Who is primarily responsible for managing design risk?

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Design risk refers to uncertainties in the design decisions that could affect safety, performance, buildability, cost, or schedule. The designers are the ones who create and specify the design, so they are the ones who identify these risks and plan how to mitigate them. They perform risk analysis during the design process, check against standards, codes, and performance requirements, assess constructability and resource constraints, and propose design changes or alternatives to reduce risk. They also ensure the design outputs include sufficient information for safe construction and operation, and keep stakeholders informed about risks and decisions. While the project manager coordinates overall risk management, and clients set requirements and contractors carry out construction with their own risks, the primary responsibility for managing design risk lies with designers because the risk originates from design content and decisions they control.