mensah, & Knight, 2017). The risk theory, therefore, determines the outcome of the decisions in accordance with any function. In construction projects, it is important to apply the risk theory to identify the risks and their impact on the construction projects. In this way, it helps to ensure the success of the construction projects by mitigating the risks that can influence the project’s growth.
2.4 Conceptual Framework and Concept of IV and DV
Here the independent variable is the identification of risks in the construction industry. Whereas there are three dependent variables that include, the role of sustainability in assessing the construction risk, financial and physical risks, and the importance of managing the risks in the UK construction industry. With the growing construction projects, the chances of the risks in the construction industry are also increasing (Xia et al.,2018). In this respect, the importance of managing the risks has also become important. If any construction project includes so many risks it tends to enhance the chance of cost enhancement and delay in project delivery. At the same time, if the organizations can identify the risks and manage them accordingly, the chances of delay in delivery of project failure reduce. Thus, it will try to establish the relationship between managing risks and success in construction projects.
Figure 2.1: Conceptual Framework
(Source: Created by the researcher)
Furthermore, most construction projects face the financial and physical risks that influence the most in project delaying and human resource exploitation. These are two of the prime risks that influence the project. Therefore, this research is going to evaluate the relation between the financial risks and construction project failure (Li, & Liu, 2019). In this way, it will try to evaluate the way these risks impact the employees of the construction industry as well as the overall project.
Sustainability has become one of the prime aspects of the key component through which the UK construction industry is trying to reach its sustainability goals. Maintaining the sustainability through a new but definitely a significant factor in the UK construction industry. Therefore, the research is going to evaluate the way risks of the construction industry can be mitigated in a long run.
2.5 Analytical framework
| Key literature | Purpose | Framework/ theory | Chosen Methodology | Samples | Brief Remarks | |||
| Author | Year | Type | Title | |||||
| Misopoulos et al, 2019 | 2019 | Journal | Environmental and Social Sustainability in UK Construction Industry: a Systematic Literature Review | Analyzing the impact of construction industry on the environmental sustainability | PRISMA reporting approach | Secondary research method | NA | The concerning journal provides different effective information on the factors that are associated to the environmental sustainability and construction sector of the UK |
| Ghansah et al, 2020 | 2020 | Journal | Underlying indicators for measuring smartness of buildings in the construction industry | Analyzing the factors that can arise issues with construction industry in UK | Post-positivist and empirical epistemological design | Primary quantitative data | 227 respondents | The paper helps to gather a lot of information that are associated to the issues with construction industry in UK |
| Li et al, 2019 | 2019 | Journal | Block chain in the built environment and construction industry: A systematic review, conceptual models and practical use cases | The impact of utilizing block chain industry in the construction sector has been analyzed in this journal | DLT Four-Dimensional Model, and the DLT Actors Model | Secondary | NA | The journal helped enough to know detailed factors that are associated to the blockchain management in the construction industry |
| Aerts et al, 2018 | 2018 | Journal | Integrating human behavior dynamics into flood disaster risk assessment | The involvement of risk management in the construction sector. | Extended risk assessment framework | Secondary research method | NA | The journal helped enough to know the factors that are associated to the environmental problems that might hamper the construction project |
| Kotera et al, 2020 | 2020 | Journal | Work-life balance of UK construction workers: Relationship with mental health | The impact of mental health in the construction sector has been analyzed in this paper | Theoretical framework | Primary research method | 1000 participants of 20 several companies | The journal helped to know the impact of psychological aspects in the workers who work in the construction sector. The impact of the psychological aspects has been analyzed in this paper |
| Oyegoke et al, 2021 | 2021 | Journal | Factors affecting the selection of effective cost control techniques in the UK construction industry | The involvement of the cost effectiveness in the UK based construction sector | Theoretical analysis | The mixed-method research approach and the qualitative exploration | NA | The journal helped analyze the factors that are associated to the |
| Farrokhshad, 2021 | 2021 | Journal | How practitioners make sense of risk and uncertainty: A Goffmanian study of two case studies of construction companies in the United Kingdom | The risk analysis aspects of the UK based construction sector has been analyzed in this paper | Theoretical framework | Secondary research method | NA | The journal helped to figure out different issues that are associated with the construction industry in the UK. |
| Agyekum-Mensah & Knight, 2017 | 2017 | Journal | The professionals’ perspective on the causes of project delay in the construction industry | The impact of professional perspective toward the construction project has been analyzed in this paper | Qualitative approach | Primary research method | 41 interviewer | The paper helped to analyze the factors that are associated to the professional aspects of the constructional sector |
| Hadidi et al, 2017 | 2017 | Journal | A systematic approach for ERP implementation in the construction industry | The impact of involving digitized technology in the risk management aspects has been analyzed in this paper | Systematic approach, that follows four step methodology | Secondary research method | NA | The journal helped to know the aspects of utilizing the digitalized implementation in the construction sector |
| Nugraha et al, 2019 | 2019 | Journal | The role of the risk management committee in managing supply chain risk and enhancing supply chain performance: an emerging market perspective | The impact of involving the risk management committee has been analyzed in this journal | Theoretical analysis | Secondary research method | NA | The journal helped the researcher to know the factors that associated to the role of risk management for overcoming issues with construction sector |
| Willumsen et al, 2019 | 2019 | Journal | Value creation through project risk management | The impact of value creation in the project management aspects has been analyzed in this journal | Qualitative analysis | Primary research method | Numbers of interviewers | The importance of the value chain analysis has been analyzed through this paper |
