2.1.

4 Risk response

This process evaluates the potential impacts of the risks and aims at removing as much as
possible the negative impacts and maximizing the positive ones.

Risk response is the third step of RMP which describes what action should be taken towards
the identified risks and threats according to risk assessment methods. The response strategy and
approach chosen depend on the kind of risks concerned (Winch, 2002). Other requirements are that the
risk needs to have a supervisor to monitor the development of the response, which will be agreed by the
actors involved in this risk management process. (PMI, 2004). Winch (2002) claims that if the risk has
lower impact, it is easy to manage the risk. Most common strategies for risk response are: avoidance,
reduction, transfer and retention (Potts, 2008). Beyond those types of responses, Winch (2002)
describes that when there is too little information about a risk, it would be difficult to take decision.
This may be avoided by waiting until the appropriate information is available in order to deal with the
risk. This way of acting is called “Delay the decision” But this approach is not appropriate in all
situations, especially when handling critical risks. Those need to be managed earlier in the process.

2.1.5 Risk monitoring and control

The purpose of this process is to certify that the risk identification, analysis and response
processes are on-going. Some of the requirements for this process are: checking the status of the
identified risks in the risk registers periodically; evaluating the efficiency of the risk responses used;
identifying new risks, assessing them and developing risk responses for them.

The task of identifying new risks in this sub-process is not only because of changes in the
project and its environment which cause new risks to come up but also due to appearance of secondary
risks. Secondary risk can be considered as a new risk that may arise after implementation of a risk
response (Cruz et al., 2006).

2.2 Risk management on construction project

According to Mhetre, Konnur, and Landage (2016), risk management in construction project
management refers to a systematic and comprehensive way of identifying, analyzing and reacting to the
risks to achieve the objectives of the project (154). The application of risk management from initial
stages of a project where major decisions are made is extremely crucial. Risk management has some
benefits, some of which include improvement of construction project performance, enhances
identification and analysis of risks and promotes the effective use of resources (Mhetre, Konnur &
Landage, 2016, p. 155). Road construction projects are highly unpredictable and therefore, managing
the risk is a crucial process in any construction task. It facilitates the achievement of project’s objectives
about environmental sustainability, time, cots, safety and quality. Additionally, project’s risk
management is considered an interactive process and as such, it is only beneficial when implemented
in a systematic manner throughout the stages of construction project, from planning to maintenance
(Mhetre, Konnur & Landage, 2016, p. 156).

2.3 Risk assessment on construction project

Risk analysis is the second stage in the RMP where collected data about the potential risk are
analyzed. Risk analysis can be described as short-listing risks with the highest impact on the project,
out of all threats mentioned in the identification phase (Cooper et al. 2005). Although some researchers
distinguish between terms risk assessment and risk analysis and describe them as two separate
processes, for the purpose of this paper, this part of RMP will be consistent with the model provided by
Smith et al. (2006) and described as one process.

In the analysis of the identified risk, two categories of methods – qualitative and quantitative –
have been developed. The qualitative methods are most applicable when risks can be placed somewhere
on a descriptive scale from high to low level. The quantitative methods are used to determine the
probability and impact of the risks identified and are based on numeric estimations (Winch, 2002).