Risk Management in Civil Projects

New Zealand's civil works co-exist with real-world uncertainty—fast-changing weather, variable ground, and busy corridors shared with communities and critical services. Left unmanaged, those uncertainties can and often do turn into cost increases and programme delays.

Risk management—done early and carried through delivery—is the difference between steady, predictable progress and expensive firefighting. It keeps people safe, protects budgets and lifts certainty for clients and the stakeholders.

Why Risk Management?

Risk management is the ongoing process of identifying, assessing, treating, and monitoring both threats and opportunities across a project’s lifecycle. In civil projects, that spans safety, environment, ground conditions, utilities, consents, traffic, supply chain, design interfaces, temporary works, and community impacts.

Done well, it gives everyone a shared picture of what could happen—and a practical plan to prevent, reduce, or respond to risks.

We’re often called in when:

• A project is moving from concept to tender and needs risks to be clarified, priced, and allocated

• Ground conditions are uncertain (soft soils, high groundwater, slips) or a site has flood exposure

• Live services, traffic staging, or night works raise safety and programme risks

• Consent conditions are tight around noise, dust, and waterways—or cultural/archaeological protocols are required

• Stakeholder impacts (residents, businesses, iwi/hapū) need careful planning

• An incident, near miss, or weather event prompts a reset of controls on site

With a right-sized framework—clear owners, actions, and timeframes—most risks can be reduced to tolerable levels while protecting programme and budget.

Common Pitfalls to Watch Out For

• Starting risk management late, after designs and prices are locked in

• Light-touch site investigation that misses groundwater, contamination, or buried services

• Treating temporary works and construction staging as an afterthought

• Generic JSAs/SWMS that don’t reflect the actual hazards of the job

• Unclear risk ownership and escalation paths

• Contingency set as a flat percentage, not tied to real treatments and residual risk

• Underestimating seasonal weather windows and cumulative delays

• Weak change control leading to scope creep and unpriced risk

A thorough risk workshop and a live register are key. They give you the structural, environmental, and commercial picture and solutions before you commit—and keep it current as conditions change.

How Risk Management Adds Value

Our team blends engineering know‑how with buildable, on-the-ground solutions. We work alongside principals, contractors, and consultants to:

• Facilitate practical risk workshops and build a clear, prioritised register

• Quantify and treat critical risks with costed actions, owners, and due dates

• Stress-test programmes and allowances; align contingency with real exposure

• Plan and verify pre-construction investigations (services locating/potholing, geotech, groundwater)

• Design and review temporary works, staging, and traffic management interfaces

• Develop environmental controls (erosion & sediment), flood response, and consent compliance plans

• Integrate cultural and archaeological considerations, including accidental discovery protocols

• Prepare emergency and severe-weather responses so the team knows “who does what, when”

• Monitor during construction, close out actions, and capture lessons learned for the next job

Every plan is scaled to the job—whether a local drainage upgrade, retaining structure, or multi-stage road and river corridor package.

A Smart Investment in Sustainability

Proactive risk management cuts rework, reduces truck movements, and prevents incidents—lowering cost and carbon emissions. It also builds resilience into assets by planning for climate, flood, and geohazard exposure across the whole asset life, not just day one.

Final Thought

If you’re planning a civil project—big or small—get ahead of risk. As the famous investor Charlie Munger advised: invert your thinking — imagine the worst outcomes and plan to avoid them. With the right advice and a hands-on partner you can deliver safely, on programme, and with fewer surprises—protecting people, budgets, and the places we all share.

Front-footing Onsite with service detection