Earlier this year Ruler was delighted to chair a risk engineering management workshop for the Young Members group of the British Tunnelling Society (BTS).

Spyros Konstantis, Director and Partner of Ruler Consult together with Simeon Seamer, Head of Construction at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, were invited by the group to present on principles and current trends in risk engineering management applied in a project’s life cycle and the basics of construction insurance of tunnels and underground works.

The workshop covered areas related to Guidelines and Codes of Practice, qualitative and quantitative Risk Assessment and Analysis, Geotechnical Baseline Reports (GBR), Probable Maximum Loss (PML), limits of construction insurance coverage, defects, Third Party Liability (TPL) and Delay in Start Up (DSU). In the last part of the workshop, practical examples of risk engineering management in concept and detailed design as well as construction phases were presented by Spyros in an interactive dialogue forum with the young tunnelers. It was a great experience and pleasure to interact with the next generation of engineers, exchange ideas, be challenged and transfer knowledge and thoughts.

Simeon Seamer commented:

“It is now 25 years since the Heathrow Tunnel collapse which together with other tunnel failures contributed to a step change in risk management and the attitude of insurers.  A new generation of enthusiastic young engineers and insurance underwriters have a tremendous opportunity to build upon the legacy of risk management standards underpinned by the infamous Code of Practice which must not be taken for granted.  Complex tunnelling projects continue around the world and so it is vital we remember the valuable lessons learned in the past and continue to uphold best practice which is practical and applicable. Remaining aware of the recent developments such as the ongoing review of the code by ITIG and supporting the latest risk management recommendations, such as now contained in the FIDIC Emerald Book, are great examples to adopt and put into action. Using technology to actively manage and monitor construction risk in a meaningful and measurable way is surely one of the great challenges we face.  It was a pleasure to interact with the lively BTSYM group and I look forward to the dialogue continuing!”

We very much look forward indeed to repeating the workshop next year!