| Fan & Stevenson, 2018 | 2018 | Journal | A review of supply chain risk management: definition, theory, and research agenda | Analyzing the effectiveness of the supply chain management has been discussed in this paper | Theoretical analysis | Secondary research method | NA | The journal helped to analyze the factors that are associated to the supply chain system |
| Woodhead et al, 2018 | 2018 | Journal | Digital construction: From point solutions to IoT ecosystem | The impact of digitalization in the construction sector has been analyzed in the concerning journal | Theoretical analysis | Secondary research method | NA | The importance of digitalization in the construction sector has been analyzed through the support of this journal |
| Chatterjee et al, 2018 | 2018 | Journal | A hybrid MCDM technique for risk management in construction projects | The impact of implementing MCDM technology in the construction management has been analyzed in the concerning paper | Theoretical analysis | Secondary research method | NA | The importance of utilizing MCDM in construction sector has been analyzed in this paper |
Table 2.1: Analytical Framework Table
(Source: Created by the researcher)
2.6 Literature Gap
At the time of conducting the research the researcher faced different issues while conducting the research paper the researcher had faced several issues that are associated with conducting the research. However, the researcher only utilized the secondary research method for conducting the research. Therefore, the researcher missed several first hand analytical expertises that can be done by the researcher through the support of the primary research method.
2.7 Summary
This section of the research has gathered information from the works of other researchers on the basis of risks in the construction industry and the importance of risk management in the same. The information shows that the UK construction industry is gradually developing its risk management process to ensure project success. Risks are common in the construction industry as it deals with different processes and technologies. It also can be the result of decision making as well. In this regard, it has identified the independent and dependent variables on the basis of which further data will be collected and analyzed to reach the research aim. In the following section, the research will implement different methods to collect appropriate data and analyze them accordingly.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
In this contemporary time, analysing risks for a successful construction project delivery has become utterly important. This research, in this respect, is going to find out the gradual development of the risk assessment in the UK construction industry. For conducting research on the selected topic developing a proper methodology plays a crucial role. Identifying proper methods for collecting and analysing data enhances the quality of the research as well as guides the paper to bring out an accurate result at the end. Thus, this section has identified the significant research methods and approaches that have been used to find out the data regarding the development of risks and its assessment in the UK construction industry. This section has integrated the research approaches, designs, and paradigms for constructing a reliable research paper. In further note, it has also focused on the research ethics that has been maintained while conducting the research paper.
3.2 Research Onion
Figure 3.1: Research Onion
(Source: Melnikovas, 2018)
3.3 Research Philosophy
Research philosophy can be determined as the belief that describes the way required data regarding a phenomenon can be gathered, analyzed and used for further purposes. The research philosophy mainly deals with the data sources, its nature and knowledge development capacity. Selecting an appropriate research approach helps in engaging primary or secondary data in research to get proper answers of research questions. There are mainly four types of research philosophies, that includes, realism, positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism. This research paper, therefore, has selected the interpretivist research philosophy (Cazeaux, 2017). Interpretivist research philosophy mainly focuses on the principle that observes the social world to interpret the objectives in a subjective manner.
Figure3.2: Research Philosophy
(Source: Created by the researcher)
Justification: Interpretivist research philosophy is mainly used for qualitative research. It also implies its greater attention to understand people’s perception regarding the selected issue. Interpretivism philosophy mainly depends on the researcher’s interest. Selecting research approaches can be based on two categories, that includes, approach of data collection and approach of reasoning and data analysis (Dougherty, Slevc, & Grand, 2019). This research is mainly aimed to find out the way risks are being associated with the UK construction industry and also the way their governments as well as private sector organisations are taking preservative care for reducing its negative influence of contractors. In doing so, this research has collected all data from reliable sources which have been analyzed thoroughly to come to a valuable conclusion to meet the research objectives.
3.4 Research Paradigm
Research paradigm is basically the set of common beliefs and assumptions within a research community that includes ontology, epistemology, and methodological concerns. There are mainly three research paradigms, such as interpretivist, positivist, and critical thinking. On the other hand, there are four components of the research paradigm that includes, ontology, epistemology, quantitative and qualitative. This research is mainly focusing on the ontological qualitative research paradigm that believes in the nature and beliefs of reality. In this way has collected the secondary data to understand the view of the researchers in developing risk and its assessment in the UK construction industry (Ryan. 2018). While coming to the selection of a research paradigm for implementing in this research it has selected the interpretivism paradigm that believes in socially constructed multiple realities. However, the idea of ontology according to the interpretive paradigm is anti-foundationalist.
Figure3.3: Research Paradigm
(Source: Khaldi, 2017)
Justification: The ontology helps the researchers to find required information and data based on their assumption. However, based on that it analyzes the real facts about the assumptions. It helps the research to reach a series of truths that generally includes a singular, truth, and verifiable reality that is completely constructed in a social manner (Khaldi, 2017). Through this paradigm this research has been able to employ different methods for generating qualitative data. In this manner while collecting the required data it has been observed that the collected data are credible, transferable, dependable and objective so that it can be properly aligned with the research objectives while analysing them.
