How to Avoid Risks in Construction Projects: Risk Avoidance Techniques

Construction projects are full of challenges, from unexpected delays to safety hazards and budget overruns. To navigate these complexities, effective risk management is essential. This article is part of a series dedicated to exploring risk management in construction projects, providing planning engineers and project managers with the knowledge and tools to handle uncertainties confidently.

In earlier articles, we discussed the fundamentals of risk management and how to approach identifying risks using tools like risk registers. We then explored qualitative and quantitative risk analysis, showing how to prioritize and measure risks. Most recently, we examined risk acceptance, where teams on purpose decide to live with certain risks due to their low impact or likelihood.

Today, we shift our focus to risk avoidance, a proactive strategy aimed at eliminating risks entirely. By redesigning project elements, modifying schedules, or adjusting processes, risk avoidance ensures that certain risks never happen. This guide will walk you through the principles of risk avoidance, step-by-step instructions for implementing it, and real-world examples to help you apply this powerful strategy to your projects.

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What is Risk Avoidance?

According to the PMI and the PMBOK® Guide, risk avoidance is a proactive risk response strategy that involves eliminating threats entirely by changing the project plan, objectives, or execution approach. Instead of reacting to risks as they arise or trying to mitigate their impact, risk avoidance addresses the root causes to ensure the risk cannot happen.

Figure 1 PMBOK Seventh Guide pg.343

For example, if a construction project faces the risk of weather disruptions during crane operations, risk avoidance might involve rescheduling lifting activities to a less windy season or redesigning the project to minimize reliance on cranes.

Also, in areas where local regulations may delay obtaining construction permits, risk avoidance could involve hiring a specialized consultant familiar with the local regulatory environment.

This expert can ensure that all documentation is complete and submitted early, reducing the chance of delays. Alternatively, the project team might prioritize regulatory submissions during the initial planning phase, allowing time for approvals without impacting the critical path.

How Risk Avoidance Differs from Other Risk Responses

Experts and associations disagree in classifying risk response strategies, some of them, classify the responses into 4 main categories [Avoid, Mitigate, Transfer, Accept], while others classify them into 8 [Avoid, Mitigate, Transfer, Accept, Enhance, Escalate, Exploit, Share].

Like most project management concepts, they’re all best practices and opinions, what matters at the end is what you do at your project to protect it from risks, it doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you deliver the needed outcomes.

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Here’s how risk avoidance compares to the other famous risk response strategies:

Risk Mitigation reduces the likelihood or impact of a risk but doesn’t eliminate it. For example, installing windbreaks for crane operations reduces wind effects but doesn’t remove the risk entirely.
Risk Transfer involves shifting responsibility for managing the risk to a third party, such as through insurance, warranties, or subcontracting. The risk still exists but is no longer managed directly by the project team.
Risk Acceptance acknowledges the risk without taking proactive measures to address it, often preparing contingency plans for managing the consequences if the risk occurs.

On the other hand, risk avoidance is unique in its goal to completely remove the possibility of the risk. While mitigation or transfer reduces or shares risk, avoidance ensures it no longer poses a threat. This strategy is often the first choice when risk is judged to be too severe or costly to address in any other way.

What Do We Get From Risk Avoidance?

Early Response to Project Risks

PMI stresses the importance of addressing risks early, during project initiation and planning. Risk avoidance requires identifying high-priority threats early and incorporating actions into the project baseline to eliminate them.

Focus on Root Causes

Avoidance works by removing the conditions that create risks. For instance, if a project site is located near a riverbank prone to erosion, the risk of soil instability can be avoided by adjusting the project’s layout to place key structures further from the river or by reinforcing the foundation in less risky areas. These changes eliminate the possibility of delays and safety concerns caused by soil erosion during construction.

Resource Investment

Result of the proactive approach, risk avoidance can demand additional resources upfront. This may include changes to the design, scope, or even procuring alternative equipment. While these measures increase initial costs, they often lead to significant long-term savings by avoiding disruptions.

Risk Avoidance Examples

In the following part of the article, we’ll explore different situations and what are the risk responses that may seem suitable for them.

1. Risk of Underground Utility Damage

Situation:
A construction project involves excavation in a densely populated urban area where underground utilities, such as water mains, gas lines, and electrical cables, are present. The risk of damaging these utilities is high due to incomplete or outdated maps and the difficulty of precisely locating all lines.

Why Avoidance is Best:

Avoidance involves conducting a detailed underground survey using advanced ground-penetrating radar (GPR) or similar technology before excavation begins. This ensures utilities are accurately mapped and marked, allowing excavation to proceed without risk of damage.
Mitigation strategies, such as hand digging or using mechanical excavation with caution, reduce the likelihood of damage but do not eliminate it.
Transferring the risk by placing liability on subcontractors does not protect the project from potential delays and cost escalation due to utility outages.

Ø Avoidance by using pre-excavation surveys eliminates the risk of damaging utilities entirely, saving time, costs, and reputational harm.

2. Building on an Unstable Site

Situation:
A proposed construction site has been identified as having highly compressible soil with a significant risk of settlement under the load of the planned structure. This could result in foundation failures, structural cracks, and long-term maintenance issues.

Why Avoidance is Best:

Avoidance in this case means redesigning the foundation to use deep piles, which eliminates the risk of settlement.
Mitigation, such as ground improvement techniques (e.g., soil compaction or chemical stabilization), reduces the likelihood of settlement but cannot fully prevent it for extremely poor soil conditions.
Transferring the risk through contractual warranties does not solve the core issue and might still lead to construction delays or costly repairs.

Ø Avoidance ensures a stable structure by completely removing the risk of soil-related failures, even though it may require more advanced foundation engineering.

3. Rain-Disrupted Construction Activities

Situation:
A construction project requires extensive outdoor activities such as concrete pouring and structural assembly during the rainy season. Heavy rainfall increases the risk of poor quality of work force, material damage, and schedule delays.

Why Avoidance is Best:

Avoidance involves rescheduling critical outdoor activities to drier months, ensuring consistent progress and maintaining high-quality standards.
Mitigation strategies, such as installing temporary shedders or using rapid-curing materials, can reduce the impact of rain but still leave the project vulnerable to weather-related disruptions.
Accepting the risk could lead to rework, increased costs, and prolonged timelines, while transferring the risk through contracts doesn’t address the underlying issues of weather interference.

Ø Avoidance by adjusting the timeline removes the risk entirely, allowing the project to proceed smoothly without weather-related interruptions.

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