4. Risk Identification

This chapter introduces the first step of the Risk Management process, the detection or identification of risks in a project. It starts building a risk-linking matrix in which every sector is compared with the others in order to determine if there is a risk-wise relationship. This is a good starting point that obliges us to engage in a mental exercise to look for potential risks. It follows an analysis of different types of risks and their limits measured by their impacts. The proposed Risk Breakdown Structure analyses risks and determines their relative importance through a real-life case based on tree analysis. Relative significance is important, and to that effect, two types of diagrams are proposed. A new tool, the Z-Matrix, is used to detect and evaluate a series of impacts where one influences others. Situations are analyzed for identifying risks in construction, environmental, society, project safety, geological risk, quality, legal issues, communications and external factors in projects, and some of them are illustrated with case examples. It moves on for identification and mitigation measures for more complex cases involving transportation, with an example using a tool called ‘The Bowtie Diagram’. The chapter finishes with the explanation and exemplification of the ‘Risk Register’, a fundamental tool for Risk Management.