3.5 Research Approach
The research approach is a set of plans and procedures that determines the steps of broader assumptions of data collection, analysis and interpreting them. The selection of research approaches is highly dependent on the identified research problem. There are mainly three types of research approaches that can be implemented in the research paper, such as deductive, inductive and abduction. This research paper that is analysing the development of risk assessment in the UK construction industry has selected the inductive research approach for its greater purpose.
Figure3.4: Inductive Research Approach
(Source: Alase, 2017)
Justification: Qualitative data analysis requires an inductive research approach for conducting the research properly. Inductive scratch approach places great emphasis on the using, collecting and generating data. It, therefore, uses a detailed reading of secondary research data for deriving the concepts, themes, and models. It helps in developing a thematic analysis to understand the obtained phenomenon. As this research is focusing on collecting secondary data based on the risk development and assessment in the UK construction company, thus inductive research is the most appropriate for this purpose (Kaushik, & Walsh, 2019). Interestingly, the inductive research approach doesn’t really imply disregarding theories while formulating the research objective or questions. Eventually it generates a meaningful set of collected data for identifying patterns and relationships for developing a new theory or assumption. As this research approach does not prevent from using any extensive research theories thus it helps in developing wide knowledge with the help of different theories and come to an appropriate decision regarding the selected research topic.
3.6 Research Design
It is important to design the research profoundly for structuring the collected data and analyze them in an appropriate manner. Research design, in this respect, can be referred to as the framework that structures the research techniques and methods. It allows the researcher to \ulie the methods suitably for gaining a proper result. There are mainly four types of research designs, that includes, descriptive, experimental, exploratory, explanatory (Alase, 2017). The selection of research design depends on the type of research that is going to be conducted, eg: qualitative and quantitative. In this research a descriptive research design has been used.
Figure3.5: Research Design
(Source: Created by the researcher)
Justification: The descriptive form of research design aims in obtaining the collected information to describe a phenomenon, population and situation in a systematic way. Specifically, it tries to find out the answers of the research problems or research questions. There are different types of descriptive research designs, such as case study, naturalistic observation, archival research, surveys, and cross-sectional research (Van den Berg, &Struwig, 2017). As this study is mainly focusing on collecting and analysing the secondary qualitative data to understand the risk assessment process of the UK construction industry thus it has selected the naturalistic observation to have clearer understanding regarding the issue.
3.7 Research Method
Understanding the proper use of research methods is important to structure the research appropriately and also to get proper results of the research problems. Thus, the research method can be described as the strategies, techniques, process, and data collection process to uncover new information for creating better understanding of the issue. There are mainly two types of research methods: qualitative research methods and quantitative research methods. The quantitative research method is the method that emphasises on objective measurements along with mathematical, statistical, and numerical analysis of the collected data through questionnaires, polls, surveys, or other computational techniques (Borusyak, Hull, &Jaravel, (2018). In contrast, qualitative research collects and analyzes non-numerical data for understanding opinions, concepts and experiences. This research, therefore, has selected the qualitative research method for this research purpose.
Justification: The main aim for selecting the qualitative research method is to collect data from different theoretical resources for developing a clear understanding regarding the development of risks and its assessment in the UK construction industry. In this postcode situation it is not possible to contact the people related to this industry directly, thus this research has selected the secondary qualitative data collection and analysis method. In this way it can develop an in-depth analysis of the research to understand the way risks influence the policy formation in the UK construction industry. There are different types of qualitative research methods, such as focus group study, ethnographic research, record keeping, qualitative observation, and case study research. In this way, this research has focused on the collecting and analysing record keeping, and observation process (Gopalan, Rosinger, &Ahn, 2020). This process intervenes in a wide range of information and detailed data regarding the selected issue, in this case, the risk development and assessment in the construction industry in the UK. Furthermore, it has evaluated the data in a thematic way to get valuable results at the completion of the research.
3.8 Data Collection Method
Implementing an appropriate data collection method is important to ensure the accuracy of the research result. Data collection process, therefore, can be described as the process of collecting a wider range of information from all the relevant and efficient resources for finding the answers of research questions, testing the hypotheses and evaluating the outcomes. Data collection is the most primary and significant step in a research paper irrespective of the size and type of the research. However, the selection of data collection methods depends on the types and approaches of research. Different types of research implement different types of data collection method according to the requirement of the study. There are mainly two types of data collection methods that are being implemented in different types of research, such as primary data collection and secondary data collection. The primary data collection refers to the process through which the researcher collects the required data directly from the people associated with the field (Johnston, 2017). It can be done through a survey, forming interviews and questionnaires, and experiments. In academic perspective, conductive surveys or interviews are the most common and proportional primary data collection method that helps to gather valuable information directly from the people. In contrast, the secondary data collection method refers to the process through which the required and adequate data needs to be collected from different case studies, organizational websites, works of different researchers, books and journals. While collecting the secondary data it is important to understand the validity of the data sources and also the alignment of the data with the research questions. This research paper has selected the secondary data collection method (Desk analysis) for this purpose.
