Identifying the Risk in Civil Engineering Projects in Karbala Governorate in Iraq and Prioritizing Them by Using AHP Method

The main developments in business environment, such as business globalization and the fast changing process of technology, have increased competitiveness and difficulty in managing the organizations. Effective Risk Management, which is based on a conceptual and valid principal, forms a very significant part of the decision making process. Identifying risky parts and prioritizing the risks before the implementation of the projects help considerably with the reduction of the expenses, the time span of the project, and conflicts between the employer, consultant, and contractor. However, prioritizing risks in projects is influenced by several factors and causes, and there is usually a nonlinear relationship between them. It seems to be a difficult and impossible job but the development of computer science and the emergence of different decision making techniques brought hope to overcome the obstacles. These techniques include Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which is a helpful tool in Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) invented by Thomas L. Saaty. AHP is a method for decision making based on two important factors of knowledge and experience. In the present study, the collected and separate information about different risks existing in construction projects, according to comparative system for each risk, is provided through the questionnaires answered by employers, consultants, and contractors in construction projects in Iraq, and then the data obtained from the questionnaires are analyzed by using Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) tool to prioritize the existing risks.

Keywords:

: Risk , Analytic Hierarchy Process , Multi Criteria Decision Making , Construction