Would risk management have helped? – A case study

To reduce the costs of unexpected geotechnical events in construction projects in Sweden, the Swedish Geotechnical Society has adopted a general methodology for risk management. In this paper, we exemplify how the proposed risk management philosophy could have been applied on a sheet-pile wall, which failed in 1992 in Stockholm because the design did not consider the complex site conditions. Focusing on the design phase, we discuss how geotechnical risks may be managed effectively as a natural part of the engineer’s everyday work.