Justification: This research is focusing on finding the process of risk development in the UK construction industry and also evaluate the way these risks can be mitigated for better results in the construction projects. While doing so, it will also analyze the legislation that is implementing the construction industry for assessing the risk. In this respect, this research has collected data from the different governmental sources to understand the legislative aspect of risk mitigation in the construction process (Johhson& Sylvia, 2018). Also, it has intervened in the changes of risk development in the UK from the works of different researchers and books to have a clear understanding regarding the issue. Due to the current situation of post-covid era it has selected the secondary data collection and analysis as an ex\tra precaution of this time.
3.9 Inclusion and Exclusion
Implementing a proper inclusion and exclusion process helps the research to produce reliable and reproducible results by minimising the likelihood of harming the subjects. It eventually guards the exploitation of vulnerable data and people involved within research. Understanding the proper method of inclusion and exclusion criteria is important to avoid the chances of misinterpreting the data and getting improper research results. This research has also have set a specific list of criteria’s that identifies the resources that have been used in this study. While selecting the research papers, journals or information from different authentic and trustable sources, it has focused on the information after 2008. It also has set two types of key works for selecting the journals, such as primary key word and secondary key world. This includes delaying risks, external risks, internal risks and risk assessment process. In the list of secondary keywords, it has included simulation scheduling, schedule risks, economy, politics, stability and security. Also, it has intervened whether the resources align with the research questions to find appropriate answers.
It has excluded the resources that do not contain detailed information regarding the UK construction industry and its legal provisions to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of the resources.
3.10 Data Analysis Method
Selecting a proper analytical method for the collected data also plays one of the most crucial roles in research. Data analysis refers to the systematic approach of applying logical and statistical techniques for describing, illustrating, condensing and evaluating the research findings. It is important to ensure integration of the research findings in an accurate and appropriate manner. For this purpose, it is important to understand the type of data and research before selecting the appropriate data analysis method (Robinson et al.,2017). There are mainly three types of data analysis method, that includes, primary method, secondary method, and mixed method. The primary data analysis method involves different types of data analytical tools such as SPSS, Excel and some more for analysing the collected primary and quantitative data. Whereas the secondary data analysis methods analyze the collected data in a more explorative and descriptive manner. It can use different case studies, themes and theoretical basis for coming to a conclusion regarding the selected research topic. It is important to select the proper data analysis method depending on the collected data and its type for research. This research paper has selected the secondary data analysis method for conducting this study.
Justification: As this research paper has collected the secondary qualitative data for understanding the development of risks and its assessment in the UK construction industry thus it has adopted the secondary data analysis method. While analysing the collected data, it will try to meet the research objectives in an integrated manner.
3.11 Research Ethics
Research ethics are undoubtedly one of the most important factors that the researcher needs to focus on while conducting the research. It is important to follow some ethical concerns while conducting the research to maintain the authenticity and reliability of the research paper. There are some specific norms through which the ethical value is being measured for a research paper. These includes: –
Authenticity: All data has been collected from the authentic websites that includes Google Scholar, UK governmental sites, and other leading newspapers to maintain authenticity of the research. It has not used any type of random websites or blogs while conducting this study.
Honesty: The research has tried to maintain honesty in terms of data collection, analysis and interpretation by avoiding fabricating, falsifying and misinterpreting the collected data.
Marinating all ethical considerations: This research has tried to maintain all research ethical considerations according to the UK ethical guides (Dooly, Moore, & Vallejo, 2017). Under this it has tried to maintain all dignity and integrity of the collected research data for maintaining appropriateness of the research paper.
Plagiarism: This research is completely free from any type of plagiarism issue. It is here notified that the entire work is completely based on the own understanding of the research and any type of duplicity has not been entertained in this study.
Citation: Information collected from the journals or books has been cited properly to ensure the copyright of the researchers.
No-discrimination: this research is out of discriminating any religion, ethnicity, labor or any particular class. The research has focused on maintaining its social responsibilities. Eventually, it also has followed all legal norms to avoid any type of legal intervention in the research process (Qamar, 2018).
Confidentiality: There are various data that are required to maintain confidentiality for interpreting within the research. However, this research has maintained confidentiality for all the required dataset.
3.12 Reliability and Validity
The current research papers shas used the secondary qualitative research data collection and analysis method with the help of thematic framework. It also has selected the inductive research approach for collecting secondary qualitative data for conducting the entire research that aims to find out the development of risks and its asse4ssment processes in the UK construction industry. All of these approaches are reliable and valid for this particular research, while collecting the secondary qualitative data it is important to ensure the appropriateness of collected data (Glasiuset al.,2018). These approaches have been adopted to collect data regarding risk development in the UK construction industry, analysing its assessment process, role of legislation for determining the safety of the contractor and more. Thus, it can be said that the selected approaches and designs are valid in terms of this research.
3.13 Timeline
[Referred to Appendix 1]
3.14 Summary
This section of the research has tried to emphasise some specific things of research methods that have been implemented to get efficient and effective research results. In this regard, this chapter has focused on identifying the research approaches, paradigm, designs and other factors for collecting the required data in an appropriate manner. All collected data has been analyzed in the next chapter based on the framework selected in this chapter. As this research has planned to collect all secondary qualitative data regarding the risks development and prevention in the construction industry thus the analysis is also based on a secondary thematic framework to ensure its appropriateness.
