Perceptions of Risk Based on Level of Experience for High-Rise Building Contractors

Abstract

Risk is part of everyday life. The assessment of the degree of risk is considerably influenced by the perception of the assessor towards the risk. A questionnaire survey and interviews were carried out on engineers of building contracting firms in Jakarta to determine the influence of experience on perception towards risks. The result shows significant differences in the assessment of the degree of risks due to differences in the level of experience. Experienced engineers tend to assess the degree of risk lower than less-experienced engineers. Familiarity in dealing with risks and the position of experienced engineers in the management level are the main factors contributing to the assessment. Nevertheless, experienced engineers give high rankings to political, regulatory and environmental risks. The job function of experienced engineers, i.e. planning and decision-making, have a strong influence on their perception. The unstable internal condition of Indonesia has contributed to the concern on political and regulatory risks. Meanwhile, the nature of high-rise buildings and the lack of environmental awareness in engineering life and education have contributed to risks related to environmental regulations.

Keywords:

• risk
• experience
• perception
• high-rise construction
• Indonesia