**4. Socio-cultural considerations of risk management**

 Evidence from studies indicate that socio-cultural considerations of construction risk management exist in different literature, as noted above in Section 2.1.4. PESTLE analysis revealed that socio-cultural factors related to risk management could affect construction projects in the society/organisation where they are carried out [ 83 , 84 ]. From the review conducted, some studies identified socio-cultural related factors to risk management as depicted in **Table 2** .

*Problems with land acquisition and compensation:* According to [ 123 ], rapid urbanisation has created issues with land acquisition. He stated that the eight categories of risks associated with urbanisation are: infrastructure risk, population-structure risk, public-health risk, risk of conflicts of interest, risk associated with energy resources,


#### **Table 2.**

*Socio-cultural considerations of construction risks management.*

risk associated with environmental pollution, risk associated with conflicting conceptions of value, and risk associated with the differentiation of rural and urban areas along with the covert threat of social conflicts. In project development, land acquisition and compensation procedures are extremely challenging, and it has been attributed to rapid urbanisation in China by various researchers. These researchers noted that 65% of public disturbances in rural areas in China occurred because of land acquisition and compensation conflicts between 2004 and 2009 [123]. As a result, the current system for evaluating the risk of land acquisition is implemented by the Department of Land Management. This way, clarifying land risk evaluation targets and orientations improves the land acquisition risks assessment system and optimises land evaluation by making the assessment process more transparent and reasonable [123].

*Public resistance to the project (public concerns and social complaints):* [124] identified five factors responsible for Korean megaproject delays, time overruns, and cost overruns. These factors include poor project management and monitoring systems, conflicts between organisations, and strong public resistance. In addition to the causes common to Korean mega projects, they can also occur in other types of construction projects, but they tend to produce poorer results in mega projects compared to smaller ones [124]. Therefore, project size and complexity have an impact on public resistance.

*Diversities in social, cultural, and religious backgrounds:* Diversity comprises behaviours that consider our shared similarities and distinctions. As a result, every employee at a company has a distinct background that sets them apart from one another by virtue of their cultural, social, and beliefs. Diversity entails understanding of the people which involves human characteristics and knowledge; acknowledging each individual ethics, and enshrining relationships across all boundaries for people to work in tandem to eliminate all kinds of prejudice and bias [125]. Academically, diversity incorporates multiple aspects of humans such as their heritage, socioeconomic standing, ethnicity, speech, complexion, mindset, morals, convictions, and belief [126]. In addition, diversity is related to minorities comprising female gender, the disabled, and the elderly. Unmanaged diversity, however, may be a barrier to attaining organisational and project goals as it could decrease productivity and provide competitive advantages [127]. Thus, to effectively manage employees, project tasks, risks, and assets to increase productivity, diversity must be managed and valued.

#### *Perspective Chapter: Recent Advancements in the Management of Construction Risks DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112849*

*Crime and civic unrest:* In times of civil unrest, construction sites are susceptible to loss. A construction site can be a target for disruption for stored materials or partially constructed structures. This unrest increases the likelihood of property damage, crime, theft, fraud, vandalism, dishonest behaviour, and related incidents. These times can result in severe losses. For instance, police, firefighters, or emergency response may take longer to respond in theft, vandalism, and fire cases. Among the ways to handle this is to create a suitable plan through risk analysis and identification. Additionally, to ensure people's safety on and off the construction sites, identify known and anticipated risks, and develop safety protocols. This procedure identifies the parties responsible for implementing control measures to ensure the plan's effectiveness and the safety and well-being of those involved.

*Conflicts and protests at work:* Conflicts are inevitable in any construction setting. Conflict issues caused delays, interruptions, suspensions, or abandonments of projects [128]. In other words, identifying the conflicts helps to manage or eliminate the risks resulting from conflict and protests at construction work. Knowing the conflicting factors in advance makes it easier to deal with them.

*Unfavourable public relations:* An organisation's public relations is an analysis of trends, a prediction of their consequences, and a plan for implementing an action program that will benefit both the organisation and the public. When the intended goal of the planned program of actions is not accomplished, and the organisations and the public interest are not served, poor and unfavourable public relations result. Failure to define a good communication approach and stakeholders' information needs is a major cause of unfavourable public relations. Therefore, early identification of risks associated with lack of communication within project parties is necessary.

*Degraded social environmental conditions:* These include issues like land clearance, people's relocation, and health concerns from waste releases from construction projects. In view of this, it is standard practice to carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the project decision phase to consider social environmental issues for the end-users and the local community [129]. EIA evaluate the environmental effects of a planned operation [130]. It considers things like alternatives for the project and mitigation strategies if the construction were to proceed. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Environmental Statement (ES) summarises the findings of the activity. A successful EIA comprises individual and public assessments, and considers environmental factors like population, landscape, heritage, air, climate, soil, water, floral and other living creatures [131].