Chapter 4: Data Findings and Analysis
4.1 Introduction
The following section will provide a brief analysis on the data that are collected through the secondary research method. This chapter will help to know the result of the concerning research paper.
4.2 Findings
Theme 1: An account of theGeneral risks associated to a construction project related to the UK Construction Industry
Financial risks:
According to the data that was gathered by the researcher it has revealed that the issues with financial or economic aspects are the biggest risk that might materialise while flourishing a construction project. The problems might appear due to the reason of economic inflation, the lack of financial resources or investors, the economic fluctuation that might appear due to the issues with currency exchanges. As per the analysis it has been acquainted that the financial problems might arise due to the changing structure of the royalty in sands and stones. The rising prices of the raw materials that are utilised in construction projects is also generating several issues while establishing a project of construction.
Figure 4.1: Issues with construction project
(Source: intechopen.com, 2021)
The financial risks of the construction sector might be divided into several aspects such as external economic pressure, funding issues, changes in economy and others. The funding risk could stop the project entirely as the investors might lose their hope of reward from the investment of a particular construction project. In this aspect, the financial risk of obtaining the fund becomes difficult for long-term projects. The financial risk is enhanced if adverse economic changes are observed for the large projects. The change in interest rate due to inflation or adverse exchange rate for the economy might hurt the FDI of the construction sector. This might have deteriorated the sentiment of the investment environment of the sector. Moreover, the challenges in economic issues due to high fiscal deficit or low government spending might be aroused for the construction sector. The proof of such a high issue was observed in various years when the Government of the UK did not respond to several projects or could not fund timely for many public sector projects. In this regard, the financial risk of the project could be distributed for the internal issues such as agency cost, operational risk and change risk of the project. The agency cost could be observed in many projects where the incentive conflicts of the middle management might destroy the future of the project. In such cases, the delay in operation of a project for execution might enhance the financial risk of the construction sector. In this context, the project owner might be required to reduce the risk via reducing or eliminating the agency or operational risks. The agency risk might hamper the growth of the construction project as well as hampering the operational procedures. The change risk is a crucial one for the construction sector, which might hamper the progress of the project. In this regard, the construction sector might be required to control the change process along with the costs associated with the change process. Further, the project manager might find the changing environment difficult for controlling the cost of the construction project.
Environmental risk:
The environmental risk arose for the large construction projects as risk of environmental deterioration might stop the project due to resistance from the several environmentalists and NGOs. The construction projects require to maintain environmental conservatism and clearance reports along with a clean trajectory of environmental control as well as controlling their operations for protecting the local environment and ecology. The construction projects have to control dust produced from the operation as well as scrapped materials in a particular place of the site. Moreover, the construction project requires to manage the AQI of the site and its nearby area for controlling the local ecology. The marine projects should maintain their heat radiation and disposal of wastage as releasing them in the sea would harm the planktons. Further, environmental risk in critical situations or places might harm the endangered species in a natural habitat.
Risks associated with wages and employees:
The obstacle might occur due to the issues with construction project employees and wages. This can be considered as one of the prior issues that might appear while developing a construction project. As per the analysis of the researcher it has come during 2020, the unemployment rate in the construction sector of the UK was raised to 4.8%. This number of unemployment was higher than the rate of unemployment that faced by the construction industry during the first three months of 2020. During the first three months of 2020 the unemployment rate was 4.5%. Therefore, this rate of unemployment in the construction sector might cause several difficulties to develop a project (statista.com, 2021).
Figure 4.2: Rate of employment in construction industry of UK
(Source: ft.com, 2021)
The issue might appear due to the wages of the construction industry. The issues correlated to the lower wages smacks the number of employments. However, the lower employment rate is also affecting the progressing aspects of the construction projects.
Figure4.3: Wages rate in construction sector
(Source: dailymail.co.uk, 2021)
Risks associated to logistic services:
The logistic services leave a prominent imprint in the project emerging aspects of the construction sector. The supply of the raw materials of a construction project depends on the services that are provided by the logistic sector. However, the issues may appear due to the rules and regulations that are based on international logistic services. The tax policies of different geographical areas might produce different problems with the logistic services (Li, Greenwood and Kassem, 2019). Moreover, the ongoing circumstances associated to Covid 19 are initiating several problems with the logistic services. Therefore, the impact of Brexit is also generating several challenges for the logistic services which are correlated with the construction industry in the UK. As per the analysis it has come to know that all these factors are leaving a negative impact on the project developing aspects of the construction project developing sector.
Risk of increasing rate of building materials:
The cost of building materials is increasing day by day. It is also impacting the project embryonic facet of the construction business. As per several analyzes, during September 2021 the rate of construction building materials increased to 25.1%. Therefore, it is also impacting the construction industrial sector of the UK nation (Ons.gov.uk. 2022).
Theme 2:Current process of risk assessment in construction industryof the UK following the legislation
Risks in the construction industry can be defined as the exposures for possible loss. Due to the existing difference in every construction project, risk probability in every project also varies. To ensure the success of a construction project the contractor needs to evaluate the probable risks and find the most suitable way to manage or eradicate those risks from the construction project. Generally, there are some typical risks that influence the success of the project as well as the contractor in the construction industry. However, it is not possible to identify all risks as it varies from project to projects. Still, the UK construction industry, like the construction industries in other countries, faces almost similar types of risks that either cause delay in project delivery or leave some significant losses for the contractor (Ons, 2020).
