January/February 2025 - 69

Considerations for Risk Management
in Underground Projects
Underground construction projects are a whole
different ball game compared to your typical
infrastructure projects, mainly because of the unique and
unknown ground conditions. The fact is, you can never fully
predict all the risks before you dive in, meaning things can go
sideways quickly. This is especially true in today's world,
where municipalities are shifting their focus from smaller,
simpler projects to large, complex megaprojects. With that
shift comes even greater risk, which can lead to significant
overruns in project budget and timeline.
When developing these projects, it's nearly impossible to
forecast every variable that could come up. That's enough to
drive owners, designers and contractors to the brink. But
there is a solution - a solid risk management strategy. This
approach helps to (a) mitigate risks to an acceptable/tolerable
level where possible, and (b) develop contingency funds to
cover any surprises, whether it's unexpected quantities or
productivity shifts. When done well, it can increase the
likelihood that added costs due to risk are covered without the
need to look for additional or new funding.
Over the last few
decades, risk management
has become the goto
approach for large civil
infrastructure projects.
Thanks to advancements
in risk tools (like Monte
Carlo simulations) and a
deeper understanding of
how risk management
benefits the industry, it's
become more approachable
and easier to implement. While these tools have gotten
better, it's still important to remember why we started down
this road in the first place. It was not to develop more complex
risk registers or fancier Monte Carlo simulation results. The
goal is to help project teams understand the threats and
opportunities, so they can make informed decisions that lead
to better project outcomes.
A regular column
from the DFI Risk and
Contracts Committee
By Connor Langford,
Ph.D., P.Eng., Mott
MacDonald
So, how can project owners make sure they're getting the
right kind of risk guidance for underground projects? First, the
team needs to be set up in a way that makes risk management
a core part of the entire project's delivery. One of the best ways
to do this is by having a risk manager in a lead role within the
team structure. This ensures the project's risk profile is
regularly reviewed with the owner, giving it the information
it needs to make informed decisions throughout the project.
Next, it's crucial to pick a team with experience in doing
risk analysis in the same industry as your project. While risk
strategies are generally the same across disciplines, each
has its own unique challenges that need to be considered.
In underground projects, there are often high-consequence,
low-probability events that might get overlooked if you only
focus on the more common risks. Being aware of this and
discussing the potential mitigation measures for these
risks ahead of time can help keep projects on track, even if
they occur.
At the end of the day, risk management is about more than
just statistics - it's a process that can seriously improve
the outcome of underground projects, especially in
today's era of megaprojects.
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * JAN/FEB 2025 * 69
RISK CORNER
http://www.mrce.com/
January/February 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2025