*Social instability and/or societal conflict:* Population growth and modern civilization result in social instability/societal conflicts [132]. It typically resulted from conflicts of interest between different project participants or stakeholders and is linked to societal disputes, violent opposition, and mass occurrences of public unrest [133]. Social instability cannot be completely eradicated, and poor management of it might jeopardise social harmony. However, it can be controlled to reduce the impact before it becomes a full-fledged unmanageable risk [134].

*Ineffective governance structure:* Governance structure is one of the main reasons for the challenges facing construction projects [135]. The governance structure technically enables independent individuals with different long-term interests and strategic objectives to cooperate towards achieving a common goal [136]. When this is unsuccessful, it develops into a problem and poses threats to the projects. Governance structure serves as a key instrument for managing risk in projects and sheds light on the interactions between various construction project participants [137].

*Structural disruptions:* Structural disruptions are one of the risks associated with normal construction activities. They can be caused by terrorism, political instability, economic disruptions, intentional agent actions, and human-centred problems like strikes [138]. Some instances of structural disruptions include the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre and the August 14, 2003, blackout in the Northeastern United States. [138] identified four methods of managing disruptions to structure. They include defining the nature of the underlying hazard giving rise to the risk, quantifying the risk through an established risk assessment process (by defining the pathways through which such risks might occurred), effective risk management which requires that the approach utilised fit the features and needs of the decision environment, and appropriate management rules and actions to be integrated with ongoing risk assessment and project partner coordination.

#### **4.1 Socio-technical considerations of risks management**

The common practice of managing risks on construction sites suggests that the workers and construction personnel are not well-informed of potential risks, unsafe site practices and other safety-related issues. This limits the ability to actively make informed decisions about construction projects and managing the risks therein. Also, because information related to risk monitoring and control, such as risk identification, risk assessment, and other information on risks, is not publicly available to the concerned industry, various challenge occurs in the risk management process. In fact, many construction firms do not share risks information on project with their employees. This practice restricts important opportunities for learning about risks in the construction sector. Risks relating to employee and organisation are crucial in implementing risks management. The socio-technical aspect of risks management is required to address the dimensions of human, organisation, and technology and to take their interaction with one another into account [139]. Given this a priority can improve easy identification of potential risks and unsafe site practices on construction sites. Thus, ensuring that risks-related information is effectively and accurately delivered, understood, and well distributed among project participating teams.

Traditionally, the science of information delivery is traced back to humans which forms a significant part of the concept of the socio-technical aspect of construction risk management. Projects using digital technologies must be designed and optimised in a way that considers organisational structures, technology and humans to achieve risk-free outcomes [139] because a task is always implemented by the interaction of a human, technology, and organisation [140]. Additionally, [141] agrees to the understanding of a socio-technical perspective which involve human (collaboration, qualifications, work assignment, and structures), organisational (knowledge, organisation & processes, culture, and ethics), and technological innovations (IT systems, automation, data science and management). Hence, implementing socio-technical interactions demonstrates a degree of technology, of changes in organisational structure, and of changes in employee independence.

#### **4.2 Digital visualisation of risks management on construction sites**

The idea of digitalisation makes it possible to incorporate digital technologies into risk management. It provides a new level of organisation and management for the entire risk management process. Hirsch-Kreinsen et al. [142] defined digitalisation as the incorporation of digital technologies, the use of applications built upon

#### *Perspective Chapter: Recent Advancements in the Management of Construction Risks DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112849*

these technologies, and their networking systems into the process of socio-economic change. This definition demonstrates that digitalisation encompasses significant economic, social, and technical changes. The term Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA), which describes the concept of digitalisation and societal change explains the dynamic nature and distinctive complexity of the construction industry/businesses. Consequently, the sector must become more responsive and adaptive to meet challenges that are increasingly difficult to anticipate in a rapidly evolving world of technology [139]. These changes are significant enough to justify construction companies developing visualised technological strategies to manage risks. For example, with computer vision, Internet of Things (IoT), wearable technologies, Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) & Mixed Reality (MR), BIM technologies, conversational-AI, and Robotics, visual data is interpreted and understood, and decisions in identifying and managing risks are made based on the visualised object [143, 144].

### *4.2.1 3D/4D visualised technologies*

During the design phase, 3D and 4D visualisation technologies are used to assist the teams in identifying risks regarding preliminary construction activities. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a 3D/4D modelling technology that is used prior to the construction planning process to create, assess, and manage design and construction information, including planning for risk management. [145, 146] in their investigations shows that projects using 3D and 4D visualisation technology enabled the designing and developing team to detect potential risks in the early stages of construction. Early risk detection leads to cost savings and minimum design errors. Consequently, the likelihood of experiencing risk-related problems during all phases of the project's life cycle is decreased. Utilising 4D visualisation technologies aids in detecting improper construction processes and procedures, establishing patterns regarding risks, and distinguishing the risk status of each aspect of construction activities. Example of such activities include potential risks during excavation [147] and risks related to onsite workspace/site set-up [148]. The ability to visualise potential risks using 3D/4D visualisation technology is an excellent real-time information and communication tool to support interaction between people and the organisation. Additionally, it contributes to knowledge acquisition and training for construction risks. As BIM improves communication and understanding across cultures, socioeconomic classes, and language barriers, workers receive useful risk information in workshops and training. In addition, BIM has the capability of evaluating and updating employees' levels of comprehension in various areas of construction operations and identifying risks.