It has been observed that there are mainly three types of risks that influence the construction industry of the UK, that includes, safety, scheduling and financial. In contemporary times, with the growing development of technologies and techniques the quality of used materials is also changing. This change is implementing a negative impact on the health of construction labourers by causing cancer. It seems in the construction industry more than 40% of occupational cancer cases and deaths due to that are registered every year (Stanmore, 2018). It is estimated that in the past few exposures the construction industry has annually caused more than 5000 occupational cancer cases with at least 3700 deaths. The principal reasons behind this are using asbestos (70%), silica (17%), and diesel engine exhaust (6-7%). On the other hand, dust, use of chemicals, and harmful mixtures used for paints causes lung disease and breathing problems in construction labourers. Furthermore, skilled constructions along with building trades causes several accidents among the labourers of supervisors. This can lead the people in facing physical injuries, and upper limb disorders (Statista, 2021). Also, the manual handling of machineries causes other physical hazards among labourers due to its high noise and vibration. Thus, it can be said that physical risk has been embedded with the UK construction industry more than anything else (Hse, 2015).
Figure 4.5: Greatest Risk sources and Concerns in the Construction industry in next 3 years in the UK
(Source: statista, 2017)
Construction projects are way more complex than any other industrial projects and are associated with different types of internal as well as external risks. These risks are always filled with several uncertainties whereas many risks are merely predictable that enhances the uncertainty in the construction projects (Hwang et al.,2017). Unfortunately, there are no proper ways through which the risks can be avoided or eradicated completely from the construction project. However, risks are very much influential in the construction projects that generally result negatively.
In the year 2006, the legislative assembly of the UK has enacted a regulation “The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005”, which has replaced as well as modified previously followed Fire Safety Legislation of the Wales and UK. This legislation has made the existing CDM (Construction Design and Management) Regulations stronger in order to make the health and safety of the workers working in an existing project of construction site. In a report it has been identified that in the year 2019 around 4 million workers of the construction industry suffered from work-related ill health during the working tenure. 147 deaths on the sites have been reported along with 581,000 fatal injuries (roofingtoday.co.uk, 2019). It was estimated that the overall workplace health and safety might be controlled with effective risk assessment of a construction project. In the year 2021, the result is not that much satisfactory as work-related ill health decreased to 1.7 million; whereas 142 report of death and 441,000 fatal injuries at the work place of construction site have been found (hse.gov.uk, 2021). Even though, the numbers have been decreased in 2021 compared to 2019, it is also important to mention that due to covid 19 the construction projects were less also. This aspect shows that the UK legislations for workplace health and safety is not being measured at the construction sites.
Figure 4.4: Comparison of Workplace Health and Safety Statistics of UK Construction Industry (Year 2019 and 2021)
(Source: Created by the researcher)
As per the CDM Regulations [Article 3(6)(a)], the risks need to be addressed properly by the risk management body in order to control the fatality in the construction sites (Hare et al., 2020). The risk assessment needs to follow the process of risk identification, identification of the people who might get harmed due to the identified risk, evaluation of the risks for measuring the precaution, recording all the major findings following continuous review of the assessment and required changes based on the identifications.
4.3 Discussion
Brexit and the contemporary Covid 19 outbreak have extensively implicated in increasing the price of the construction materials and labour charges. The value of new construction works in Great Britain has recorded a fall of 16.3% in 2020 to £99,651 million. Although it experienced a high of £119,087 million in 2019, but it also reduced almost the same duie to the outrage of covid 19 outbreak as previously mentioned. Surprisingly, new orders for construction also fell by 11.9% in 2020 worth £55,631 million which is even lower than the lowest situation of 2013. Construction industry, therefore, saw a 36.6% annual fall which has been recorded as the highest fall after 2008. Thus, it can be said the construction industry is currently abused by various external risks that are hard to mitigate at instance (Suretylearn, 2013). Hence, the industry is looking forward to mitigating the internal risks such as accidents, resolving delays and other risks for enhancing the condition of the construction industry in the UK.
The construction companies or the employers in the UK are bound to maintain some rules and regulations for ensuring the safety and security of the employees from different construction project risks. Mainly the Health and Safety regulation of 1994was firstly implemented in the UK construction industry to guide the construction managers or owners for preventing the reconstruction risks, This somehow increased confusion in between guidance, approved code of Practice or ACOPs and regulations and their relations. However, the act of Management of Health and Safety and Work Regulations 1999 has been made more explicit for employers in managing the health and safety of the employees at the workplace. Under this act the government strengthened the necessity of the risk assessment in the construction place (Hse, 2016). The HSE of the UK has provided five steps for ensuring risk assessment that includes: –
- Making arrangements for implementing “health and safety” measurements through risk identification.
- Appointing competent people for helping the organization in arrangement implementation.
- Setting up emergency procedures for emergency situations.
- Providing clear information and training employees so that they are able to understand the sincerity of the situation and take necessary steps.
- Working together with other employers for a greater benefit in the industry.
