Risk management maturity of construction projects in the Netherlands

Abstract

Construction projects are bounded with uncertainties and therefore, the occurrence of risks in these projects is unavoidable. Literature confirms that risk management increases the possibility of project success. A Risk Maturity Model (RMM) is a tool, which can help projects measuring the maturity of risk management and plan for risk management improvements. This research implements a Generic Risk Maturity Model (GRMM) in one contractor and two public organizations in the Netherlands. By means of individual and group interviews, 19 experts in 11 construction projects are asked to assess the risk management in their projects. The results show that risk management is properly performed in these projects, however, the organizations seem better in identifying risks rather than mitigating risks. Experts assessed their organizations high in performing 'Risk Assessment'. The results show that the experts in the public organizations evaluate 'Policy and Strategy' of risk management and 'Management Commitment' towards risk management low. The contractor could improve its risk management by giving more attention to evaluation of the risk management process. Further research into the ambition level of risk management is suggested.