Risk Management in Plant Building Projects

This thesis examines how risk management is implemented in plant building projects, with a focus on the gap between established theoretical frameworks and real organizational practice. Plant building projects operate in complex environments involving high financial exposure, long execution timelines, and significant technical interdependencies. Despite the availability of recognized risk management standards, their consistent application in practice remains a challenge for many organizations. The theoretical part of the thesis reviews key risk management frameworks including ISO 31000, PMBOK, and COSO ERM. It also analyzes typical risk categories in plant building, common contract models, and how risk management evolves across project phases from bid decision through execution and project close. Particular attention is given to the transition from the sales phase to execution, which the literature identifies as one of the most critical and vulnerable points in the risk management process. The empirical part is based on semi-structured interviews with senior representatives of two Austrian companies in industrial plant engineering. The two organizations differ in size, ownership structure, and the degree of formalization in their risk management approaches. Company 1 applies an integrated, experience-based model closely linked to financial project control. Company 2 follows a structured, workshop-based approach aligned with ISO 31000 and supported by a central risk register. Both approaches are effective within their respective organizational contexts. The cross-case analysis identifies shared strengths and shared gaps. Both companies perform well in terms of formal process structure, cross-functional communication, and integration of risk management into project workflows. The most significant gaps in both organizations relate to the formalization of lessons learned, the absence of quantitative risk analysis methods, and limitations in the use of digital tools for cross-project risk analysis. The findings show that effective risk management in plant building projects depends less on the degree of formalization and more on how consistently the chosen approach is applied, how well risk information is transferred between project phases, and how actively project experience is used to improve future risk assessments. Based on these findings, the thesis derives eight practical recommendations for organizations in the plant building industry.