Apart from these, Employer’s Liability Act (Compulsory Insurance) 1969 provides the employers a clear guidance to manage the safety of employees at the construction site. According to this law the employers are also responsible for the workplace injuries, and diseases of their employees that can lead the employees to lose their jobs (Hse, 2013). Thus, the employees need to provide the employees compulsory insurance so that they suffer less if they meet any accidents.
The Construction Regulation (Design and Management) 2015 also discussed that the contractors need to take suitable and sufficient steps for preventing risks of injuries of a person during a construction project from fire or explosion, flooding and other substances that cause asphyxiation (Legislation, 2015). In this respect the regulation also listed a set of duties that includes: –
- The contractor must make and maintain an agreement enabling the principal contractor and employees engaged in the construction works for effective development, prompt, and check the measurements effectiveness.
- Consulting the workers or the representatives on matters of project connection and regarding the matter of safety and welfare.
- Ensuring that the employees as well as the representatives can get proper information and documents along with the right of inspection if any injury or accidents happens.
These rules and regulations are there not only to ensure safety and security of the employees\, but it is equally effective for the contractors in the UK construction industry. Though the UK construction company was facing the least growth in 2021 (-10.25%), it is now expecting a little growth (-0.4%) in 2022. The overall industrial growth is expected to reach 4.5% in 2025. The industry is therefore facing some challenges that are increasing the chance of risks in different construction projects (Hse, 2013). Apparently, the requirements of construction projects are also witnessing a significant change that has triggered the project owners as well as the government for developing some suitable solutions so that they can reduce the chance of risk development in the construction projects.
Labour Shortage: The construction industry sheds more than 2 million jobs every year that has increased during 2019-2021 due to the covid 19 outrage. Also, an extensive number of workers either have retired or been laid off that lead them to find jobs in other industries. Almost 21% of employees are ageing 55 or more in the construction industry, in contrast only 9% of employees are 24 or younger. This difference is creating a huge vacancy in the construction labours. Along with that due to Brexit the economic and labour policy in the entire Europe has been changed. This has resulted in increased labour charges and shortage of high skill yet cheap labour. Interestingly, the consistent development in the technology and project management practises have significantly reduced the rate of injuries as well as proper training sessions have also enabled the employees to understand the risky situations (Ibisworld. 2018).
Stagnant Productivity Level: The main issue with the construction industry is that it is not witnessing the required improvement in the productivity in the last few decades. The labour shortage and increased price range of other products are especially fuelling this situation that needs to be measured for ensuring a rapid success in the construction industry.
Technology adoption: the construction industry is notoriously slow in adopting new advanced technologies. The main reason is the cost of the technologies that refrains the contractors from investing in the developed technologies. Despite several benefits of the construction technologies, due to its over urging costs the contractors are forced to use the traditional ones in the construction projects. That is responsible to enhance the probability of risks for the employees. BIM, Mobile devices, Telematics and some project management software applications have already been used in the construction industry for several years. The emerging technologies, that includes, AR and VR, drones, robots, 3D printings, and automobile vehicles ate something that has been adopted by the construction industry in some cases. Ironically, these technologies are somewhat costly in some cases that are preventing the industry from using such technology in their projects (Legislation, 2015).
Figure 4.6: Growth of UK Construction industry
(Source: stanmore.co.uk)
The UK government is looking forward to strengthening the construction industry within 2025 by mitigating the risks. In this regard, the government has planned to reduce the costs to at least 33% to encourage the construction managers to invest more in this industry. As environmental degradation is one of the most significant threats to the construction industry, the government has planned to go more for green and sustainable construction and reduce the GHG emission by at least 50% within 2025. For assessing the risks in the construction industry both the government and the private sector have unitedly taken some preventive measures that can reduce the impact of risks in the construction projects (Assets, 2021).
- Reinvigorate the image of the construction industry: Due to various risks there are hardly the young generation people who want them to engage in this industry. Thus, the government has proposed to work together with the private companies to encourage the employees to be engaged in this industry.
Figure 4.7: Vision of the UK Government for preventing Risks
(Source: Assets, 2021)
- Increasing the workforce capability: Training is the most important thing to learn and align fast with a constantly changing construction environment. It is expected that emerging from the recession, the construction industry will be able to recruit, develop and retail the new generation employees in the construction industry (Assets, 2021).
- More investment for making it smarter and digital: The government by collaborating with the private industry heads have set a group list of requirements for improving the construction industry. In this respect the government is going to support the contractors so that they can invest more in availing new high-tech technologies to make the process more digitised. The estimated investment is approx£200 billion per annum which will be integrated for smart city systems within 2030. Thus, the country is focusing to motivate the employees and industry personnel to invest more on innovation and research to make the project appropriate and timely delivery. Currently, as a result of this collaboration the industry and government gas made a good start by implementing BIM programs in different construction projects (Assets, 2021).
- Ensuring Sustainability: For mitigating the environmental risks and making it more sustainable the UK government is trying to improve the capability and procurement of the clients by making them understand the importance of sustainable construction. In such a way, the UK is trying to develop a low-carbon construction industry.
