Learning library

Risk, contingency planning and problem-solving

Trouble on a construction project rarely surprises everyone: someone saw the first sign. These lessons cover naming risks at the start, preparing for the activities that cannot slip, reading the early warnings, deciding without every fact, and solving problems so they stay solved.

15 articles · about 45 minutes of reading in all

Running a one-hour risk workshop at the start of a project
Run a one-hour construction risk identification workshop that turns your team's experience into a ranked list of risks, each with an owner and a date.
3 min read
Writing a plan B for the one activity that cannot slip
Write a one-page construction contingency plan for a lift, pour or shutdown: the trigger, the decision time, the backup already booked and who decides.
3 min read
Making a site decision with incomplete information
Make a construction site decision under uncertainty: split what you know from what you assume, choose the option you can undo, and record why.
3 min read
Solving a recurring site problem on one page
Use A3 problem solving on one page — current state, cause, countermeasure and check — to stop a site problem that keeps coming back, such as a hoist queue.
3 min read
Testing the schedule: which late activities would hurt most
Run a simple schedule risk analysis: delay each uncertain activity in a copy of the schedule, see what moves the finish, and protect the few that matter.
3 min read
Finding the single points of failure on your project
Find the single points of failure on a construction project — the one person, supplier or machine nobody can replace quickly — and put a backup behind each.
3 min read
Writing down the assumptions your plan depends on
Keep a project assumptions log: write down what the schedule and budget take as true, give each a check date and an owner, and act when one fails.
3 min read
Tracking permits and inspections that can stop the job
Set up construction permit tracking: one list of every permit, condition and inspection, with the date each is needed and who books it, so nothing stops work.
3 min read
When a key person leaves in the middle of a project
Plan a project handover when an employee leaves mid-job: name the cover, capture open items, verbal agreements and contacts, and move every role and key.
3 min read
Spotting a subcontractor in financial trouble before they walk off
Spot the warning signs of subcontractor financial trouble, from shrinking crews to unpaid suppliers, and protect the job while staying within the subcontract.
3 min read
Five early warning signs that a project is heading for trouble
Check five signs of a troubled construction project every week, from plan reliability and RFI age to crews and repeat defects, before the cost report shows it.
3 min read
Keeping subcontractors' insurance and clearances current
Collect, check and track every subcontractor's certificate of insurance and workers' compensation clearance, so no trade works on site while uncovered.
3 min read
After-hours emergencies: who is called and what they do
Build a construction site emergency contact list and an after-hours plan for floods, break-ins, alarms and storms, and test it before the night you need it.
3 min read
Setting escalation thresholds so problems reach the right person
Set an escalation matrix for a construction project: the cost, time, safety and contract limits that decide which problems go up, to whom and how fast.
3 min read
Preventing theft of tools, materials and equipment on site
Prevent construction site theft with deliveries timed for installation, locked storage, marked and recorded tools, and the same closing routine every night.
3 min read