Uncertainty and Ground Conditions - A Risk Management Approach




A new type of ground risk management book

How can we live without construction? It fulfils many of our fundamental needs

and has existed since the earliest development of mankind. Incorporating engineering

and maintenance activities, construction, provides us with houses, schools,

hospitals, industrial plants and infrastructure. We are all affected by these structures,

hour after hour, day after day, year after year.

There is no construction without ground. Any kind of construction needs a

foundation. Any construction, whether very small or extremely large, has some

form of connection with the inherently uncertain ground. Our ability to cope with

this uncertainty will make a difference between our foundation settlements or

not, between excess groundwater in our basements or not, or even whether our

structures collapse during an earthquake or not.

Until now, the ground has always been a major driver of risk in many construction

projects all over the world. This is reflected in the relatively high failure

costs and often small profit margins in the construction industry. Many projects

are completed at a higher cost than estimated, as well as much later than scheduled.

This causes serious additional expenditure for clients, reduced profitability

or even losses for contractors and a lot of irritation for the public.

For many years, risk management has added value in many sectors and industries,

such as the financial sector, the chemical industry and the offshore industry.

In construction, however, risk management has not been entirely incorporated

and exploited, in spite of the industry’s inherent uncertainties and high risks.

The application of well-structured risk management during all project stages,

from feasibility through to construction and maintenance, needs to be started or

extended to many more projects. This situation is particularly apparent in groundrelated

engineering and construction activities.

A serious obstruction to the introduction and application of risk management is

the people factor. Together, we are that people factor. Typical human attitudes and

behaviour, driven by unawareness and fear, often prevent us from considering


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