What Enables a High-Risk Project to Yield High Return from a Construction Contractor’s Perspective?

“High risk high return” is a general rule in the overall industry; however, high-risk projects in the construction industry frequently fail to yield a high return. In order to achieve a sustainable business in the international construction market, contractors require an average to high return yield under high-risk conditions. This study aims to reveal what risk factors and risk management performance enables high-risk projects to yield high returns. The study investigated 124 international construction projects by Korean contractors and classified them into four groups: high-risk high-return (HH), high-risk low-return (HL), low-risk high-return (LH), and low-risk low-return (LL). The study found that risk assessment accuracy was the most important trigger in discriminating between high return projects (HH, LH) and low return projects (HL, LL), whereas risk mitigation performance showed little difference between high return and low return projects. In addition, the contingency amount did not significantly affect project return in HL, LH, and LL projects, but HH projects showed a positive relation between contingency and predicted risk amount. This article contributes to recognizing the differences between high return and low return projects and provides insights for practitioners into the relation between risk management performance and high returns in different risk conditions.

Anticipating psychosis

This article explores the evolution of a major longitudinal ‘high risk for schizophrenia’ research programme, started over 50 years ago, which has been largely ignored in recent debates over ‘psychosis risk’ and early intervention. Studying mainly the offspring of individuals with schizophrenia, high-risk investigators aimed to identify a range of precursors of schizophrenia in the hope that the findings would eventually facilitate effective primary prevention. Specifically, the article examines the origins and impact of the pioneering Copenhagen High-Risk Project (1962–1989) and thus provides an important contribution to the sparse historical literature on schizophrenia research, including the study of milder conditions and at-risk states in the borderlands of psychosis.

The Risk of Hydrogen Explosion an a Submarine Part 3 Production of Hydrogen Mixes

This series of articles presents the problems associated with the conduction of a high-risk project aimed at modernising the hydrogen combustion engines on a submarine. The article describes technical issues connected with obtaining hydrogen-air mixes.

Managing the risk of the community engagement project: SME managerial skills transfer project at UNISA

The aims of this project are to manage the risk of a community engagement project, improve managerial of SME owners in the Tshwane community and promote CE scholarship engagement. CE opportunities as well as the high failure rate of SMEs motivated the lecturers of the Department Marketing and Retail to initiate training workshops in their community. This CE project SME skills transfer workshops aims to expand the involvement with the community and develop community engagement projects in addition also transfer managerial skills to SME owners in the community. Quantitative, exploratory research was used in the form of questionnaires with owners of SMEs participating in the workshops. The conducted research established that the most successful advertising medium is wall painting. With this community engagement project it had been reached 200 SMEs. It has been promoted CE scholarship engagement and manage the risk of this project. One of the secondary objectives was to manage the risk of this project. The results in table 1 indicate that the risk is managed adequately. This project is not considered as a high risk project for the university. The aims were achieved as evidence of transferring of managerial skills; managing risk of the project, promotion of CE scholarship and publishing articles through our CE project were achieved. Keywords: SME managerial skills transfer, risk management, community engagement, Tshwane community, advertising media, advertising key success factors, word of mouth. JEL Classification: M37

The Risk of Hydrogen Explosion in a Submarine P.2 Catalyst Bed Flow Resistance

This series of articles presents the problem of undertaking the high risk project of modernisation of hydrogen incinerators on a submarine. The article describes technical issues connected with the flow capacity of a modernised hydrogen incinerator.

A Study on Freeform Optimization using BIM Technology

Freeform buildings are now designed and constructed globally because of digital design trend, advance construction technology, and landmark value. However, due to the lack of freeform building engineering and construction management experience, it has become a high risk project for construction companies. During construction stage; many design changes, fabrication defects and construction quality issues are being raise, which results project cost increase and schedule delays. This study proposes freeform optimization process to mitigate the risk from happening at construction stage. Using BIM, visualization, parametric model and automation functions, various design alternatives are made to apply curvature analysis, panelization, panelization evaluation, and panel optimization for most efficient solution.

On Compilation and Examination of Special Safety Construction Scheme of High-Risk Project

Taking found pit supporting construction as an example, this paper aims to point out what should be included and emphasized in an effective special safety construction scheme by analyzing complied contents, examined objects and examining procedure of special safety construction scheme of high-risk project.