‘Managing risk through the construction project lifecycle’ white paper copywriting, IFS. Facing ever-tighter margins, construction companies must understand risk opportunities and threats. Drafted from interviews and research, this 3-page thought-leadership executive summary surfaces the issues.
- COPY: Ian Castle, Freelance Copywriter
- CLIENT: IFS
‘Managing risk’ white paper copy sample, construction sector, IFS (US English)
[Excerpt]:
TYPES OF RISK EXPOSURE
Risk impacts several areas of a project, but is inextricably and directly linked to project delivery, cash flow and project margins. Whilst a risk analysis at the outset of a project will expose headline threats and opportunities, it is inevitable that unforeseen developments during the construction program will change this assessment.
Currently, most organisations bidding for projects operate using a risk register that is spreadsheet-based. The register details the identified risks and opportunities, typically populated with manually estimated values and projections. In particular, a manually maintained spreadsheet register is not immune to bias.
Whilst large project tenders are by their nature attractive, their scale often belies the fact that the underlying profit margins are often extremely small – sometimes as low as 2%. It is this bidding scenario, and the focus on securing new business, that all too often results in unrealistic projections of risk and potential liabilities. From a risk exposure perspective, a preoccupation with project revenue as opposed to underlying profitability can see contractor sales teams unwittingly entering the perfect storm.