Minimising engineering risks

Project management software that learns from previous project successes and failures has been invented by a team of scientists from

Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology (CMIT).

The software is believed to be the first risk management software designed for concurrent engineering projects that links the entire project management process from product or project design, development, manufacturing to delivery.

The software, Intelligent Risk Mapping and Assessment System (IRMAS), is being piloted by Hawker de Havilland, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing, on its 787 projects.

IRMAS is a dynamic web-based tool developed primarily for project managers to deal with risks associated with their tasks.

CSIRO IRMAS project leader Dr Mingwei Zhou says the software has its own expert knowledge base made up of previous experience and solutions, as well as quantified company-specific risk policies.

“Many companies are locked in engineering cycles where they repeat costly but mitigable mistakes,” Dr Zhou says.

“Based on project manager's responses to a customised set of questions, the software will identify possible risks based on existing knowledge in the system repository.”