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Abstract
In this study it is demonstrated that systems thinking can be used to identify, locate and manage risks to construction projects. The work set out in this study corroborated the hypothesis of 'Doing construction Differently' in the UK by implementing it practically in Aziz Co. - a construction company in Saudi Arabia.
The methodology encompassed the principles of other modern management techniques such as value management, value engineering, lean construction, total quality management, partnering, supply chain management, benchmarking, best practice and respect for people principles. An approach was developed for a program based on twelve years of practical experience by the author in Saudi Arabia which combined these modern management techniques through systems thinking. The complete program was developed based on process modelling and performance measurement to manage and run the day to day business of a construction company. Process modelling was used to manage technical and human uncertainties at various levels in the organisation hierarchy to continuously improve it. The process models were produced after grouping team members in Aziz Co. followed by identifying all the processes within a construction project and associated explicit success criteria and objectives for each process. This study facilitated the establishment of a completely new quality management record and practice for a construction company that had no existing systems at all. The system was inspected and accredited with the ISO: 9001 compliance certificate from UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Services). Aziz Co. was able to expand its business by satisfying major clients' qualification requirements and gained new projects exceeding five times the scale of previous projects.