- Implementing growth: As the industry is currently not facing a constant growth thus the government has planned to ensure the growth to 4.3% till 2025 by implementing different strategic approaches. In this way, they are preparing to make a global growth and urbanisation with sustainability (Assets, 2021). Also, the UK construction industry is planning to strengthen the supply chain management to keep a control over the material prices and in other costs.
4.5 Summary
This chapter has shown that currently, especially after the covid 19 pandemic situation the UK construction industry is suffering through various financial risks. Not only the external risks but the internal risks such as labour shortage, low investment in technology and lack of trained employees are influencing more in the construction industry. Thus the government jointly with the private business owners are trying to improve the situation with different strategic planning.
Chapter 5: Conclusion
5.1 Conclusion
Risks in the construction industry are quite common and regular factors that influence the growth and sustainability of different construction companies. The risks can come from different sides such as physical risk, financial risk, environmental risks, technological risks and other risks. It varies from one construction project to another depending on the size and type of the project. Thus, it is important to identify the risks prior to starting the construction project. It is also necessary to plan according to the risks so that it either can be avoided from occurring or the impact can be reduced. In most cases the project owners or managers do not allocate an extra budget for risk identification and mitigation which is extremely important to avoid the project failure or delayed deliveries.
This research has found out that the construction industry, despite suffering various risks, is collaborating with the UK government for implementing different strategic approaches and policies so that the risks can be mitigated. Undoubtedly, risk assessment has become one of the main factors to ensure the safety and security of the employees. Due to the uncertainty and unpredictability of the risks, in contemporary times people are being less interested to join in the construction works. Thus, the government is taking some initiatives so that the employers impose the rules and regulations appropriately to ensure the employees safety and security. It has also become so important to follow environmental rules and regulations to make the construction projects more sustainable and environment-friendly. If the construction project owners follow the governmental rules and analyse the risks beforehand then it will become easier for the project owners to resolve the risks and ensure the growth within 2025.
5.2 Recommendation
There are some certain ways through which the construction project managers or project owners can improve their current conditions. In this respect, the research has tried to provide some recommendations that can be beneficial for both the construction project owners and employees for a long-term.
- Providing regular training: Having theoretical knowledge and implementing them in practical projects are different. Thus, the project owners must arrange a regular training session for the employees or responsible labourers so that they can use the technologies in a hassle-free manner. It will also enhance their knowledge regarding the advanced work process which will eventually increase their ability to identify as well as adopt the changes for better project quality and timely delivery.
- Allocating extra budget and time for risk identification and solution: Risk identification takes a certain time and budget to prepare solutions for the risks. Thus, it is important to include the risk identification and assessment process at the time of project planning. It is also important to understand whether the risks will influence the project in a negative way or it is less influential. In this respect the organizations can appoint a capable person who has enough experience to resolve different risks and greater understanding of risk probability.
- Understanding the risk probability and its influence on the workforce: It is important to analyse whether the risk is only influential to the project itself or it will harm the safety of the employees. As being an employer, nothing can be more important than maintaining employee safety. If the employers fail in ensuring employee safety it can lead the project in facing several legal implications as well. The probability of risks on employees will guide the project manager towards the required change within time.
- Implementing innovation: Technologies are developing rapidly that has strengthened the importance of investing and implementing innovations in construction projects. In contemporary times there are various infrastructure which is enabling the construction projects to use less time yet sustainable constructions. Moving towards green construction is also one of the most significant ways to eradicate environmental risks due to construction and embed the environment friendly infrastructure for rapid future growth. It may take a lot of investment but it is definitely going to give the UK construction industry a sustainable growth.
5.3 Linking with objectives
This research has tried to meet the objectives both in the literature review section as well as in the data analysis section. It has been seen that risks are not a new thing in the construction industry and with the growing time the development as well as influence of risks has been increased in the construction industries. The UK is also not lagging behind this thus risk assessment has become one of the most crucial aspects to ensure the growth of the construction industry. For preventing the health, safety and environment risks caused by the construction industry the government is also implementing several rules and regulations. However, the measurements are not only for the employees, or the environment, but those are equally important for the employers as well. In this post covid situation the government is trying to restructure the construction industry by collaborating with the private project owners so that they can reduce the loss and reach the expected growth within 2025 (Brindley, 2017). Hence, it can be said that if the government and private companies work hand-in-hand it will become easier to identify the risks and find out the solutions which will improve the current condition of the industry.
5.4 Future Scope
This research has not differentiated the influence of different risks in the construction industry. Especially, after the covid 19 the nature of risks have also seems to be changed to an extent. Thus, it leaves a fair scope to analyse the developed risks in the construction industry after covid 19 (Ghaffarianhoseiniet al.,2017). Furthermore, the development of digitalization, automation and other technological advances influence the SMEs, large industries and small industries in different ways. Thus, it is possible to deeply focus on these matters to have a clear view regarding the risks and its assessment in the construction industry.
5.5 Research Limitation
Facing limitations while conducting research is very common. This research also faced some limitations in its entire process. It has mainly faced issued from two sides: –
Time: Time for this project was very limited (Dainty et al.,2017). As the work is based on risk assessment thus it takes more time to analyse the risks and its importance.
Analysis: If this research could have used the primary such as survey data collection and analysis method it would have been clearer regarding the practical experience of the employers and employees regarding the risks.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Timeline
(Source: Created in Project Libre)