Larissa Rubio

Bio: Larissa Rubio is an academic researcher from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. The author has contributed to research in topics: Risk management & Project risk management. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 5 publications receiving 150 citations.

Measuring the performance of project risk management: a preliminary model

Abstract: The function of project risk management (PRM) is to understand the uncertainty that surrounds a project and to identify the potential threats than can affect it as well as to know how to handle these risks in an appropriate way. Then, the measurement of the performance of PRM becomes an important concern, an issue that has not yet been addressed in the research literature. It is necessary to know how successful the application of the PRM process is and how capable is the process within the organization. Regarding construction projects, it is essential to know whether the selected responses to mitigate or eliminate identified risks were suitable and well implemented after the execution of the project. This paper presents a critical analysis of the relevance of measuring the performance of PRM and the benefits of doing so. Additionally, it presents a preliminary and pioneering methodology to measure the performance of PRM through the evaluation of the adequacy of responses applied to mitigate risks as well as to evaluate the resulting impacts as indicators of the effectiveness of these actions at the end of the project. This knowledge will allow construction companies to incorporate good practices, generate lessons learned, and thereby to promote a continuous improvement of the whole PRM process.

Measuring project risk management performance: a preliminary model

Abstract: The function of project risk management (PRM) is to understand the uncertainty that surrounds a project and to identify the potential threats than can affect it as well as to know how to handle these risks in an appropriate way. Then, the measuring of the performance of PRM becomes an important concern, an issue not addressed yet in the research literature. It is necessary to know how successful is the application of the PRM process, and how capable is the process within the organization. Regarding construction projects, it is essential to know if the selected responses to mitigate or eliminate identified risks were suitable and well implemented. This paper presents a critical analysis of the relevance of measuring the performance of PRM and the benefits of doing so. Additionally, it presents a preliminary and pioneering methodology to measure the performance of PRM through the evaluation of the adequacy of the responses applied to mitigate risks, as well as to evaluate the resulting impacts as indicators of the effectiveness of these actions. This knowledge will allow construction companies to incorporate good practices, generate lessons learned, and thereby promote a continuous improvement of the whole PRM process. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Diamond Congress Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2018.

Using a Knowledge-Based Approach to Foster the Use of Risk Management in Construction

Abstract: Knowledge is a key factor in carrying out and improving risk management in construction projects. Even so, it has been found that this management is done inadequately often mainly due to the lack of knowledge available for its execution. Thus, a knowledge-based system for addressing the problems of risk management in construction projects is proposed and described in this chapter. This is a web-based system that aims to supporting risk management for construction projects in an industry environment where risk management is not well valued yet. The system includes a tool that uses a maturity model for the assessment of risk management capabilities of contractors and owners, a module to propose improvements according to the existing gaps reported by the maturity evaluation module, and a knowledge base that supports a project’s risk management and has the ability to acquire knowledge from experiences obtained during the implementation of different construction projects.

A Hybrid MCDM Technique for Risk Management in Construction Projects

Abstract: Multi-stakeholder based construction projects are subject to potential risk factors due to dynamic business environment and stakeholders’ lack of knowledge. When solving project management tasks, it is necessary to quantify the main risk indicators of the projects. Managing these requires suitable risk mitigation strategies to evaluate and analyse their severity. The existence of information asymmetry also causes difficulties with achieving Pareto efficiency. Hence, to ensure balanced satisfaction of all participants, risk evaluation of these projects can be considered as an important part of the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) process. In real-life problems, evaluation of project risks is often uncertain and even incomplete, and the prevailing methodologies fail to handle such situations. To address the problem, this paper extends the analytical network process (ANP) methodology in the D numbers domain to handle three types of ambiguous information’s, viz. complete, uncertain, and incomplete, and assesses the weight of risk criteria. The D numbers based approach overcomes the deficiencies of the exclusiveness hypothesis and completeness constraint of Dempster–Shafer (D–S) theory. Here, preference ratings of the decision matrix for each decision-maker are determined using a D numbers extended consistent fuzzy preference relation (D-CFPR). An extended multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) method in D numbers is then developed to rank and select the best alternative risk response strategy. Finally, an illustrative example from construction sector is presented to check the feasibility of the proposed approach. For checking the reliability of alternative ranking, a comparative analysis is performed with different MCDM approaches in D numbers domain. Based on different criteria weights, a sensitivity analysis of obtained ranking of the hybrid D-ANP-MABAC model is performed to verify the robustness of the proposed method.

Sustainability of biodegradable plastics: New problem or solution to solve the global plastic pollution?

Abstract: Plastic usage is increasing the number of pollutants in the environment. Plastic particles and other plastic-based pollutants are found in our environment and food chain, posing a threat to human health. From this perspective, the biodegradable plastics material focuses on creating a more sustainable and greener world with a smaller environmental imprint. This assessment should consider the entire life cycle assessment of the objectives and priorities for producing a wide range of biodegradable plastics. Biodegradable plastics can also have properties similar to traditional plastics while also delivering additional benefits due to their minimised impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide, as long as appropriate waste management includes such as composting, are contained. The demand for cost-effective, eco-friendly materials increases to reduce waste management and pollution issues. This study seeks to comprehensively understand biodegradable plastics production and applications research, product prospects, sustainability, sourcing and ecological imprint. Academic and industry interest in biodegradable plastics for sustainability has exploded in recent years. Researchers used the triple bottom line to analyse the sustainability of biodegradable plastics (economic profit, social responsibility, and environmental protection). The research also discusses the variables that influence the adoption of biodegradable plastics and a sustainable framework for improving biodegradable plastics' long-term viability. This study provides a thorough yet simple theoretical design of biodegradable plastics. The research findings and future research endeavours provide a new avenue for further research and contribution to the area.

DEMATEL-ANP Risk Assessment in Oil and Gas Construction Projects

Abstract: Oil and gas construction projects are complex and risky because of their dynamic environment. Furthermore, rising global energy demand has increased the need for trustworthy risk assessment models for such projects that can provide adequate and precise policy planning. Traditional risk assessments in oil and gas construction projects do not consider the interrelationships of factors in the best-fit models. The Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytic Network Processes (ANP), called the DEMATEL-ANP approach, have been applied to other research disciplines to address this shortcoming. This method is able to construct a structural relationship among the different influence factors to visualize complex correlations. Thus, the purpose of this study is to showcase the DEMTAL-ANP risk assessment model to assess the overall risk factors of OGC projects. This study thus identifies the crucial risk criteria of such projects. Data were collected in 2016 through interviews with experts active in OGC projects in Iran. DEMATEL in this situation is used to determine the interdependencies’ relative strengths among the risks. The ANP method is applied to assess the relative importance of the risk factors and to determine the best strategy for implementation of a risk management program. The results presented in this study are a novel adaptation of the risk assessment methodology to OGC projects that determines the important risk factors that directly affect the project success, which in turn helps in formulation of policies for ensuring reliable energy supply planning.

The Role of Information Technologies to Address Data Handling in Construction Project Management

Abstract: Construction is an extremely information-dependent industry in which a project’s success largely depends on good access to and management of data. Effective project management requires the characterization of its challenging issues and the use of appropriate tools for data handling. For this purpose, the construction industry is increasingly adopting the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in recent years. Given the acknowledged potential of ICT to bring about improvements in other industries, many initiatives have been undertaken to develop appropriate tools to support various tasks during the construction project lifecycle. This paper focuses on the proposals that use ICT to provide access to the data and take advantage of this access to manage crucial issues within project management such as costs, planning, risks, safety, progress monitoring, and quality control. The authors will demonstrate that suitable data handling facilitates and improves the decision-making process an...