Application of Ji Koutei Kanketsu (JKK) for design risk management in highway construction projects

This research addresses the performance of health and safety risk management in the design stage of construction projects. Health and safety has been one of the most pressing concerns in the construction industry. Many concepts have been developed to tackle this issue, notably, Prevention through Design. This concept is at the core of the Construction Design and Management Regulations, which address the health and safety arrangements in every construction project in the UK. The process of health and safety risk management in the design stage is referred to as the Design Risk Management Process (DRMP). The aim of this research is to reveal, review and improve the practical implementation of the DRMP in a real-life setting. This topic has been neglected in recent studies. Especially, the applicability of Ji Koutei Kanketsu (JKK) as an alternative solution, besides the support of technologies, for improving DRMP performance, is tested. Following the Action Research methodological approach, this research was undertaken in collaboration with a large civil engineering design organisation in the UK. The research only focused on highway projects. The DRMP procedures and performance in prior and ongoing projects were revealed through exploratory studies in the diagnosing phases of this action research. The other phases of this research focused the application of JKK for improving the DRMP in an ongoing project. The results showed that JKK is a potential method for process performance improvement in terms of clarity of process target, client's requirements, product quality, and employee's responsibility and understanding. The success of distributing JKK across the organisation was indicated in its application for improving the Building Information Management toolkit subprocess. A detailed framework of JKK was developed based on results of these applications. This framework is expected to function as a stepping-stone for further dissemination of JKK to other processes and projects.