Project risk management for community-based post-disaster housing reconstruction project

Indonesia is a highly disaster prone country, particularly to earthquakes. In the last decade, Indonesia has been hit by three large earthquakes; Aceh in December 2004, Yogyakarta in May 2006, and West Sumatra in September 2009. These earthquakes have created considerable losses to Indonesian communities, lead to 130,000 fatalities, US$10.3 billions economic losses, and 500,000 of heavily damaged houses. The massive housing reconstruction has been found to be the most problematic sector of housing reconstruction programme. Although community-based post-disaster housing reconstruction project (CPHRP) has been implemented, nevertheless the outcome was still overshadowed by the delay in delivery, cost escalation, unexpected quality, and community dissatisfaction. The implementation of good practice of project risk management in construction industry is expected to enhance the success of CPHRP. Accordingly, this study aims to develop a risk management model for community-based post-disaster housing reconstruction approach. In order to achieve the aim and objective of the research, multiple case studies is selected as research strategies. This study implements the sequential mixed method application, started with semi-structure interview and followed by questionnaire survey as the primary method. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data, whilst descriptive and inferential statistics were deployed to analyse quantitative data. This study reveals the importance of the understanding on community-based approach in post-disaster housing reconstruction. Four highly significant advantages of CPHRP have been discovered, with ‘create sense of ownership’ of beneficiaries to the project as the most significant advantage. It was also found that the psychological advantage of CPHRP is more dominant compare to the construction advantage. Further, the risk assessment has discovered some high risk events during the pre-construction stage of CPHRP. The most affected project objective by them is project time completion. Risk response document has also been proposed. Moreover, this study found twelve critical success factors (CSFs) of CPHRP, with the highest CSFs is ‘transparency and accountability’. With careful attention on the above findings, it is expected the success of the implementation of CPHRP can be increase

Building Disaster Resilience within the Emirati Energy Sector through a Comprehensive Strategic Mitigation Plan

Disasters, both natural and man-made, have been occurring with increasing frequency and effect in recent decades in many countries around the world. Such threats have been shown to result in a loss of life, property and income and all of which have an impact on the country’s socio-economic structure and geo-political positioning. The UAE is steadily adapting its policies and practices to manage any potential disaster, whether natural or man-made. However, evidently the UAE is exposed and vulnerable to tectonic activity from a number of sources and yet there is little in the form of seismic detection, protection, resistance or design for some of the newest and tallest structures in the world. The paper highlights the importance of the strategic mitigation planning for disaster resilience within the Emirati Energy sector. It discusses the issue of disaster globally and then specifically with regards to the UAE, forming a critical analysis on crisis and its management. A broad literature review of the problems readily associated within the discourse is undertaken so that the definition, classification and the application of the disaster and its management cycle are appropriately contextualised in regards to the Emirati problem. The window of opportunity that the UAE has for improvement is emphasised by the findings of this paper

Risk Assessment on Community-Based Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction Project

Risk management method has been acknowledged to be an important factor to achieve the project objectives in the construction industry. However, its implementation on community-based post-disaster housing reconstruction is hardly found. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to assess high risk events that affect time completion of community-based post-disaster housing reconstruction project (CPHRP). Three most recent and most severe areas affected by earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia were chosen as case study locations: Aceh (2004), Yogyakarta (2006) and West Sumatra (2009). Questionnaire survey was selected as data collection method and emailed to respondents to assess the probability of occurrence of particular event and its impact on time completion. The response rate was considered as very satisfactory (79%) with sixty five questionnaires were categorized as valid. Result shows that twenty events can be categorised as high risk and are mostly originated from government

Vulnerability of the Emirati Energy Sector for Disaster: A Critical Review

Infrastructure in all its forms is a valuable asset and vulnerable to any natural or manmade hazard. The protection of infrastructure is thus one of the most important and difficult tasks for any government. The energy sector dominates in the UAE and consists of various assets - electricity, oil and natural gas that are geographically dispersed and connected by systems and networks. The protection of these systems and assets and within the energy sector especially, the safeguarding of oil and gas infrastructure from any and all internal and external threats should become top priority in the UAE. Threats to geopolitical and economic stability that need to be considered and prepared for include tectonic activity, climate change, nuclear energy, terrorism and war. This paper explores the disaster vulnerability of the Emirati energy sector with specific focus on Abu Dhabi and Dubai cities. It is based on secondary data, taken from various academic and professional sources, and primary data from a questionnaire survey administered on site at two electricity-generating plants in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Forty questionnaires were distributed and 35 were returned back- 20 Abu Dhabi and 15 Dubai. Oil and gas sectors were identified as the most vulnerable energy sources in both Abu-Dhabi and Dubai. Risk from terrorism was thought to be the greatest hazard with every single respondent choosing it. This was despite the fact that respondents believe it to be one of the threats that the energy sector is prepared for

Role of local governments in disaster risk reduction

The occurrence of the natural disasters has increased significantly in recent past and this has resulted in a high number of mortalities and economic and social losses worldwide. This necessitates the implementation of disaster risk reduction measures in order to achieve a disaster resilient environment. The risk reduction through improved resilience requires a multi-sectoral approach with the participation of various stake holders. As such, the local governments being the first responder and the one responsible for community development, has a key role to play in achieving society’s resilience to disasters. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and the potential role of the local government in implementing disaster risk reduction initiatives in development of the society’s resilience to natural disasters. The literature review method has been used to address this potential role of the local governments in disaster risk reduction and the data and information has been gathered from research papers on electronic databases along with conference proceedings and reports published by various institutions. The review of literature reveals that the local government has a significant role to play in implementing disaster risk reduction initiatives. However several incidents have been reported on inadequate contribution of local governments in disaster risk reduction activities. This could mainly be attributed to inadequate financial, manpower and other resources available with local governments and their failure to make timely decisions due to lack of authority. This highlights the need for empowering local governments with improved governance structure

Exploring disaster risk reduction in the built environment

The purpose of this paper is to review the role of construction industry and built environment disciplines in disaster risk reduction. There is much evidence to show that every year natural disasters cause a substantial amount of damage throughout the whole world. This brought forward the importance of disaster risk reduction to prevent or mitigate the adverse impacts of disasters. The construction industry has a strong relationship with disaster management and therefore there is a high need in identifying how the construction industry and its related disciplines can contribute towards disaster risk reduction. Therefore the paper focuses on the role of the construction industry and the built environment professionals in disaster risk reduction. The literature review method has been used to address this emerging topic and therefore the paper is based on the academic literature, journal and conference papers and reports produced by various institutions.The review of literature reveals that there is a clear relationship between disaster risk reduction and the built environment disciplines. It has been identified that the construction industry and built environment professionals have a significant role to play in disaster risk reduction in both pre and post disaster situations. The risk reduction strategies can be incorporated in to all phases of construction projects, including planning, designing, construction and maintenance in addition to town and country planning and policy making

Factors Affecting Community Empowerment During Disaster Recovery

The purpose of this study is to explore and identify the factors for empowering the community during the Disaster Recovery phase. It is very important to recognize the community (decision makers) as being empowered of their fate but not to inform, consult and having others to decide their fate. The study investigates the important role of the project manager who coordinates and communicates with the community members in order to empower them to achieve a long-term sustainability. The findings obtained from the literature review and the case studies allow identifying the factors for empowering the community during Disaster Recovery, such as: participation in decision-making; use of social capital within the community; thinking and doing SMART; recognizing community power; building capacity; and helping your neighbors. The results of this study provide guidelines for Project Managers to empower the community as decisions makers in the disaster recovery phase.Published versio