Risk analysis in fixed-price design–build construction projects

Construction projects are being tendered and implemented under different contract systems and payment methods. Design–build has been a popular contract system in recent years. It provides various advantages through entailing the contractor carrying out and being responsible for not only construction but also the design of the work. However, design–build turns out to be a risky system for both owners and contractors unless the risks are identified, analyzed and managed throughout the tender preparation and project execution stages. In this context, this study aims to present a literature survey on the issues of risk, risk management/analysis and the design–build contract system, to propose a schedule and cost risk analysis model, and to show the applicability of these models in scheduling and cost estimation of a fixed-price design–build construction project through a case study.