Furthermore, effective training and communication among foreign construction employees have been discovered to be a developing challenge due to the dispersed locations of most construction sites. According to [149], using 3D visualisation can assist various site workers in overcoming the difficulties presented by language and cultural barriers. Several 3D visualisation applications, like interactive and nonverbal simulation, aid in improving learning among foreign employees and facilitate efficient risk training. By employing visualisation technology, risk, and safety information, along with lessons from previous projects, may be communicated and provided to the workers regardless of site location. The components of 3D visualisation, such as general visual representation, animation, and a 3D interactive viewing environment, reduce the amount of spoken description needed to generate appropriate

understanding among foreign construction workers. Additionally, the techniques of training used for foreign workers are insufficient, monotonous, and not considered helpful by them. So the adoption of visualised technologies can be helpful to minimise this issue.

### *4.2.2 Web-based technologies*

Another method for managing and disseminating accurate information on risks is the web-based communication platform. It allows project stakeholders to upload and download data about various aspects of the construction process including the risks involved [150]. A study by [151] focused on wireless telecommunications, infrared sensors, and ultrasonics to reduce the number of fatal accident on construction sites. According to him, the system functions as a preventive measure, that works by double-checking with other preventive measures already in place to reduce risk zones. Wireless internet and video technology/camera have also proven effective in identifying risks on construction sites. It works by capturing the photographs of the work site and spot any potential risks. The cameras are mounted on the roofs of nearby structures where the contractor can use the images that were taken to document the area, identify risks, and work to mitigate those risks. In the case that an accident did occur due to an unknown cause, the contractor can quickly determine what went wrong to avoid a similar occurrence through the captured images.

### *4.2.3 IoT technologies*

The Integration of BIM with IoT is another application for onsite monitoring and risk management. According to [152, 153]. BIM and sensor-like Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technologies are used to track the positions of site employees, materials, equipment, and the progression of activities. Sensor data and BIM models are used to analyse risk and safety by providing real-time and post-event visualisation [153]. Structure monitoring sensors, RFID tags, and BIM models enabled the visualisation of non-functioned components for structure risk monitoring [154–156]. GPS and GIS could provide location-specific services for real-time tracking systems for materials, equipment installed on the site and personnel [157] to identify potential risks.

#### *4.2.4 Wearable technologies*

Wearable technology offers the potential to provide real-time data on the construction project and potential risk areas through a results-oriented data gathering and analysis methodology. The collection of real-time data that can be tracked especially in deliveries and movement of materials, tracking of processes to keep workers safe and alert them of imminent danger, optimise working patterns and identify higher-risk movement on site. Wearables such as smart glasses and virtual reality headsets can provide all-around viewing of the construction process, job site plan accuracy, and real-time communication during construction. An example is alert systems which include mobile alert systems for group SMS function [158], sensor alert systems for onsite equipment in equipment malfunctioning [159], equipment operator proximity risks alert system [160], equipment-worker proximity alerts [161], and audio, visual or vibration alerts at entry or exit locations to work using mobile passive radio frequency identification (RFID) [162].

*Perspective Chapter: Recent Advancements in the Management of Construction Risks DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112849*

#### *4.2.5 Immersive technologies*

Immersive technologies and BIM enable the provision of 3D digital content and animations as real-world projections for improved contextualisation [163, 164] significant to envisioning the construction process. They help to provide an excellent platform for immersive technologies (virtual reality and augmented reality) by data-rich 3D models for intuitive visualisation of the process [165] to easily identify potential risks as the construction process progresses.

#### *4.2.6 Al technologies*

Advancements in AI, such as conversational AI have led to the creation of virtual assistants such as Microsoft Cortana, Apple Siri, Chatbots etc., which use Automatic Speech Recognition (ASP) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) to communicate construction operations and risks information to construction personnel working on site. Evidence shows that these virtual assistants and other speech-processing applications have tremendous potential when applied to the construction industry. Natural Language Processing (NLP) which is a vital area of conversational AI also contribute to risk management by extracting up-to-date information and reporting outcomes during construction through a chatbot.

However, for effective collaboration, qualification and implementation identified by [141] as the socio-technical human dimensions in risk management, all stakeholders must decide on suitable interoperable software tools [166, 167] to collaborate and share up-to-date information about the construction procedures and risks management planning on site.
