MANAGING PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF RISK ON CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING PROJECTS: HOW TO INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS IN BUSINESS DECISIONS

While the construction industry has developed sound technical skills in dealing with risk, its ability to deal with the human perceptions of construction risk is less well developed. This in turn has often led to irrational reactions to even the most innocuous development proposals. The implicit question which now faces every construction organisation is not just whether it is managing its risks effectively but also, whether it is managing its wider responsibility to society and whether it is communicating this effectively. It is in this context that this paper critically analyses traditional technocratic approaches to risk management in the construction industry. It argues that a new approach is needed which recognizes the social, political, psychological and cultural complexity of risk. A case study is presented to show how this can be achieved in practice using a new multimedia risk management system called ROMS (www.risk-opportunity.com).