A multi-agent model to manage risks in construction project (SMACC)

• We develop SMACC, an agent-based model to simulate construction project and risks.
• SMACC considers the dynamic nature of a project and of risk management.
• SMACC considers the role and the behavior of stakeholders.
• SMACC was implemented on the GAMA platform and was used to simulate a real project.

Construction projects are subject to numerous risks that could have consequences on project achievement. They involve numerous stakeholders whose interests and demands need to be considered in the managerial decision-making process, to ensure the success of the project. Each stakeholder has his own risks and perspective on project risks. Furthermore, risk management is a dynamic process throughout the project life cycle. On one hand, risks change along the different phases of the project, on the other hand, multiple interactions have been identified between risks. For these reasons, it could be difficult to model project risks in order to manage them. In this paper, a multi-agent model (SMACC) is proposed to study this complex system. By using multi-agent simulations coupled with a stochastic approach, risk impacts can be evaluated for each stakeholder and for the whole project. These simulations make possible to test different risk mitigation strategies in order to measure their interest and then to support risk management decisions.